A Noise Within Unveils 25th Anniversary Offerings

Donors, subscribers, board members, and resident artists look on during announcement. – Photo by Christopher Alvarez

By May S. Ruiz 

A Noise Within (ANW), the classical theatre repertory company based in Pasadena, is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Founders and Producing Artistic Directors Geoff Elliott and Julia Rodriguez-Elliott still find it amazing that they have reached that milestone.

“If someone were to tell me a decade ago, when we were still in the cold, leaky Masonic Temple in Glendale, that I would be standing here in front of you today, I would never have believed it. I would have loved to hear it but I could not have imagined it to be the case. And yet here I am; it’s simply beyond our wildest dreams,” Elliott humbly confessed before an audience of theatre supporters, artists-in-residence, and a few members of the press.

On Tuesday, April 19, ANW officially began its 25th year celebration and unveiled its growth plans as well as the slate of play offerings for the 2016-2017 season. Michael Bateman, managing director, who opened that evening’s event, described how the company plans to build on its success and thrive in the future. He also revealed how ANW will get the funding to support its grand initiatives.

The company’s ambitious growth plans include: continuing to invest in the artistic company – actors, designers, and directors; providing flexibility for ANW’s creative artists through “freedom funds;” maximizing educational outreach by providing additional transportation and ticket scholarships to underserved schools, and deeper engagement opportunities for teachers and for students, including sequential learning options and curriculum development assistance.

ANW Producing Artistic Director Geoff Elliott announcing 25th anniversary season. – Photo by Christopher Alvarez

Continued Mr. Bateman, “While that sounds challenging, it is totally achievable.  We are getting support for our initiatives through gifts and pledges.  A single gift of $250,000 has been pledged by John and Barbara Lawrence, with $600,000 having been pledged overall.  Jeanie Kay has pledged a bequest gift of $2.5 million; we are also hoping to find 25 new individuals, like Jeanie, to include ANW in their estate plans.”

After Bateman talked about the business of producing memorable plays, Elliott and Rodriguez-Elliott took to the stage and announced ANW’s 2016-2017 season offerings. Amidst enthusiastic cheers from members of the company and theatre enthusiasts, who have been eagerly anticipating this announcement, they outlined each play – Tom Stoppard’s “Arcadia;” “The Maids” by Jean Genet; Moliere’s “The Imaginary Invalid,” adapted by Constance Congdon based on a new translation by Dan Smith; Shakespeare’s “King Lear;” “Ah Wilderness!” by Eugene O’Neill; “Man of La Mancha” by Dale Wasserman, music by Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darion; and “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens, adapted for the stage by Geoff Elliott.

“Four of the plays we are announcing for the 25th anniversary season speak loudly to us now from our history – ‘The Imaginary Invalid,’ ‘King Lear,’ ‘Ah, Wilderness!,’ and ‘Man of La Mancha.’ ‘Arcadia’ and ‘The Maids’ are new for us. Together our actors, artists, and audience will take a journey through and beyond our wildest, and sometimes simply wild dreams – the same journey that Julia and I have taken over this past quarter-century,” Elliott pronounced.

And it has indeed been a journey that has surpassed all their expectations as they look back in time. As Rodriguez-Elliott remembers it, “In 1991 we were struggling students, fresh from American Conservatory Theatre, and we used our last $3,000 to produce ‘Hamlet.’ It was a big success and we learned a lot very quickly – that Los Angeles was filled with well-trained talent, that there was an audience hungry to see plays of substance, that there were people and resources willing to support this effort, and that there was a press corps interested in writing about this work.”

ANW Producing Artistic Director Julia Rodriguez-Elliott at the announcement. – Photo by Christopher Alvarez

“All of this added up quickly to the beginnings of a community,” continues Rodriguez-Elliott. “In the nurturing of this idea of community, we found ourselves on a path that led to our next productions, the use of the Masonic Temple in Glendale, a 501(c)(3) designation, an administrative staff, and so on. We had suddenly built an organization, including a robust education program, which enabled us to share our love of the classics with local students.”

As ANW gained following, it also outgrew its venue. In the middle of the 2008 recession the company somehow managed to raise the $13.5 million needed to build its new home on 3352 E. Foothill Blvd. in Pasadena. It is a three-story, 30,000 square foot facility with rehearsal space, scene and costume shops, classrooms, administrative offices, and a student learning resource center.

This new facility made it possible for the theatre company to increase its audience considerably, and in the last five years has surpassed its previous box office and attendance records annually. Each year ANW serves over 40,000 patrons from Southern California and elsewhere. It has also achieved the remarkable feat of 85 percent subscription theatre renewals, 12 percent more than the national average. And it still is adding new subscribers, increasing its total audience base every year.

The theatre company’s commitment to make theatre accessible to everyone is evidenced by its Pay What You Can night for each production. Its resident artists also put on staged readings six times a year at no cost to the public.

One of ANW’s distinguishing hallmarks is its educational outreach program. Thirty percent of its resources are dedicated to support schools as it provides transportation for students to come to the theatre. It also offers: reduced ticket costs to attend a live on-stage performance; post-show discussions with the artists; in-class workshops; and standards-based study guides. It has served more than 250,000 students over the years; in the 2015-2016 season, 15,400 youths from 204 schools from 28 school districts participated in this program. Its acclaimed summer camp, Summer With Shakespeare, has graduated nearly 900 students since its creation.

ANW Managing Director Michael Bateman announces new artistic and educational initiatives and funding, at the 25th season announcement. – Photo by Christopher Alvarez

So much has happened in two and a half decades. Today ANW is considered one of the most successful theatre companies in the country. But the one thing that has remained constant is their unwavering artistic vision. As Rodriguez-Elliott says, “We focus on timeless works that speak to the human condition. It’s important for us to present these epics in an intimate setting, told with a personal and contemporary perspective – after all, what good are all these grand, sweeping narratives if no one can relate to them?”

To celebrate its first quarter century, ANW is holding events across their disciplines. There will be a Summer with Shakespeare on July 16; The American Dream: A Resident Artist Reading Festival on July 22 to 24 (an event which is free to the public); a free Open House on Sept. 17; a Fashion Show featuring costumes the artists have worn in its productions through the years on Jan. 21, 2017; and a 25th Anniversary Gala at the California Club to commemorate 25 years of classic theatre on April 29, 2017.

Elliott and Rodriguez-Elliott have decidedly come very far from their humble beginnings when they used their last dime to produce “Hamlet.” And both of know are keenly aware that a loyal community of artists, students, theatre lovers, and friends will take the next 25-year journey with them to help ensure this art form remains flourishing for generations to come.

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