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Click Here 35 °F Forecast | Road Cams Saturday, January 31, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend September 4, 2002 Audience assumes center stage in flap at Actors’ Theatre By BILL VARBLE Mail Tribune Two Actors’ Theatre board members Tuesday released a statement highly critical of the board for setting up a committee to review Artistic Director Peter Alzado’s play selections. Cheryl French and Mel Shaffer questioned the board’s claims that it didn’t want to pick plays. After the board voted 6-4 not to renew Alzado’s contract — a move that sparked a storm of protest in the arts community — board president Creighton Barnes said that the nonprofit theater board did not want to dictate plays. The board meets at 6 tonight at the Talent Library. Barnes said the board planned to limit comments to three minutes per person and to require speakers to sign in. At some point the meeting will be closed to the public, he said. A document obtained by the Mail Tribune seems to give the board the final say-so on play selection. Part of a job description reportedly developed by a committee formed last spring, it reads in part: "(The artistic director) recommends each work to be performed .... Such recommendations shall include a synopsis of each work, identify any controversial aspects of the work .... Works for the annual season shall be presented at least four months prior to the commencement of the season for Board review and approval. No work shall be presented in the absence of Board approval." Barnes said Tuesday that Alzado never signed off on that. He reaffirmed what he said was the board’s right to veto any work it does not deem acceptable. "It has the right to say, ‘Let’s take a look at this,’" he said. "If we want to do (a play by David) Mamet, the language is pretty rough. I would not put it on at Christmas. I’d say let’s do it in the summer." Barnes said he’s heard from many theatergoers upset over Alzado’s firing. "We’re between a rock and a hard place," he said. "He’s got the public on his side." He said others support the board’s action. "There’s a silent majority that doesn’t want to get involved in all this nasty talk," he said. French, of Ashland, says deteriorating relations between Alzado and the board were ripped asunder by the proposed job description."That became the lightning rod," she said. "Creighton thinks the theater should make money on the plays ... . An arts organization needs to raise money, so it can do plays that reflect the human spirit in all of its form, not just the feel-good plays. That’s why arts organizations are non-profit." French suggested bringing in a professional mediator to find common ground between the board and Alzado. "I think it’s too late for that," Barnes said. Board treasurer Estelle Barnes, Creighton Barnes’ wife, said box office receipts are 64 percent of the group’s budget, with the rest coming from various sources. Barnes said he told Alzado he should be proud the theater was making it essentially on box office. Two board members had been on the board for less than three months when the board voted not to renew Alzado’s contract at the end of September. French and Shaffer said it’s difficult to see how board members could evaluate Alzado, "much less remove him from office." They said since board members are not chosen by a larger membership, they are "a law unto themselves." Former Actors’ Theatre artistic director Michael O’Rourke said he supported Alzado early in the conflict, but in a statement Tuesday said he had changed his mind. The board was wrong to erode the artistic director’s power, he said. It also failed in fund raising, long-range planning and supporting plays, he said. But he added, "Just as the board undermined Peter, he undermined them. ... Two wrongs don’t make a right." Actor/director Caroline Shaffer, who directed the recent production of Paula Vogel’s "How I Learned to Drive," questioned board portrayals of Alzado as hard to work with. "It’s the most dysfunctional board I’ve ever seen," she said. "Some of them didn’t even come to see the play. No one ever said thanks. No one said they liked it or didn’t like it." She said she found Alzado easy to work with. "I’ve never seen him difficult or unkind or rude. He’s passionate, and I know he’s been frustrated. I know he’s lectured them about raising money." Reach reporter Bill Varble at 776-4478 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times