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Let’s start at the beginning, shall we?

October 24, 2011 by dukecityrep

Duke City Repertory Theatre was incorporated in 2008, we received our tax-exempt status from the IRS in August of 2009 and in August of 2010 – Ta Da! – Duke City Repertory Theatre opened our Inaugural Season with Trust by Steven Dietz. Hooray!

So those are the basic facts of how DCRT came to be. But the story goes much deeper than that and spans several years and a few cities. This is the story of the love of my life. It’ll be easier if I explain it to you…

After deciding to transfer to Southwest Texas State University in 2000 (go Bobcats!), I was accepted into the BFA Acting program. It was there that I met the dazzling Ms. Kristi Wiley. A friendship was forged almost instantly based on her being one of the funniest people I’ve ever met and my ability to literally fall down laughing at her jokes. We were a match made in heaven! You’ll hear more about Ms. Wiley in a bit.

During my last few years of college, I was attending various unified auditions and not getting any offers. I would love to say that those theatre companies just didn’t see all of my obvious “talent”. Truth is, there were a lot of people who were better than me. Let’s face facts, right?

Regardless of my “talent” or lack thereof, an idea was born. Maybe, just maybe, I could have my own theatre company. I started speaking that idea out loud, just to experience what it was like to say those words: “I’m going to have my own theatre company someday.” Only problem was that I had no idea whatsoever how to actually make that happen. Mostly I just thought about what city I’d like to have this company in…

So I was going to these auditions and  having these amazing experiences like studying abroad with the Royal Shakespeare Company and doing the month-long intensive program with Shakespeare & Co. in Massachusetts while continuing to audition for professional theatres. In February of 2004, I attended UPTAs  in Memphis, TN. It was there that I met Katy Brown, Associate Artistic Director of Barter Theatre and Artistic Director of the Barter Players. Katy Brown would go on to be one of the most influential people in my career as a theatre artist. Katy offered me a job as a Barter Player, which I almost didn’t take! But that’s a story for another time. I started my contract in late May of 2004. In my two and a half years at Barter I learned more, was more challenged, and worked so much harder than I ever have in my entire life. It was also there that I met Associate Artistic Director Frank Green and the man who would literally shape me into the artist I am today: John Hardy. And it was at Barter as well, where late one night, on a porch with a fellow Player I said “I’m going to have my own theatre someday.”  For some reason that conversation sticks out in my mind particularly. Perhaps it was because that was the first time I had said it to someone who actually believed me…

My contract with Barter ended in December of 2006. I spent the next 8 or 9 months auditioning everywhere within a 6 hour drive of Abingdon, VA. or wherever I could get a cheap plane ticket to. There was a one week period where I made the drive from Abingdon to the DC area 4 times. I put quite a few miles on my car. I stayed in a lot of cheap hotels and ate a lot of bad food. And I didn’t get one single job. I spent two-thirds of a year auditioning in front of countless directors and artistic directors and didn’t get one stinking offer. It occurred to me that I wasn’t completely comfortable putting my career in the hands of people, mostly men, who I didn’t feel were qualified to handle it.

Somewhere around August of 2007, I was catching up with Ms. Wiley and we were talking about, of all things, Zac Efron and High School Musical. I kind of wish we’d been talking about Stanislavski or Uta Hagen or anybody else really, but no, we were talking about Zac Efron. Kristi and I started discussing the art that we responded to and would make if we had a platform to do so. It was there, during that conversation, that the idea for DCRT was actually born. I actually remember that I was leaning against a wall between the kitchen and the living room and as Kristi and I started to really plot this out, I had to slide down the wall to sit on the floor, so massive was the possibility of this idea.

In my mind, things moved so quickly from there. We discussed what would be the ideal city for this theatre. Albuquerque? Taos, NM? Austin, TX? Tulsa, OK? Tulsa came into the mix because I read an article on a flight to one of my last auditions that said that Tulsa was the next big American city. Kristi and I kept coming back to New Mexico. After much debate and deliberation, we ended up where we started: Albuquerque. It was decided that I would move back home and get the ball rolling while Kristi finished up her MFA in Theatre Management at Alabama Shakespeare Festival. This would allow me to be the Artistic Director of the theatre that would eventually become known as Duke City Rep and Kristi would be our Managing Director.

Very near to the end of my time in Abingdon, I was spending some time with Frank. One of my favorite things about living in Virginia was all of the trees and greenery. Directly behind the large, ancient dormitory that served as Actor Housing at Barter there was a big green lawn with a little garden to one side. The Shakespeare Garden. Frank and I, along with several of my former co-workers, were sitting in the Shakespeare Garden and maybe we’d been enjoying a few cocktails and I began to tell Frank about this idea of a theatre company where the work would always be at the heart of what we did. This company would be different! We would exist as a theatrical democracy. We would build in a system of checks and balances to make sure that no one person would ever be able to veer the company off the tracks that we had set it upon. Frank and I spent quite a long time talking about this idea and it was there, in that garden in the middle of the night, that Frank joined the DCRT family.

Our duo had become a trio.

A few days later, Frank and I went to meet John Hardy to play some baseball. I nervously told Hardy of my plans, scared that he would tell me that it was impossible, that I didn’t know enough, that no one would support us. Hardy said none of those things. Instead, he told me that it was a fantastic idea. That he was so excited for me and that the fact that Frank Green was already on board should speak to the level of confidence that folks would have in my ability to be a leader. He also told me that he would always be a resource for us and that he would always support us in any way he could.

I’m pretty sure I cried in the dugout.

I moved back to Albuquerque in October of 2007 and hit the ground running. Kristi and Frank joined me here in July of 2009. Along the way, we picked up several people who would be instrumental in our first season and beyond: Guy Fauchon, Daniel Garcia, J Tanner, Charles Murdock Lucas, Rose Nuchims, Lauren Myers, Scott Milder and many, many more. We had the incredible good luck to meet up with so many people who shared our vision for what we wanted and continue to want for Albuquerque audiences. Everything seemed to be lining up just as we had planned.

Sometimes, though, life zigs when you zag. In February of 2010, a few months before we would begin rehearsals for our first production, Kristi learned that she was pregnant. Plans began to shift a bit as we all sought to figure out what this would mean for Kristi and her involvement with the theatre. It was no surprise to me when Kristi tearfully told me that she would have to move back home to Fort Worth. We didn’t know yet what this would mean for Kristi and her future with DCRT but I knew that what was going to be best for Kristi and her little bundle of joy would be to move back home to the incredible support system she had there.  On September 23rd, Kristi gave birth to a BEAUTIFUL baby girl and in December of 2010, Kristi officially stepped down from her role as Managing Director, though she remains a co-Founder and avid supporter of the work we’re doing here in ABQ. We even get phone calls from her telling us about patrons who continue to call her number to reserve tickets to our shows! So much of her influence is in the work that we do and the way that things are run at DCRT. We miss her a great deal.

So much has happened in the last four years and yet it feels like it was only yesterday that I was saying a tearful goodbye to my life in Abingdon. When I think of that night back in 2007 when Kristi and I began to excitedly plan this dream, I kind of can’t believe we’re here today, that I’m signing paychecks and creating budgets and asking my actors and artists to risk more and more in service to our amazing audiences. I am so grateful for all of the help we’ve gotten from our friends, mentors and supporters. Though it may sound overly emotional and sentimental, that help and support we’ve gotten from so many people is the very reason we strive to bring them the very best product we possibly can and it’s the thing that keeps us going when we’re exhausted or frustrated or scared.

Truth is, we do so much and work so hard because we love the work. Even on our hardest day there still isn’t anything else we’d rather be doing than serving our audiences. I know, without a doubt, that five, ten, fifty years down the road we’ll still feel the same way.

See? Told you this was a love story.

Filed Under: ArtDir, musings Tagged With: DCRT

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up. ~Pablo Picasso

July 30, 2011 by dukecityrep

Hello blog readers, Amelia here! Goodness, but it has been a while since I’ve sat down to tap out some thoughts on this blog. Things at DCRT have been quite busy and everyone’s schedules have been full to the brim but I finally have a few moments on this Saturday morning to jot down some things about what we’ve been doing, thinking, going through lately.

First off, a huge THANK YOU to everyone who helped out, donated, showed up, played, etc. to/for/with us for the Twilight Gypsy Bazaar. We had a small but mighty crowd (as Frank likes to say in his curtain speeches) and those incredible folks helped us raise almost 3 times as much money as we raised last year. The DCRT crowd will be heading back to the drawing board to discuss how we can make next year’s fundraiser even better.

Speaking of drawing boards, that’s something that we do a lot over here at The Rep, taking the time to go over what has worked for us and what hasn’t. We’re big believers in striving for constant growth because we believe that art cannot be created in a stagnant environment. We must constantly be asking ourselves “How can I be better today than I was yesterday? How much more can I give to this art, to this moment, to this event, to this audience?” I understand that we might come off as taking ourselves a bit too seriously but, honestly? Why in the world – why in God’s ever-loving world would I, would anyone, commit to a life in art if not to strive to do the best work possible?  This life, this profession is not a right. It is a priviledge and we owe it to the people who make this life possible, our audiences, to give them the best product we can give them.

Now, I don’t mean massive sets and expensive costumes, although if you’ve got the resources for that than more power to you! No, I’m talking about the beautiful, hilarious, terrifying, heartbreaking moments that can experienced between actors and audience. Those incredible moments when everyone on stage and in the house comes together to witness the creation of something that will never happen again. It’s alive and fleeting and electric. It’s not even something that can truly be expressed with words, but rather it’s something that is felt with the heart. Even if the show is done night after night with the same cast, those experiences cannot be recreated.

It’s a beautiful thing!

We’re gearing up for our 2nd Season which opens in just under 3 weeks on August 18th with the New Mexico premier of Neil LaBute’s reasons to be pretty . And even though the season has barely begun and I love each of the plays we’ve chosen for our 2011-12 season, I’m already looking forward to the adventures that will come with our 2012-2013 season! Everything is a chance to grow, to learn more, to push ourselves as artists out of our comfort zone and into the unknown. Every single thing we do is another chance to serve these thirsty Albuquerque audiences. It’s such an exciting time! I truly hope to see you all at the theatre.

Now, off we go…

Filed Under: ArtDir, musings, Projects Tagged With: DCRT

I wish I had some science sound effects to go with this post…

June 2, 2011 by dukecityrep

Hello blog readers! Amelia, here. I know it’s been a while since we’ve posted a new blog, my apologies. We’ve been taking our hiatus quite seriously, going on vacations, enjoying wine festivals and just sort of generally taking some well-earned time off.

As was mentioned in our last post, we’ve got a super-duper fundraiser coming up on July 9th. Tickets will go on sale soon, so keep your eyes peeled for that. But I’m not here to plug the fundraiser today!

We’ve spent some time talking to local businesses about donating items for the fundraiser’s silent auction. I don’t know if you all know this, but generally, businesses ask for donation request letters to be put on your organizations letterhead, they ask for your EIN and they want to know more about what you do, who you are, etc. In putting together our whole spiel for these awesome businesses, we gathered and were surprised by the following information…

Last season:

We had Actors, Designers, and Directors who came to work with us from California, Virginia, Canada, West Virginia, and South Carolina. Neat!

We employed roughly 40 folks (actors, designer, directors, stage managers, builders, photographers!) each of who got paid for their work and time. Rad!

We had patrons come see our shows from all over the country including, but not limited to Texas, Kentucky, Michigan, Alabama, California, Wyoming, New Mexico (of course!), Virginia, Ohio, Arizona. Now we’re gonna start on all 50 so we can brag about having a full set!

Last season and moving into the future we have produced or will be producing plays that vary from adaptations of the classics (Taming of the Shrew and Oedipus) to works by modern, established playwrights (Trust by Steven Dietz, Oleanna by David Mamet, reasons to be pretty by Neil LaBute) to family friendly holiday fare (Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol) to newer works by newer playwrights (Phoenix by Scott Organ and Wooden Snowflakes by Catherine Bush) and even a musical! That’s the Last 5 Years by Jason Robert Brown, in case any of you were wondering.

We’ve been committed to color and gender blind casting and if any of you saw the fearless Colleen McClure and her portrayal of Scrooge in Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol or Frank Green in a tour de force performance as Petruchio in Taming of the Shrew, you’ll know exactly why we play a little fast and loose with character types here at DCRT. Sadly, even though we are absolutely committed to promoting women in leadership positions in the arts, we can only count 1 female playwright among our chosen works throughout these 2 seasons. But don’t worry! We’re in the works to produce a show for Young Audiences by one of my absolute favorite playwrights, who just happens to be an incredible woman as well, sometime during this coming season. We’ll be keeping things multi-culti here at The Rep!

This isn’t even all of the awesome and crazy stats I have from our short history! I look at this data and I’m so energized and hopeful and optimistic about our future here in Albuquerque, this city that I love so much. I’m so honored that we’ve been able to serve our awesome audiences and we’re all working hard to continue serving you all into the future. And I’m especially looking forward to our Twilight Gypsy Bazaar Fundraiser because I know it’s gonna be a humdinger of a party!

Alright! Enough rhapsodizing for today, I’ve got to get back to work!

Off we go…

Filed Under: musings, Projects Tagged With: DCRT

An ending…

April 12, 2011 by dukecityrep

Hello all! Amelia Ampuero here. In case you all don’t know me, I’m the Artistic Director of Duke City Rep.

This last Sunday (4/10/11) at approximately 3:30pm, the final performance of the last show of our Inaugural Season came down. It marked an ending to what has been an incredible season for us.

And just in case the closing of our closing show wasn’t already emotional and nerve wracking enough, we also went into this final performance with an injured back (mine!). Apparently, I’m getting to the age where just getting into and out of a car can be dangerous…

As odd as it may sound, ending the run and the season with this incredibly heightened performance was quite fitting. As anyone who has ever tried to open their own business can attest, this is no easy task. We’ve been jumping over hurdles since October of 2007 and we’ll continue to jump them well into the future. So really and truly, what was one injury amidst everything else that we’ve survived this year?

We at DCRT are going to take a small break before we hit the ground running for next season but we’ll be posting new blogs here and keeping up with our fans on Facebook and Twitter. In addition to our 4 main productions, we’ll also be having a awesome fundraiser on July 9th so mark your calendars!

And I’ve said it before, but it’s something that bares repeating often: Thank you, sincerely, thank you to everyone who played with us this season, those of you who came out to see our shows, supported us, were there for us, created with us, cheered us on and asked us the tough questions. We’re so grateful to everyone who participated in this season. Thank you all!

Filed Under: musings Tagged With: DCRT

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