Wednesday, October 30, 1996
THEATER:
UCLA-based group seeks center stage in Los Angeles marketBy
Karla Kelsey
Daily Bruin Contributor
The 9th is a new theater company with a little name and big
plans. Founded by fourth-year theater majors Ryan Williams, Amir
Proushani and Marvin Stafford, this UCLA-based professional group
aims to wake Los Angeles up to the magic of the theater.
The 9th’s goal is to wage war on what Williams defines as
"L.A.’s theater problem" of inaccessibility and expense. "The
problem with L.A. theater is that L.A. is not centered, it’s too
spread out," Williams explains. "And advertising  how do you
compete with full-page movie ads run in the L.A. Times?"
The 9th’s long-term plans aim to fix this problem. The 9th will
provide L.A. with productions in theaters all over the city by
different groups of artists, all marketed and incorporated under
one company name. With the support of a secure company, a large
number of productions can go up at once for prices that rival the
movie industry. "We will advertise and market this company in a way
no other theater company has before by taking theater out and
making it large  making it public. We can do this. We can
have both artistic integrity and marketing," Proushani
explains.
The co-founders share the vision of making theater a part of
everyday people’s everyday lives. "We want to offer the L.A.
community a chance to be exposed to more theater and provide a new
type of community bond  something L.A. will have all to its
own," Williams explains.
"And this includes everyone in L.A. Not just the people in
Beverly Hills or Santa Monica. I mean South Central and East L.A.
too. We want to make theater fun again, where you don’t have to
worry about status, you just go to the theater to see good shows,"
he says.
"We can get professional theater out to communities that can’t
get it now," Stafford adds. "I have met high school kids from East
L.A. that want to act and are told that they can’t. There is no
‘can’t.’ We really need to get a sense of community going in
L.A."
Attaining this ambitious achievement begins at home. An
information meeting was held last week to promote the company
within the UCLA theater department. A current of excitement ran
through the room as the co-founders sold their idea to their
talented peers. "We want you with us on this. You are not only
trained but educated. We can offer you a learning experience Â
to actually see what it takes to open a theater company. We will
give you hands-on experience in a real-life job," Williams told his
audience of artists.
"The reason why we are here is to be working now and making
connections now. It’s about longevity and having a career. It takes
a lot, but this is our lives," Stafford explained as he reminded
them of successful endeavors like Tim Robbins’ theater company,
which began in the UCLA theater department.
This dedicated attitude is something that these three serious
artists know well. They have been learning about the difficulties
of setting up a professional company. Issues of grant writing,
getting rights to plays, finding performance space and rehearsal
time constantly come into play.
"Each day I’m learning something new about the business
profession," Williams says. "I spent the last three years of my
life learning about acting. Now I’m in a whole new language."
The company’s labors have already began to bear fruit. Several
shows are being rehearsed for performances in January. Spaces and
rights are being negotiated for future production plans. New ideas
are coming in from many different directions. "Everyone I’ve talked
to is really excited and full of ideas about acting, directing,
producing and staging. When you are looking to reach such a large
number of people, like the L.A. community, you need to go in
multi-directions," says Williams.
The company is also working toward going to the Edinburgh
International Festival in August. One of the world’s biggest arts
festivals, it offers a kaleidoscope of music, drama, dance and art
shows, all with international talent, and provides a great arena
for new works. Jeremy Maxwell Kramer, a fourth-year theater major
and a member of The 9th, was studying abroad last year and had the
chance to perform at Edinburgh with an English theater group. "It’s
a great opportunity to make new contacts and see the competition,"
he says. "It’s an amazing place. There were eight shows from USC.
UCLA had nothing, nothing at all. We are working on writing the
grants that will get us there and hope to get support from people
that have graduated from UCLA that want to see us make it."
And make it they will, if determination and passion have
anything to do with it. "We are going to try to partner good
theater off with film to offer everyone the opportunity to see
something different than the norm," Williams said, expressing his
excitement about The 9th. "We will make theater acceptable and
exciting. There is a full commitment here to make this work, and I
believe that it will."
Menkes Film
Tinka Menkes as the tortured Marine captain in Nina Menkes’s
"The Bloody Child."GENEVIEVE LIANG
‘9th’ founders (l.-r.) Â Ryan Williams, Marvin Stafford,
Amir Proushani