An icon in East Bay theater has announced his retirement. After having worked for the city of Walnut Creek in parts or all of five decades, Scott Denison will retire as the general manager of the Lesher Center for the Arts and as Center Repertory Company’s managing director.
I remember working as the PR/marketing person for Center Rep from 1984 to 1990, when Denison provided technical support to the Old Nuthouse — and did that building need it! He quickly moved up to technical director and then general manager as he helped guide the creation of the Lesher Center. During the Lesher’s construction, our little staff moved all over the city housed in whatever office space and performance venues we could find, including the pool at Heather Farms for a production of Aristophanes’ “The Frogs.”
Since the opening of the Lesher Center, Denison has overseen more than 800 annual events (pre-COVID) at the center as well as the Del Valle Theatre. His retirement is set for January 2022, but he will continue producing the Shellie Awards and the Chevron Family Theatre Festival as well as writing and directing more Fantasy Forum shows.
“I am proud of what we have built, developed and produced,” he said. “I remain passionate about the Lesher Arts Center, Lesher Center staff, the Arts and Recreation Department and the greater good of Walnut Creek.”
Carolyn Jackson, Walnut Creek’s community relations manager for the city’s Arts + Recreation department since 2015, will serve as interim general manager. She previously served in administrative positions with two dance companies in Washington, D.C.
Keeping the changes coming, the city of Walnut Creek and the Diablo Regional Arts Association have hired Michael Kaiser from the DeVos Institute of Arts Management to develop a strategic plan for the Lesher Center “to balance artistic approach, audience development and economic sustainability.” If they come up with any answers, I hope they’ll share them with our struggling theater community!
Antioch: “We all know that if someone is accused of a crime, they have the right to be tried by a jury of their peers,” said Ghostlight Theatre Ensemble’s Jennifer Finetti. “But if you were accused of committing a heinous crime, if your life was on the line, would you trust a jury to deliberate the facts and evidence to come up with a just result? And if you were a member of a jury, making a life-or-death decision about someone else’s fate, would you trust yourself to make the right decision?”
Antioch’s Ghostlight Theatre presents just such a conundrum in early October with “12 Angry Jurors,” directed by Salim Razawi and produced in association with El Campanil Theatre. Originally adapted from a 1954 teleplay and later produced as a feature film in 1957, the then-titled “12 Angry Men” starred Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb and Jack Klugman. A more recent adaption of the play to “12 Angry Jurors” allows theater companies more flexibility in casting.
“Even though the original film was made over six decades ago, the themes and questions are as relevant today as they were in the 1950s. We want our audience to ‘be in the room where it happens’ to see how these characters consider the evidence, weigh the facts and make their decision,” said Finetti.
Ghostlight’s artistic director, Kathryn Lopez, gratefully welcomes back indoor live theater.
“Over the past year-and-a-half, Ghostlight has kept the light on for local live theater with our youth academy productions and our first Zoom production, ‘Vintage Hitchcock.’ It hasn’t been easy, but thanks to the support of this community, we’ve survived and are so excited to bring this thought-provoking play to our audience,” said Lopez.
Performances will be held at El Campanil Theatre in Antioch, 602 W. 2nd St., at 8 p.m. Oct. 1, 2, 8 and 9 and at 2 p.m. Oct. 3 and 10. Proof of vaccination and masks are required. For more information, go to ghostlightte.org/tickets.html.
Back to Walnut Creek: Synergy Theater is back and with a brand-new play by William Shakespeare! Well, maybe the Bard didn’t write every word, but it will be in his style as the improv company presents “Spontaneous Shakespeare.” The completely improvised two-act comedy will take place Oct. 14-24 at Walnut Creek’s Lesher Center for the Arts, 1601 Civic Drive.
“We do our best to emulate the style rather than send it up,” said Synergy Theater’s artistic director, Kenn Adams. “We read his plays to try to figure out just what makes Shakespeare Shakespeare. As it turns out, his plays are full of outrageous comedy, bawdy humor, double-entendres, wild disguises, mistaken identities, broad physical humor and a lot of very groan-worthy puns and wordplay. He really had a knack for some very low comedy. And naughty too!”
For tickets, call 925-943-7469 or go to lesherartscenter.org.
Sally Hogarty can be reached at sallyhogarty@gmail.com. Read more of her reviews online at eastbaytimes.com/author/sally-hogarty.
