Page 6 – Herberger Theater Center

Created in response to the inability to host shows indoors, Chandler Center of the Arts put their spin on virtual performances in a series called CCA Anywhere.

The series highlights high-quality performances on their stage that audience members can view ‘anywhere’ like the title implies.

As many venues and production companies have come to learn, free online performances boast a critical and new way to reach audience members. Many companies have been forces to pivot their offerings to the community, particularly with virtual or streamed performances. Virtual performances are not new, but the Center’s spin on them is – framing the series as a group of performances meant to be viewed anywhere, anytime, at your leisure.

The concept of virtual performances has, for the past year, meant viewing them at a certain time on a certain day. CCA Anywhere is innovative in that the website constantly showcases the series and previous performances if you were to miss it live. With 30+ diverse performances to watch ‘anywhere,’ the collection of videos showcases the width of the arts and the resiliency of the arts community.

Find more information on the series here: https://www.chandlercenter.org/anywhere

In an ever-changing and innovative digital landscape, one company has stood out to me the most – Arizona Theatre Company (ATC). From their initial approach to cancellations and pay-per-view performances to their Hang & Focus Live Podcast, the company has managed to keep theater-goers and arts enthusiasts happy with the wide range of content the company is producing for free consumption.

“As someone who grew up in Arizona, [the podcast] is a great way to share the work that we do,” said Sean Daniels, podcast host and Artistic Director for Arizona Theatre Company, “[We] really use[d] this moment to re-envision ourselves.”

One of the most interesting and captivating pieces the company has been releasing is their Hang & Focus Live podcast which has managed to host some of the most prominent performing arts figures in the country. Recently, the company sat down with Tony Award Winning Director, Kenny Leon.

Kenny and Sean shared a mutual respect and admiration in the podcast, both crediting each other’s incredible feats in the arts community. Kenny Leon goes on to share what his experience has been in navigating a COVID-19 shutdown world of Broadway, which we won’t spoil.

Arizona Theatre Company’s innovation in this podcast has allowed it to connect with some truly amazing people in the arts and has given listeners and viewers the chance to hear candid conversations with some of their most valuable contributors to the arts community, from local playwrights to Broadway stars.

Chanel Bragg, Associate Artistic Director for ATC and podcast co-host explains, “It is our responsibility to reflect what is going on in the world.”

Check out the podcast here.

Blood, meat pies, a barber, and the NFL? In 2018, Arizona Broadway Theatre and the Herberger Theater were co-producing Sweeney Todd, a Tony award-winning musical about the Fleet Street barber. The show, in its Arizona Broadway Theatre rendition, lent itself to a spotlight walk-on role. While many of these roles came to be auctioned off or gifted to donors, one performance welcomed Rob Nkemdiche to the stage.

Although currently a free agent, Nkemdiche was drafted in 2016 as the 29^th overall pick by the Arizona Cardinals. His star seasons as Mississippi landed him NFL first-round pick status after three years at University of Mississippi.

The walk-on role was simple: have your throat slit and bleed out before being dropped from the barber chair to the first-floor bakery. At least, that was the plan…

At 6’4”, 296 pounds, Rob Nkemdiche is a big guy. Far bigger than the average actor. This meant that the chute intended to drop customers from the barbershop to the bakery was far too small for the Cardinal’s star. Plus, Rob’s agent was concerned about Rob being injured as he slid through the chute. A small workaround and a switch of scenery allowed Rob to escape off the stage without being seen.

When he arrived, Rob was put into costume and makeup. The only potential problem was his size 14 shoes, but luckily Arizona Broadway Theatre had a pair that fit perfectly.

“Would you say you are more nervous to have your head chopped off on stage or play against the Rams?” asked Katherine Fitzgerald.

“My head chopped off, for sure,” replied Nkemdiche.

Rob, though never having been a professional actor, managed to put on an all-star performance that elicited many laughs from the crowd as he accentuated the blood pouring from his neck more than the role may have intended. Nkemdiche credited his performance to his days in drama class.

The experience was a hit, earning Nkemdiche and the Herberger Theater sports channel coverage by FOX sports, AZ Central, and a handful of football writers.

Judy Rollings has been working with the Herberger Theater Center since its early days. Currently the Director of Art Education and Outreach, Judy directs Lunch Time Theater and the Arizona Young Artists’ Competition.

If you have ever attended a Lunch Time Theater show, you know Judy’s famous curtain speech, which she executes precisely and consistently three days a week. Many Lunch Time Theater regulars recognize Judy and applaud her as she makes her entrance to the Kax Stage.

The idea for Lunch Time Theater came from Judy’s realization that the Herberger Theater stages were just too full to feature new artists. The most prominent artists in the scene were taking many of the dates on the big stages. This meant that in order to fulfill her passion for outreach, Judy needed to come up with a solution. Thus, Lunch Time Theater was born.

In 2001 the rehearsal hall was reimagined and equipped to do theatre performances. The first LTT show took place in February that year. However when the Herberger Theater was renovated in 2008, it completely converted what was once its rehearsal hall/black box theatre into a space solely intended for intimate performances. This renovation set the stage for Lunch Time Theater as it operated for 20 seasons as a program originally intended for downtown workers to enjoy their lunch breaks.

It wasn’t all this easy though. For many years, Judy Rollings worked tirelessly with her associates, Dee Rich, Cherie Donahue, and most recently the amazing Mary Robinson, to build the program. Together, their efforts have made Lunch Time Theater a successful outreach program and enrichment experience for guests, while allowing up and coming artists to showcase their work in a professional environment.

Judy looks forward to continuing Lunch Time Theater with her new associate, Elizabeth Broeder. Elle has been seen on stage with iTheatre Collaborative among other companies, as a summer intern with Lunch Time Theater, and in the Herberger Theater box office!

Judy is also one of the founding members of the Arizona Young Artists’ Competition, a scholarship competition for young performing artists. As one of the members of the program committee, Judy has helped evolve the program into the massive success it is today, managing the drama portion of the event and overseeing the outreach to schools and artistic studios.

Judy is a founding member of Actors Theatre of Phoenix and served as the Artistic Director for over eight years. During her tenure, they won the Critics Circle Award for Innovative Programming – Brown Bag Theater and the Best Professional Theater Award.

Throughout her tenure in Arizona, Judy has received a number of awards that include Best Director of a Drama, Arizoni Lifetime Award for Outstanding Contribution to Theater, and the 2010 Actors Equity Association Theatre Service Award.

As an actor herself, Judy innovated and ran the successful STAGES actor training program. Her current acting credits include Spinning Into Butter, The Death Bite, her own one-woman show Starring Judy from Chicago, Light Up The Sky, Suocera, Over The River and Through the Woods, The Velocity of Autumn, Ripcord and Love or Money. Current directing credits include Collected Stories, Sudz, Honor, Eleemosynary, The Road to Mecca, Nureyev’s Eyes, Doubt, Great Falls, And Miss Reardon Drinks A Little, The Herd, Trying and Rathmines Road.

Judy is a member of the Board of Directors of the Theatre Artists Studio where she acts in and directs performances as well.

If you ever see Judy in the theater, make sure to say hello!

While Broadway may not be opening until the Fall, their national tours are beginning to take shape across the country, especially here in Phoenix. In January, ASU Gammage became one of the first major venues to release their upcoming 2021-2022 live schedule. Announced almost a full year after the remainder of the 2019-2020 season was canceled, many of these postponed shows have found their way into the newly announced Broadway series.

The shows in the upcoming 2021-2022 Broadway series include Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! (August 17–22, 2021), Hamilton – (September 8–October 3, 2021), Mean Girls (October 19–24, 2021), My Fair Lady (December 7–12, 2021), The Band’s Visit (February 8–13, 2022), Tootsie (March 15–20, 2022), Hadestown (April 19–24, 2022), and Come From Away (June 14–19, 2022). The production of Disney’s The Lion King is currently slated for Summer 2022 with official dates yet to be announced. A few shows from their original seasons such as To Kill a Mockingbird, Frozen, and Jersey Boys unfortunately could not be rescheduled as their national tours fell through.

ASU Gammage will also be reopening with a wide variety of new safety precautions such as requiring masks for all patrons and staff, employee health checks, sanitizing of ticket scanners, frequent sanitizing of high touch points, additional hand sanitizing stations, and closing the stage door. These protocols have been designed to comply with CDC and ASU specific COVID-19 regulations.

ASU Gammage certainly hasn’t been quiet throughout the last year of the pandemic. While we eagerly wait for the Broadway series to kick off in August, they have plenty of virtual content to check out. Their concert series The Local has brought local Arizona artists to their stage for a series of virtually streamed performances. They have also hosted numerous virtual masterclasses, demos, K-12 virtual field trips, and other performances through their Digital Connections series targeted to audiences at home looking for the taste of the arts. These virtual performances have been offered free of charge as ASU Gammage strives to fulfill their mission of connecting communities to the arts, albeit in a more virtual format for now.

While shows have not returned in a traditional sense, there are still some places you can catch shows in the coming months as restrictions lessen and companies begin to produce indoor shows.

Arizona Broadway Theatre has been hosting live performances indoors for some time now, limiting capacity and enforcing mask policies when guests are not eating or drinking. In addition, the space is ensuring proper sanitation and air filtration systems are in place to protect guests. The venue’s 2021 season is scheduled through September with some fan favorites set to hit the stage this upcoming fall including Nunsense and Godspell. As of now, their plans for next season are yet to be announced.

The historic Orpheum Theater is currently selling tickets for performances in August 2021 through December 2021 including performances by Manuel Mijares and Trixie Mattel.

As of March 2021, Mesa Arts Center is selling tickets for a variety of online events, but their first live event scheduled for the theater is set for November 11, 2021. The show, Alton Brown Live: Beyond the Eats, is the first scheduled show of their 2021-2022 season and will be an exciting re-entry to live events for the space.

Tempe Center for the Arts has yet to make any official announcements about their upcoming season, but the venue continues to produce online content for viewers.

Symphony Hall is gauging interest and comfort from guests about their upcoming 75^th anniversary season. This past spring, a group of performers furloughed from the Phoenix Symphony performed a series of three outdoor concerts on the Herberger Theater outdoor stage.

ASU Gammage plans to begin their year-delayed season this coming August. The venue’s lineup features major hits including Rodger & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma, world-renowned Hamilton, Mean Girls, and My Fair Lady. The lineup for 2022 includes The Band’s Visit, Tootsie, Hadestown, and the hit new musical, Come From Away.

Phoenix Theatre is currently hosting their Outdoor Season on their open-air stage constructed last fall. Guests can catch an outdoor show through May 23. My Way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra is their newest show to hit the outdoor stage. In the show, Frank Sinatra’s story is told through the combined range of four virtuoso vocalists, performing the best of his songs in an intimate nightclub setting. As of now, their plans for indoor events have not been released.

Chandler Center for the Arts is currently hosting limited-capacity outdoor events and showcasing a variety of artists in their CCA Anywhere series, which is a free, online series.

Theater Works at Peoria Center for the Arts is yet to make an announcement about their upcoming season, but are expected to put on postponed shows Rex’s Exes and Pump Boys and Dinettes when the space reopens.

There are a handful of companies across the valley looking to enter into live theater once again come fall, specifically Arizona Theatre Company, Childsplay Theatre, Valley Youth Theatre and Arizona Opera. A few of these companies have made tentative announcements about their upcoming seasons.

In 2015, a committee of staff and board members came together to create a new fundraising event for the Herberger Theater. Board member Theresa Dwyer suggested that we expand on Gourmet Theatre, an event that Actors Theatre had held for 20 years. Actors Theatre graciously allowed us to take on the event and make it our own. And that we did!

Plated & Staged… A Herberger Theater Experience was born with the first event taking place on April 24, 2016. The event is a blend of fine dining and arts. Guests attend a cocktail reception, silent auction and program at the Herberger Theater. Dinner follows but we don’t tell guests which fabulous Valley restaurant they are going to until it’s announced after the program. The element of surprise makes the event unique and fun.

“Awesome event! Fun people and conversations, great food, art, entertainment and a silent auction… all this and helping others.” Plated & Staged attendee.

The event has continued to grow and in the last five years we have entertained approximately 850 guests and worked with 35 restaurant partners. Since 2016, an estimated $400,000 has been raised to benefit the Herberger Theater’s youth education and outreach programs.

Frances Smith Cohen is known around the Arizona arts community and the world for her exceptional talents in bringing the arts, particularly dance, to the communities she served.

We had the privilege to capture an interview with Fran about the competition a few months before her passing. In the conversation, Fran told us how the Arizona Young Artists’ Competition was, quite frankly, one of her proudest accomplishments.

“Well, you know, it was my idea,” Fran stated. This competition was not her first, however. When she lived in Washington DC, Cohen had created a whole evening of choreographic works that were judged, and top choreographers would receive cash prizes.

When she arrived in Arizona in the late 1980s, Fran founded Center Dance Ensemble, a foundational resident company of the Herberger Theater. The modern dance company was known as one of the best in Arizona for some time, putting on a range of pieces each season. Frances Smith Cohen’s The Snow Queen was Fran’s greatest ever-evolving piece that thousands of school children and audience members have come through the theater doors to see.

After a number of successful seasons, in a meeting with Mike Stirdivant, the president of the Herberger Theater, Fran said that she would love to incorporate this kind of competition into her season.

Mike told her, “Let’s not just make it dance. Let’s add drama and let’s add music.”

As the competition became a reality, it dawned upon Fran that Arizona dance did not need a choreography award, it truly needed a performance award. “This was before ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ and many modern dancers were just not into that performance mode.” Fran’s performance award changed the dance competition landscape in Arizona.

As the drama and musical segments of the competition began to formulate, Fran involved her close friends Arlyn Brewster, the Arizona representative for the Metropolitan Opera, and Judy Rollings, a theatrical staple in the Arizona arts scene.

In the past 21 years of the competition, the Herberger Theater, in partnership with Center Dance Ensemble and Arizona Broadway Theatre, have managed to distribute over $80,000 in scholarship funds to the brightest rising stars in Arizona.

In our interview about the competition, Fran could not name a particular memory of the competition that stood out most to her. She recalled that every single year was an exciting experience to give the winners their awards and see their faces light up and the joy that overcame them.

Although Fran passed away in May of 2019, her legacy will long outstand the communities she has served. Each and every person who worked with Fran on this project and her other endeavors will remember her sweet touch and dedication to young artists, particularly through this program and her involvement with Wolf Trap.

The Arizona Young Artists’ Competition has evolved since its first days, now expanded to include Dance, Drama, Musical Theatre Voice, and Classical Voice. Although the competition was cancelled in 2021, the Herberger Theater intends to hold the 22^nd Arizona Young Artists’ Competition in spring of 2022.

The grandest of all ceremonies occurred in late October of 2019 to celebrate the greatest Arizona arts philanthropists of their time, Billie Jo and Judd Herberger.

First known around the world for her water aerobics videos, Billie Jo, and her husband Judd, have since become some of the most generous arts supporters in Arizona. Her electric charisma has always been present, even being voted ‘Miss Effervescent’ at her high school. Despite the challenges she has faced with cervical cancer, breast cancer, and malignant melanoma, Billie Jo continues to carry her charm and love everywhere she goes.

Judd, the son of the late Bob and Katherine “Kax” Herberger, has known philanthropy his entire life. Bob and Kax were the original benefactors that gifted $3 million to construct the Herberger Theater Center. Judd has been involved with the Herberger Theater since the beginning. If you ask Judd where he was the week of the grand opening of the Herberger Theater Center, he will proudly explain he was working day and night to finish the Grand Staircase, completing it the morning of the celebration around 5am.

“It’s very important to nurture the next generation because if the arts aren’t healthy and flourishing, where are the audiences going to come from? I love sitting up in the loge seats and looking down into the audience and seeing kids just go crazy,” said Judd.

Billie Jo and Judd Herberger have given immense support over the years to the Herberger Theater and the six resident companies who perform there. Their philanthropic efforts also include support for Phoenix Theatre, Ballet Arizona, Scottsdale Philharmonic, Phoenix Art Museum, Scottsdale Center for the Arts, Release the Fear and Phoenix Heart Ball.

“Without their support, we would not have been able to grow into one of the most respected children’s theatre companies in the country,” said Steve Martin, Managing Director of Childsplay Theatre.

The most impactful piece of their legacy is the fact that their support has allowed the arts in Arizona to flourish and grow in a diverse and exciting way.

Although Billie Jo and Judd Herberger have been recognized in many ways for their contributions to the arts, Billie Jo Herberger was most honored when named Scottsdale Woman of the Year in 2014.

“Billie Jo and Judd are a dynamic force in the arts community and their impact cannot be overstated,” says Herberger Theater Center President & CEO, Mark Mettes. “As part of our yearlong 30th anniversary celebration, it was the perfect time to honor them as the cornerstone of our past, our present and our exciting future.”

Even through this time of COVID-19, Billie Jo and Judd continue to provide support to struggling organizations that provide critical arts experiences to the community.

The Herberger Performing and Broadcast Arts Hall of Fame was established in 2000. It honors an Arizona native and/or resident that has achieved national or international acclaim in the arts. Past inductees include Hugh Downs, Pat McMahon, Leslie Nielsen, Alice Cooper, Robert and Katherine “Kax” Herberger, Dennis Rowland, John Waddell and Richard Mallery.

The day of March 15, 2020 changed the course of Arizona arts forever, following Arizona Governor Doug Ducey’s executive order that prohibited public events of 50 people or more.

For the Herberger Theater and Arizona Broadway Theatre, it meant halting the current run of La Cage aux Folles, which opened just 9 days prior.

Other arts organizations, like the Phoenix Art Museum and the Musical Instrument Museum shut their doors for what everyone hoped would be just a few weeks.

Within the Herberger Theater offices, cancellations from performing and resident companies continued coming in until the state was ordered to lock down and the organization shut its doors for the foreseeable future. Arizona Theatre Company was among the first companies to send a notice of cancellation. Even after a hopeful month of restrictions, the Herberger Theater received the cancellation of the crowd favorite Peter Pan, which was to be produced by Valley Youth Theatre in June.

“In the first few days, it was all about baby steps. We did not know how long we were going to have to be closed so we took each day and cancellation as it came and wanted to hold onto as many scheduled performances as possible,” said Mark Mettes, President and CEO of the Herberger Theater.

In the next few months, arts organizations were forced to innovate quickly. While the pivot to virtual offerings came easier for some companies, the approach that each organization took was vastly different.

Arizona Theatre Company was among the first to offer consistent virtual content. Their offerings have stayed diverse, including new plays, readings, podcasts, and interactive content. The company’s podcasts have featured some of the valley’s most prominent and innovative arts figures. Read more about their podcast series here.

Many organizations started to look towards ASU Gammage’s plans as a leader in regional Broadway shows. As Gammage started to cancel shows into the fall season, a number of theatres and venues followed suit.

Arizona Opera shifted their focus to offer online classes, a weekly digital postcard, and free online performances.

The Phoenix Art Museum started to offer virtual walkthroughs of exhibits, which the Herberger Theater admired and replicated soon thereafter.

One of the first things the Herberger Theater offered to the public was a series of interviews hosted by Judy Rollings that focused on Lunch Time Theater shows and playwrights. As restrictions continued to be extended, the interview series shifted to focus on Herberger Theater associates and their experiences with the arts.

The Phoenix Theatre Company stage was the first major outdoor stage to be erected. Throughout this past season, the theatre has produced a number of outdoor pieces for audiences to enjoy.

When June rolled around, the Herberger Theater started to collect interest about an outdoor stage that would stay up from October to April for the cooler months of Arizona weather.

After facing what seemed like an insurmountable number of restrictions and approval procedures, the Herberger Theater, with the help of Clearwing Productions and Arizona Artificial Lawns, constructed a space to fit over 160 socially distanced guests to enjoy outdoor and live events.

Just two days after the stage was completed, the Herberger Theater hosted the 11^th Annual Festival of the Arts, which welcomed over 500 guests to the space throughout the day and reached 19,000 people online.

While the ‘pivoting’ is nowhere near over, the Arizona Arts community has shown their resiliency through this unprecedented time and has continued to extend unique arts experiences to their local, and even worldwide, communities.

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