Experience creator, big contender, playhouse director Brian Clowdus keeps it all out of the grey
You want to be the top dog in Atlanta theatre? You have one hell of a man to beat then. Brian Clowdus has taken Atlanta theatre out of the city, off the stage, and into a brand new world. He took Serenbe Playhouse from a playhouse that was causing whispers to a must see all season long and produces shows that everyone who is anyone is talking about. Their Season of Change (including their current production Hair, The Velveteen Rabbit, and A Walk in the Woods) was the pivotal moment that made it all clear that it isn’t the in town favorites that are running the show anymore. Clowdus’s country company is taking theatre back to its origins and bring audiences out of the city. Below, Clowdus talks about how important this season as been, why there is no room for grey, and how it takes a strong mind and a village to make it all happen.
Q. Serenbe Playhouse’s Season of Change has been one successful show after another. Part of the success comes from the specialness of the scenery, the way that seeing an outdoor show in a found space makes you realize you are seeing something pretty amazing. But the other part is the effort that everyone who has worked on these shows from the ground up has put in. How has this season been unique to the playhouse? And what kinds of change did this season really bring?
A. You are correct! Mounting a production at Serenbe Playhouse takes a village! In each performance venue, we are basically building a theatre for the first time. Of course we learn tricks as we go along, but every location (since we never use the same space twice) presents it’s own set of challenges… but as I like to say, if you can’t fix it, feature it! If it rains too much and we end up having a swamp at The Velveteen Rabbit, we just embrace it and splash more… or if planes are going overhead during A Walk in the Woods, the actors pause and acknowledge it as if it were the ominous threats of nuclear warfare they are discussing… or if you lose days of tech rehearsal with HAIR because of mother nature, you suck it up, send the cast home after rehearsal and keep powering on till 4 a.m. with design team creating some of the best memories of the summer while being loopy into the wee hours (love my Tuna Bowls!) I have learned very quickly that there are things I can control and things I cannot. Company members who have worked with us before get all this, the newbies have a bit of a learning curve if you know what I mean. Some artists thrive in site specific out-door work and others do not… but in the end it’s amazing to be back outdoors where theatre originated and realize that we didn’t always have fancy dressing rooms and back stage areas… I would really call this type of site-specific work: The Olympics of Theatre! The major leap for us this year was doing a large scale musical like HAIR… not only are we tackling our first large scale musical, but from day one, I wanted to recreate Woodstock, which included massive scaffolding towers, tents, and a reclaimed school bus made into a hippie box office (to name a few elements.) It’s important to remember while sitting in the audience that months ago none of this existed (I often remind myself this too…) no power, no lights, no actors, no band, no bus… just wild grass and flowers up to the waist. This production really is the culmination of what I have created over the past four years in Serenbe. It is beyond exciting to see it realized but I could NOT do it without my staff, creative team, acting and intern company, incomparable board of directors, the undying support of the Serenbe community and my beyond fabulous family and set of friends who put up with my schedule and keep me sane! We have seen our most successful season to date from so many angles… multiple extensions, broken box office records and critical acclaim like we have never seen before! This Season of Change, finally feels as though Serenbe Playhouse has arrived and put a permanent anchor in Atlanta Theatre!
Q. As a young creative myself, there is nothing better than seeing an entire company that is being run by fresh and energetic minds, and is so focused on cultivating young and new talent. The Season of Change itself was youthful, not always in age but in feel. Each show had a brightness to it. What was the process like when choosing each show this season and how it fit into the theme?
A. For me it’s all about a theme and balance. I usually choose an anchor show (the BIG production) that I am dying to produce and then build the season around it with less demanding (production wise) shows. This year, HAIR was the anchor, followed by Velveteen Rabbit and then the idea of CHANGE and a Season of Change was created. Then I approached Harrison Long about directing and told him I needed a small cast play that worked with the other two shows. He presented A Walk in the Woods to me and I fell in love with the script and idea of it rounding out the Season! I feel no matter what material you choose, its the ARTISTS you choose to work with that bring the material to life! I also have a strong commitment to young and emerging artists and put just as much energy (if not more) into choosing our intern company, which really is the back bone of this organization. As the producer, I have the amazing gift of putting this ensemble together and it’s a gift I thank my lucky stars for everyday. I pride myself on having a strong gut, which I follow in every decision. I would say 90% of the time it’s right, the other 10% it’s off. But with every new season I find people I want to work with over and over again and others that I don’t mesh with… I have a very strong personality and work ethic… people, either love me or hate me, but I would much rather live in a land of black and white than hues of grey.
Q. Hair is the final show of the season, and seems to have made the biggest impact. When choosing the season and directing this show, what did you do to ensure that this was the playhouse’s big finale?
A. There are several factors here I think. First of all, HAIR is an amazing show that has an almost cult following. The score and movie made it an iconic piece of Americana. It’s also timeless… as long as we are struggling for full human rights and at threat of violence internally and externally in the world, these themes are going to resonate. Secondly, this cast, crew and creative/design team are some of the best of the best of Atlanta talent! I still pinch myself that I got my number one picks for every cast member (including our brilliant intern company!) I feel a show is only as good as the talent involved and that’s why Serenbe Playhouse pays at a scale competitive with long-time established companies… it’s not brain science to get the best talent, you just have to pay em decently Finally, there were a bunch of crazy and large ideas I had to reinvent this version that I stuck by no matter how people fought me on them. As a director it’s my responsibility to carry through my vision, not someone else’s. Especially as a young director, it’s easy to be swayed and say well oh this isn’t going to work or oh maybe others are right… but in the end it’s takes inner strength to stand by your guns and the ending product is one that I could not be more proud to present! It’s one of those shows that I am excited to see every night and couldn’t think of missing a single performance!
Q. Serenbe itself is the perfect setting for this hippie musical. What were your surrounding influences when creating this show? And how did you mix those modern day hippie-esuq qualities and the 1960’s era that the play is set in?
A. Funny enough my production of HAIR is the only one I have ever seen live… so I like to pride my version on being unique to what’s in my head. Sure I read several script versions, saw the movie 10 years ago and saw a couple of Broadway recordings at The Lincoln Center Library but it’s not one of those shows I have seen a 100 times and knew inside and out before directing. The MAJOR influence for me for this production was Woodstock. The documentary was integral as was visual research. All of the design aesthetics from set, costume, lights and sound were rooted in this era and theme… my major note to designers was if it wasn’t able to be seen at Woodstock, I don’t want to see it in the performance. Of course we bent this a bit as Woodstock didn’t have wireless mics, LED lights and fog machines BUT I really wanted to stay as true to the era as possible. I was BEYOND fortunate to have time with Bob Farley (Artistic Director of GET and original HAIR Tribe Member) and hear recounts of the first few original casts and also be given a book of tribe exercises used in the original San Fran production. This was a major part of our rehearsal process and really informed a good bit of my staging and absolutely created a cohesive and bonded tribe for our production!
Q. Like the other shows this season. Hair has already been extended due to the popularity. What do you think it is that brings the audiences from the city to the country in droves?
A. I think it’s the fact that we are doing something that is unique. From day one I said, why start a theatre unless it’s going to be different than any other company in its market? Serenbe Playhouse is unlike any other theatre company in Atlanta and it really is an experience as opposed to just a show. Audience members are curious about what we are producing and also curious about the Serenbe community which is an experience in itself! We see our audience members 9 times out of 10 coming down early for dinning, hiking or shopping before hand. People want something off the beaten path, a real experience and they can find that in Serenbe alone and doubly at a Playhouse production! I also take pride in our marketing and PR. The aesthetic of visuals, website, social media and PR photography has been extremely important since day one. You need to give people something to wet their apetite (especially for a new company 30 miles outside of downtown) and those two things are word of mouth and marketing! I have the awesome privilege of working alongside my incredibly talented Sis: BreeAnne Clowdus who was for a while my best kept secret giving us the best PR photos that Atlanta had to offer… she now photographs almost every major theatre in Atlanta! In the end she is only bringing more visibility to Serenbe Playhouse and Atlanta theatre at large… she’s also my best friend in the world. I often say I only produce shows so we get to do photo shoots together Finally I go back to what I have spoken earlier about… Caliber of talent. Shows are only as good as the artists that are hired. We spend 70% of our budget on artist salaries to ensure that we get the best of the best in Atlanta. Big sets and flashy costumes can only cover so much up… when you strip all that away and have the best artists in Atlanta working with amazing material, in a one of kind environment and unique concept you are bound to at least have people come out for curiosity… what the heck are they doing in Serenbe in the middle of a wild flower meadow? They have a hippie bus? Etc… Once we get audiences down for the first time they come again and again. HAIR has already brought down a load of unique audience members from opening weekend and we look forward to keeping them for Season five as we continue to grow and expand!
