Play in Northampton Community Arts Trust building inspires collaborative arts initiative.
NORTHAMPTON -- When director Chris Rohmann first read "Skyscraper," he was hooked within a few pages.
The play, a dark comedy by the Tony- and Pulitzer- winning author of "Proof," David Auburn, was exactly the script he had been looking for. It follows the collision of the lives of six characters -- a preservation activist, a demolition contractor, a promiscuous young lawyer, a Navy dropout, an 110-year-old man and a suicidal young woman -- as they explore their connection to a 19th century skyscraper slated for demolition, and their burgeoning links with one another.
"It's a very interesting exploration of what memory is about," Rohmann said. "What history is about, what's important and what's worth keeping."
But, almost as fascinating as the play, is the larger project the production of the play has helped to create. The play will be the first work to be presented, May 15 through 17 at 8 p.m., in the new Northampton Community Arts Trust building.
It just so happens that there is a portion of the building, at 33 Hawley St., that is slated, just like the skyscraper in the play, for demolition when renovations begin on the structure later this year.
The 2,500-square-foot building was purchased for renovation by the Northampton Center for the Arts last October, with the space set for demolition to include a state-of-the-art theater.
When Rohmann walked the demolition-ready portion of the building with Penny Burke, executive director of the Northampton Center for the Arts, they both knew that the parallels between the script of "Skyscraper" and the new theater were too good an opportunity to ignore. The play will be presented where the new theater is planned.
"All of a sudden you could visualize this play happening on the upper level," said Burke. It was a perfect marriage of script and venue.
While working on the production, Rohmann and his small group of actors and technicians formed the Skyscraper Project. In the context of the play, they saw the opportunity to try a new way of developing productions in the area.
Rohmann's cast and crew pooled their talents and resources to ensure funding not only for the artists involved in "Skyscraper," but for future productions as well. Working with the trust, they plan to contribute at least 10 percent of the profit from ticket sales and donations to fund future artistic partnerships, and have already begun to support another group working in the trust space.
"This is collaboration on many, many levels," said Burke, whose center is co-presenting the play with the project.
The center envisions the trust building as a new space for performance in the Pioneer Valley, with a sense of community ownership. Rohmann hopes the project will inspire other cooperative artistic endeavors and profit sharing.
"We hope our initiative will serve as a valley-wide inspiration and a foundation to grow and strengthen the performing arts in our area," he said.
Area performers in "Skyscraper" include Carissa Dagenais, Troy David Mercier, R. Steve Pierce, John Sheldon, Katelyn Tsukada and Pam Victor, with lighting design by Reilly Horan.
Admission for the play is $15 for adults, $12 for student, online in advance, or $20 and $15, cash or check at the door. May 15, opening night, is a "pay what you can," cash or check at the door. Ticket sales benefit The Skyscraper Project and the Northampton Community Arts Trust.
For tickets, or more information, www.nohoarts.org
Related:
http://www.northamptonartstrust.org/