BWW Blog: Amanda Grillo - Luciana's Outlook: A Producer's Perspective

This week I had the pleasure of discussing the progress of The Comedy of Errors as well as the progress of our Summer Youth Theatre production of Les Miserables School Edition, with West Haven Council on the Arts President, Barth McNeil. He has been a part of the Council on the Arts since it was first established in 2007.

McNeil also generously shared some background on the West Haven Council on the Arts and Theater West.

"Theatre West is an organization that has its beginnings around 1968 when a group of young teachers were looking for something to do during the summer months. In the 1970s they successfully produced several musicals throughout the decade engaging and inspiring their student casts. But...as they settled into their teaching positions and/or moved on to different ventures, the program became too hard to maintain for the few who remained. I believe this is because West Haven didn't have an Arts organization that could help them.

In 2008 the fledgling West Haven Council on the Arts partnered with the merchants of the Downtown Revitalization Corporation and it was resurrected as a way to promote the Arts Center that the city is building and to revitalize the center of town, which has disappeared from years of neglect."

In 2007, the West Haven Council on the Arts was established. McNeil reveals how the Council on the Arts and Theatre West has grown in his time here.

"In my estimation, Theatre West has been strong from the start but it has grown in my time with WHCA. When we began our first production of Romeo and Juliet in 2009, we had no idea what to expect. We drew an audience to the West Haven Green of about 200 people per night and thought that was fantastic! Subsequent productions have seen audience numbers rise as high as 800 per night, which is amazing for a size of our organization and the space on the Green. I'm very excited about the future of Theatre West under its current leadership and I look forward to seeing it reach its full potential."

In addition to being Council on the Arts President, McNeil has also taken part as an actor in several of our productions. Most recently, he was seen as Oberon in last summer's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream and a featured performer in Carousel Chorus's "Sparkling Winter Spectacular" cabaret. Though not performing in The Comedy of Errors, McNeil is very excited for the production.

"This summer audiences can expect to be wildly entertained by performances from a talented group of actors presenting Shakespeare in a way that is understandable in the 21st century even as they use the Old English language. It's a testament to the abilities of the cast and our director, Shawn E. Murray."

Barth McNeil also helps to mentor our future actors and actresses in our summer youth theatre. This year's West Haven Summer Youth Theatre production is Les Miserables: School Edition. He discloses to us that one of his favorite parts of the Summer Youth Theatre is, "the end of the program when I see kids who showed up anxious and insecure on the first day take the stage with poise and confidence and blow audiences away with their performance." Working with McNeil on this production is Director Paul Scanlon.

Come and check out both productions in August on the West Haven Green!

Les Miserables: School Edition August 10th and 11th

The Comedy of Errors August 12th and 13th

Coming Soon: A Stage Manager's Perspective

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