Interview: Group Rep's Doug Haverty: A Man Wearing Many Hats, Sometimes Wielding a Hammer

Group Rep will be inaugurating their 2021 season with Neil Simon's LONDON SUITE September 17, 2021. Got the chance to delve into some Group Rep history and future plans from their always busy, very handy artistic director Doug Haverty.

Thank you for taking the time for this interview, Doug!

You've been a member of Group Rep since 1982. When did you become Group Rep's artistic director?

In 2019, a search committee within Group Rep invited me to become the 4th Artistic Director in their 46-year history. First was Lonny Chapman, then Ernest Figueroa, then Larry Eisenberg/Chris Winfield. I started planning our 2020 season, but actually took the reins on January 1, 2020.

As artistic director you choose the shows Group Rep produces. Do you have a committee to assist you in suggestions?

Yes, the way it's structured at Group Rep, the Artistic Director (AD) selects the season and makes creative assignments like directors, designers, etc. and also approves new company members. There is an Artistic Council (all appointed by the AD) that helps in the selection process. I was part of the Artistic Council for the Eisenberg/Winfield chapter. I kept one person from that council and appointed four new members who are all brilliant, creative and there's a wonderful balance within the council.

Group Rep is opening their new season with Neil Simon's LONDON SUITE September 17th, followed by Phil Olson's BIRTHDAY CLUB on September 25th. What other shows have you chosen for your upcoming season?

We are continuing with our planned 2020 season, just pandemic-delayed and rearranged slightly. We will follow LONDON SUITE with Ken Ludwig's HOLMES FOR THE HOLIDAYS, then TO GRANDMOTHER'S HOUSE WE GO by Joanna Glass. Then in early April, we will be doing a brand new, musical revue called L.A. NOW AND THEN. This is a traditional revue with songs, sketches, dances and projections all about the City of Angels; some nostalgic pieces and some contemporary pieces. It has been written by all local L.A.-based writers, will feature a cast of fifteen and a live band. Then, we will close out the season with the classic THE DESPERATE HOURS by Joseph Hayes. That will complete our 2020 season and satisfy our commitment to our loyal (and extremely patient) subscribers. Additionally, we will be doing plays-in-rep in our Upstairs theatre. And in the late Summer of 2022, current plans include re-opening our outdoor theater, The Yard, and doing a musical melodrama called ORPHAN'S REVENGE, and a new round of MOTEL 66.

Tell us about executive director Bert Emmett and your success in applying for and receiving COVID-19 relief grants for Group Rep.

Bert has been an invaluable captain guiding us through these treacherous government shutdown waters. I've had a few crazy ideas and Bert and our Board of Directors have been very supportive in making these things happen. Everyone at the Group Rep is a volunteer. And, as such, we have never had a volunteer staff person who could seriously dedicate any time towards applying for grants. We have tried in the past but were unsuccessful and for all the time it took to complete the applications, we were hard-pressed to expend that time and energy again. But in 2020, Bert and I decided that we should try again and make that effort. I was very encouraged by Brenda Slaughter Reynolds at DCA (Department of Cultural Affairs). So, we did make the effort and it has paid off fairly well. We applied for several COVID-19 "relief" grants as well as some creative grants. We have been awarded creative project grants from both DCA and the Los Angeles County Arts. We also received a Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG). Key in this process is the invaluable information compiled for us by our Chief Financial Officer, Lloyd Pedersen.

You and Bert have also been busy during these past pandemic months building The Yard. Describe the joy you two had in constructing Group Rep's outdoor space. Are you handy with a hammer?

We are one of the very few intimate theaters in Southern California with an adjacent parking lot. Initially, with the shutdown, it was just going to be for a couple of weeks to "flatten the curve." When it became evident that this was going to continue for many months, I made a proposal to our Board and Bert that we convert our parking lot into an outdoor theater. Our parking lot is almost exactly the same footprint as the theater. So, I convinced them that we could still use our lobby and box office and restrooms, as well as our green room and dressing rooms. Everything empties out into the parking lot. I even suggested we just run long cables from our lighting booth/dimmers out to the outdoor booth. The Board of Directors loved this idea and supported it 100%. The physical logistics of this were very overwhelming and it took some serious convincing to get Bert Emmett on board. We had planned to open a series of similarly-themed one-acts upstairs and decided, instead, to mount them outside. This series, called MOTEL 66, is a collection of new plays, written by our members, with the following guidelines: 15-minute time-limit, between two and four characters, set in any city along Route 66, set in any year. We developed and cultivated these plays, created two different programs playing in rep and our audiences (and critics) loved it. Theatregoers were genuinely thrilled to be able to see live, "in-person" theater, under-the-stars with fresh air. So, the production and experience was very gratifying. I am not terribly expert with a hammer. I'm improving with a screw gun and I try and attend our "work calls" (when sets are constructed with supervision by our volunteer members) and give emotional, creative and constructive support. I'm very handy with a paint brush or roller. Initially Bert and Chris Winfield wanted to beautify our parking lot; disguise its cinder-block walls and spiraled barbed-wire crown. And I suggested to the Board and Bert that we just embrace it for what it is, with its bumpy asphalt, and just call it "The Yard." In broad daylight it does resemble a prison yard or an industrial yard. But with our overhead string of party lights and our stage lights at night, it gets transformed into something quite beautiful.

You wear many hats as Group Rep's artistic director, playwright, actor, graphic artist. Which 'job well done' gives you the most gratification?

I think everyone at Group Rep wears many hats. Along with being crazy enough to join an all-volunteer theater company, many of us have embraced the multi-hyphens in our self-descriptions. I would also add Producer to the list in your question because I have produced (or co-produced) plays at Group Rep and around town; namely, THAT LOVIN' FEELIN', LOST IN YONKERS, and THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER. But the answer to your question about job well done would be: Playwright. When something I've written works, connects with an audience, moves an audience, that is heaven. Conversely, when something does not work it is a kind of hell. So, it's always a risk. This became very clear to me, recently, when I went with my wife to Zurich, Switzerland to see my musical, INSIDE OUT (co-written with Adryan Russ). Ironically, this musical was developed and premiered at Group Rep in 1989. It was done at The Colony (when they were on Riverside) and eventually Off Off Broadway in the Chelsea-based Village Theatre Company and ultimately The Cherry Lane. Those were all wonderful experiences and audiences really seemed to like the writing. But the true test was to see it in Switzerland where everyone speaks German and French with a little English. It was being performed in English. The producers asked if they could introduce me before the performance and I requested they do so after the show. I wanted to see how a Swiss audience would react to my piece without any obligation to respond favorably because a writer was present from America. Also, I did not know a soul in the audience. Usually, there were friends or acquaintances in the various audiences. The show was sold out (it was in its third week) and this theater had hired great actresses to be in the play, but they all had very thick - and I mean THICK - various European accents. I could barely understand the words and I wrote them! But the audience listened. And they heard. And they laughed. They laughed uproariously. Anything that was ever remotely funny in America was hysterical in Zurich. The Swiss audience listened diligently, not casually. The cast received a standing ovation (deservedly) and the audience would not let them leave the stage. They demanded an encore. The last number was eventually repeated to another ovation. And then the producers introduced me. That was an unplanned smart move on my part; to get introduced afterward. So, that was a very special "job well done" and what other artist gets that kind of prolonged feedback?

What was it about LONDON SUITE that enticed you to re-mount the group Rep stage as Sidney?

For a very long time, Neil Simon has been a hero and an inspiration to me. I know many people in the theater (not audiences) smile wryly when I tell them we're doing a Simon piece; seemingly knowing that we've sold out and are giving in to commercialism. But I genuinely love his writing for its humanity, reality, pain-hidden-inside-the-humor and the music in his dialogue. When we were searching for plays for my first season as AD, I saw this play listed and was not familiar with it. I knew PLAZA SUITE, of course, and CALIFORNIA SUITE, but I had not heard of LONDON SUITE. And I thought, I wonder if other people are aware of it. How cool would it be to offer something relatively undiscovered by Neil Simon. In college for my directing final, I staged THE PRISONER OF SECOND AVENUE and it was a truly joyous experience. Then, later when I was studying playwriting, I took a course from Danny Simon (who claimed to have taught Neil and Mel Brooks and Woody Allen how to write) and he had Neil in one class as a guest speaker. Can you imagine? Sixteen people in a room with Neil Simon for two hours! It was sheer heaven. In 2019, it was announced that Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker were going to do a Broadway revival of PLAZA SUITE. And Broderick was quoted as saying, "What this world needs now is a little Neil Simon." And there was a lot of excitement buzzing around this revival. I was terrified that our application for the rights to present LONDON SUITE would be turned down. I wrote an impassioned letter to the Simon Estate explaining all the reasons why I wanted to do this play at this time, and we were given permission. There was a time, after Neil Simon's passing, that all his plays were "on hold." I was so relieved when we were granted a license. As far as playing Sidney; that was not something I planned. I just wanted the play in our season. I auditioned, like everyone else, and was - thankfully - cast. It's a lovely part of the play and Sidney and Diana are the only characters we meet again from CALIFORNIA SUITE.

If you were to submit your character Sydney on a dating website, what qualities of him would you list?

Middle-aged, charming, witty, good listener.

What flaws would you omit?

Not very demonstrative, health issues.

You also co-produce the Kritzerland shows at Feinstein's at Vitello's with Bruce Kimmel. What initially brought you and Bruce Kimmel together? The re-mixed, re-mastered, re-release of your original cast recording of INSIDE OUT?

For years I worked at different record companies doing all kinds of jobs. My favorite was Creative Services, where I was in charge of all the visuals: package design, marketing and videos. Two of the record companies I worked for were sold (because they were doing so well): A&M Records and All American Music/Scotti Bros. So, in 1998 I set out on my own. I thought, if I'm going to work that long and that hard, I should benefit directly from it. Part of being on your own is getting new clients. I was attending a Disney/ASCAP workshop that dealt with record labels. Bruce Kimmel was on the panel. I went up to everyone on the panel and asked if anyone need "art." Bruce took my card, said he didn't need any "art," but phoned me the next day. So, he was a freelance client of mine through three record labels: Varese-Sarabande, Fynsworth Alley and then Kritzerland.

We got along great because we both came from the theater. In 2015 he directed (beautifully) the 20th Anniversary production of INSIDE OUT here in L.A. and then we actually wrote A CAROL CHRISTMAS together which premiered at The Group. And we've both contributed material to L.A. NOW AND THEN. Bruce did re-mix and re-master INSIDE OUT, he also produced a glorious CD for A CAROL CHRISTMAS.

I asked Bruce to become a member of Group Rep's Artistic Advisory Board and he accepted. He's helped us tremendously at Group with fundraisers, workshops and has beautifully directed several shows for us.

How fun is it to go down the endless list of Bruce's singing friends as possible participants for the 115th show celebrating Kritzerland's 11th Anniversary?

Adryan Russ was Bruce's first co-producer for the Kritzerland concerts. When she could no longer continue due to scheduling conflicts, he informed me that I would be the next co-producer. "You want something done well, ask a busy person," was his reasoning. And, I have to admit, I do love the concerts and the amazing performers he puts in his shows, and he truly has a keen knack for matching songs to performers. It's hard to believe he's put together 115 of these unique shows and that it's the 11th Anniversary. And while most presenters went "dark" during the shutdown, Bruce continued to present these concerts, but not "in-person" but remotely. This was challenging but also freeing because many people were suddenly available, and it didn't matter where they were. So, that was fun. I suggested Petula Clark (long a huge favorite of mine) and since Bruce had produced an album for her on Varese, she said yes and sent us her performance from Geneva. It was during this time that he enlisted the help of my daughter, Hartley Powers, to not only be in the virtual shows, but edit them as well. The 11th Anniversary features amazing talent, as always and some surprises!

What's in the future for Doug Haverty, after your Sidney stint?

Acting-wise, I don't know at this point. I'm working on several writing projects and heading up Group Rep's Playwrights Unit where we are developing new plays and musicals. There is a lot to do.

Thank you again, Doug! I look forward to physically coming back to Group Rep and Kritzerland again.

You are so welcome. Thanks for the great questions. We are very much looking forward to having you see Kritzerland on Sunday the 12th of September and LONDON SUITE beginning on Friday, the 17th of September.

For tickets to the live performances of LONDON SUITE and BIRTHDAY CLUB (both through October 24th), log onto www.thegrouprep.com

For tickets to the live KRITZERLAND's 115th, log onto www.eventbrite.com/e/kritzerland-tickets-168616172511

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