BWW INTERVIEWS: A Life in the Theatre, Christi Dortch

If you were handpicking an arts administrator, Christi Dortch might be found right at the top of the list. Now vice president of programming for Nashville's Tennessee Performing Arts Center, Dortch has a solid background as a performer, having worked with numerous theatre companies around the country as an actor, singer and dancer. She knows what works well onstage - and that may be what makes her current job such a good fit. As TPAC's programming wiz, Dortch seeks out and books the traveling productions that play for the ever more-discerning Nashville audience.

A graduate of Nashville's Overton High School and Western Kentucky University, Christi Dortch is also one of those hard-to-find Nashville natives. With Music City serving as an entertainment mecca, attracting creative types from all over the world, Christi is homegrown, as it were, plying her trade in her hometown - and loving every minute of it. When she left to work for the Westport (Connecticut) Country Playhouse, her presence was sorely missed and her subsequent homecoming was greeted with enthusiasm by her friends, family and supporters - and TPAC patrons who have her to thank for some of their greatest theatrical experiences.

Truth be told, Christi Dortch is one of my favorite people and despite the fact that she didn't list any of the three productions in which I directed her as among her most favorite experiences, I would certainly list those three shows (La Cage Aux Folles, Damn Yankees and Company) among mine.

She recently took the time to answer some questions about her "Life in the Theatre" for our loyal Nashville.BroadwayWorld.com readers. Enjoy!

Jeffrey Ellis: What was your first "taste" of theatre? Christi Dortch: Seeing a production of The Nutcracker in Nashville when I was very young. My Mom told me later I looked at her at intermission and said, "I want to do that." She knew then she was in trouble.

What was your first real job or responsibility in the theatre?

My first "real job" - meaning I got paid something to do it rather than just doing it for the love of the art - was my freshman year in college. I spent my summer doing repertory theater where we acted, danced, sang and in our spare time built the sets, costumes and light plots. Sleep is not required when you are that young.

When did you know you wanted to pursue a career in theatre? I knew when I was four years old and in my first dance class. I was reminded again when I was Mrs. Claus in my grade school holiday play. I think everyone who knew me knew this was my path as well, including my poor brother who would try to act like he wasn't related to me as I tapped down the aisle at the grocery with he and my mom. Did I mention we both had carrot red hair? There was no denying the relationship. Poor boy.

Why do you pursue your art in Nashville? What are the best parts of working here? When I decided I wanted to come home, which Nashville is, I was blessed to get quite a few performing jobs. Then I decided I was ready to be more stable in area of paychecks and began looking for jobs in Arts Administration; once again I was blessed and found that opening in Nashville.

Nashville has changed more than I can tell you since I was a child growing up here. I was lucky to be exposed to the arts via Nashville Children's Theater, Nashville Ballet, Chaffin's Barn, local choirs, many variations on school bands and more, growing up. I was taking dance from the time I was four years old and playing instruments from the time I was eight years old. Now I look back and realize I was really fortunate because the arts were still trying to find a foothold here. Now Nashville truly is so much more than country music. We have almost any art form, music, food, cultural experience you can imagine here. So for me the best part of working in Nashville is that new challenge of more people to reach, with higher expectations, and finding ways to get every child the experience I was able to have.

If you could play any role, direct any work, design any production, mount any production...what would it be and why? I really want to be Molly in The Unsinkable Molly Brown before I am too much older. I would love to be in a production of The Cherry Orchard, to play Nora in A Doll's House, Sally in Lips Together Teeth Apart, any of Christopher Durang's ladies (can you call his ladies "ladies?" Yikes!).

Who would play you in the film version of your life story? I would like to think someone like Helen Mirren or Zooey Deschanel. Opposite ends of the spectrum, but they are both so wonderfully complex in their characterizations.

What's your favorite play/musical? I honestly don't have a favorite. I am fortunate in that my job allows me to see most any show I want to see, as a form of research. So I have seen many fabulous show and many horrid stagings of fabulous shows. So even if I had a favorite I am sure someone has butchered it at some point. I think Urinetown is one of the great misses in most people's lives. The concept, lyrics and script are genius. Two of my favorite shows I ever performed in were Singin' in the Rain and a musical version of The Wind in the Willows. I still smile when I think of those great shows, casts and crews.

If you could have dinner with any three figures (living or dead, real or fictional) who are a part of the theatre, who would you choose? Chita Rivera. Cole Porter and Lucille Ball.

Imagine a young person seeing you onstage or seeing a production in which you played a major role coming up to you and asking you for advice in pursuing their own theatrical dream...what would you say? Be well-rounded. You can do so much more in this business if you know all aspects of it. Don't just be a dancer or an actor, be both and more. Know how to make a costume, hang lights, work a sound board. You don't have to be an expert but knowing how the whole place works makes you appreciate the full experience and be more understanding of what your peers are doing to make the show happen.

And know that only maybe one percent of people are "famous." You have to love this business to be in it. If you want to be famous, find someone with a lot of money to buy it for you because no one can guarantee you fame. And remember everyone is replaceable. Be proud, but humble, and know your business like no one else

To post a comment, you must register and login.