WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Michael Bouson and Joe Correll

Covering theater for as long as I have is not without its privileges, chief among them being the opportunity to witness some very talented people come and go from the various stages in my life (and at varying stages in their careers) on the various stages I have been honored to cover over the years. While keeping up with them nowadays may be as easy as signing onto social media, their contributions to the cultural fabric of a major creative hub like Nashville (a city where virtually everyone sings, writes, makes music, and/or has a development deal in the works) may be unknown to a great many people now walking in their very footsteps.

More importantly, perhaps, seeing as how I know where the bodies are buried-both literally and figuratively-I am provided a unique perspective on the personalities that have shaped theater in Tennessee for at least the past 37 years (if you count that first show I reviewed as a college sophomore). Today you will be introduced to two of the best people to ever walk onto a Tennessee stage via what has quickly becoming our most popular feature series...WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Today's spotlight falls upon Michael Bouson and Joe Correll, two of the loveliest people I've ever known. Creative and imaginative, they brought their hilarious hijinks to the stage when they founded The Avante Garage Comedy Repertory Theatre, a comedy improv/musical theater company that set stages afire throughout Music City, introducing some of the region's best-loved performers to audiences who still remember every joke, every laugh and every song. Now living in Los Angeles, where they are both involved in television production, Michael and Joe made a triumphant return to Nashville in late August, when they were saluted at The First Night Honors of 2014.

With a tribute led by 2013 First Night Honorees Corbin Green and Jamie Green and 2012 First Night Honorees Maryanna Clarke and Chris Clarke (and featuring an all-star cast of Nashville performers including Stephen Henry, Neely O'Brien Green, 2013 First Night Star Award winner Sondra Morton and more), contemporary audiences were given a glimpse into the crazy/wonderful world of the Avante Garage that those of us who were around back then remember so vividly.

First up is Michael Bouson, now Executive in Charge of Production/SVP of Operations for Authentic Entertainment. Authentic Entertainment is a multi-award winning Unscripted TV Production Company responsible for such break out hits as Flipping Out on Bravo, Ace of Cakes and The Best Thing I Ever Ate on The Food Network, My First Home, Toddlers and Tiaras and Here Comes Honey Boo Boo on TLC, All on the Line on Sundance, Knife Fight and White Collar Brawlers on Esquire and It Takes a Church on the Game Show Network. Additionally, Michael is the creator of www.justaskberniece.com, a humor website.

How did your time in Nashville/Tennessee prepare you for where you are now in your career arc? My time is Nashville was essential to my success in my current career in Reality TV. As SVP of Production and Operations at Authentic Entertainment, I have to find creative solutions to a multitude of problems with a multitude of productions often at the same time. My ball-juggling skills were definitely honed during my tenure as Owner/Artistic Director for The Avante Garage Comedy Repertory Theatre because unbeknownst to our erstwhile audience, in addition to writing, directing, designing and performing in most of our shows, I also was in charge of all publicity and marketing efforts and managed the kitchen as well as preparing all of the food including right up to curtain sometimes and during intermission! We always tried to write in a late entrance for whatever character I was playing to give me an opportunity to get into costume and makeup. I remember during the run of Hamlet - the Melancholy Dane! it was a race every night for me to make it onstage by the end of the opening number (often with my wig askew!) OY!

What's your most vivid memory of your time in the Volunteer State? My most vivid memory of my time in Tennessee had to be the opening of the very first Seasoned Greetings at the Metro Dinner Theatre. Clara Hieronymus came to review the show and she along with Suzan Moore and Robert Stone were the only people in the audience. Clara gave us a rave review with the heading "Dear Santa, please send some lucky theatre-goers to see Seasoned Greetings!" We felt so pathetic, but her love letter of a rave sold us out for the remainder of the run!

Who were some of the people in Nashville/Tennessee who had a lasting impact on you and/or your career? In the order in which I met my "Heroes": Dennis Ewing from Poverty Players and then Actor's Theatre; Russ Bralley from Nashville Academy Theatre; George Mallone and Jean Whittaker from Opryland USA; Clara Hieronymus from The Tennessean; Kathy Shepard; Stephen Henry; Michael Edwards from Chaffin's Barn; Pam Atha; Mac Pirkle from Southern Stage Productions and then Tennessee Repertory Theatre; Ruth Sweet; Kate Gladfelter; Joe Correll; Su Hyatt; Jamey Green; Jef Ellis and Stuart Bivin from Dare, Query, Some, First Night; and Maggie Wirth.

What advice would you give to someone taking their first steps to becoming a part of the theater scene here? Be tenacious, be relentless, be fearless, develop your craft, develop your network, develop your audience, support your community, support your peers, support your rivals, create new projects, create daily, create loudly, listen to your critics, listen to the other actors you share a stage with, listen to your heart, act well, act honestly, act kindly, and most importantly...misbehave as often as possible!

Joe Correll is an executive producer in the television business, and since leaving Nashville he has worked on shows for MTV, USA, Travel Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Food Network, WEtv, and FYI, among others.

What brought you to Nashville/Tennessee in the first place? I was working with Elizabeth Moses and Joe Mahowald on a production of The Man Who Came To Dinner at the Mark Two Theater in Orlando, Florida. They took my resume and gave it to Michael Edwards who was directing a production of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas at Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre. Michael hired me and I came to Nashville to be in the production. That is where I met Michael Bouson, who was also in the cast. I was cast in more productions in Nashville, so I stayed for several months. Michael and Kate Gladfelter were planning to create a space in the storage room at Chaffin's Barn (which ultimately became known as Backstage at the Barn), which led to more productions, and eventually Michael and I teamed up with Kathy Shepard and Jamey Green and opened the Avante Garage Comedy Repertory Theatre at Church Street Center, where we did original productions for a few years.

How did your time in the Volunteer State prepare you for where you are now in your career arc? The time spent in Nashville was crucial in preparing me for my current career. Producing television requires a lot of the same skills as producing theater. What television and theatre have in common is the fact that, they are both about storytelling. My job now is about finding great characters, great situations and telling a good story, which are the same skills needed in theater. Also when we were producing theater money and budgets for the shows were always tight, so to make something happen we had to be creative and resourceful. Theater people really do believe "The Show Must Go On," and that attitude and outlook is very important when producing TV. Some people without a theater background may say, "That can't be done, it's impossible" But a theater person will say, "it has to get done, and I'll think of a creative way to make it happen." If I'm hiring a staff for a TV show and someone has done theater, I know they are going to work incredibly hard, and that the show will happen no matter what!

What's your most vivid memory of your time in Nashville? There are so many great memories from Nashville. When I first drove up from Florida - and pulled into the parking lot at Chaffin's Barn - I was standing outside the Barn and I had a feeling I about to have a great adventure. And that came true! Meeting Michael Bouson for the first time was life changing for me, and opening the theater downtown was definitely a high point.

Who were some of the people in Nashville who had a lasting impact on your and/or your career? So many people from Nashville have influenced me and my career; many, many of the most important people in my life, I met in Nashville - Michael Bouson, Kate Gladfelter, Su Hyatt Amsden, Jamey Green, Kathy Shepard, all the casts of The Avante Garage improv shows, and all the actors, directors and technical staff I was lucky enough to share the stage with in all the productions.

What advice would you give to someone taking their first steps to becoming a part of the theater scene here? Nashville has a very supportive theater community. Get out there and meet those people, who are part of that community, ask them about their journeys and how they started. Listen to them, and learn from them. Stand outside the theater before you start your next show, take it all in, and know you are going on a great adventure!

Pictured at top: Joe Correll, Cesar Rodriguez and Michael Bouson at The Oscars.

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