Interview: Carol Stanley, Tod Harrick, Anna Vizzare of SEUSSICAL at Kitsap Forest Theater

Kitsap Forest Theater is celebrating its 100th anniversary this season. As the summer winds down, I took this opportunity to talk with a few of the actors in their summer show, Seussical. Whether in excitement for the current show (closing next weekend) or reflecting on their many years at KFT, the underlying emphasis was that they love this place.

Q: When did you first discover KFT?

Carol: In 2012 I was looking for more places to perform at and found the auditions on Theater Puget Sound for Fiddler on the Roof and Footloose. After being cast in Footloose I attended the closing of Fiddler on the Roof to see what I was getting myself into. I instantly fell in love with the place. I knew that this would be a magical place to perform and was very excited to begin rehearsals. 

Anna: I first discovered KFT as a senior in high school. I was looking for a place to branch out my theater experiences. My voice teacher at the time had worked at KFT a lot. She told me I should audition for “Shrek”, so I did and it was an extremely special experience.

Tod:  We discovered KFT in 2008. We'd developed a love for theater when we lived in Baltimore and had the opportunity for "Broadway weekends" in NYC. We were also avid campers and hikers. And we had three-year-old and five-year-old kids. So when we heard about a theater out in the woods that was doing Beauty & The Beast, it seemed like the perfect way to introduce our kids to the theater. If they didn't like it or got bored, we could just wander around in the woods! Well, luckily, they loved it. In addition to appreciating the beauty of the theater itself, Deb and I, having seen a fair amount of professional and community theater, were impressed with the quality of the production. After the show, the audience was invited down to the stage. The actor who played Mrs. Potts took us around to see backstage. I remember being surprised to find out that many of the actors were volunteers and families who'd traveled from Seattle to perform in the show. 

One sentimental thing about our first KFT experience is that years later, Ila Faubion, the actor who played Belle, shared the role of Jo in "Little Women" with Jas. Ila also played Liesl in the second show we saw at KFT, was the Maria in the production of Sound of Music in which Jas played Liesl.

Q: When did you first become involved with a production?

Carol: That same year I found the auditions. I tried out and was offered a role in the Teen Ensemble of Footloose. The next year I was in Narnia as a spring show and volunteered during Secret Garden. Then I started doing two shows every year and now I'm in my 18th show! They add up quickly.

Tod: It was four years after we first saw a show there. Our elder daughter had discovered acting as a passion and both kids enjoyed it. So, when we saw that KFT was doing a production of "Fiddler on the Roof." The show synched with our own Jewish identity and it even had parts for too little girls in it, and since we'd been so impressed by the shows we'd seen there we asked both our kids if they wanted to try out, which they immediately did. When we called to set up the audition time, the producer of the show, Gala Lindvall, who is the kind of force of nature that keeps a theater-going and growing, said, "Well, why don't you audition too?" So we did. Deb and I had never really done theater before, but we figured the actors we had met at the shows we'd seen had been so nice, that it couldn't be too scary to try out. Getting ready for the audition itself became a real family bonding activity, as we looked for songs to sing and monologues to do and practiced them for one another. We all did end up getting cast in the show, and it was the beginning of many special summers for us.

Q: What makes KFT unique for actors and for the audience?

Carol: KFT is unique for actors because it offers more than just a performance. Because we are out in the woods actors bond in the time off stage. We hike to the theater, camp out on the weekends, and also spend a great deal of time together. During that time we enjoy eating together, laughing, playing games, and building a community together. Many of our actors have spent years out at the theater which makes it even more fun to spend another year under the trees together. KFT is unique for the audience because we are not your typical indoor theater. KFT is an outdoor experience. The stage is alive with creatures of the forest, plants & trees, and the environment. It is a place where you are able to disconnect from the outside world and be transported into another time and place via the show. Sometimes our outdoor surroundings take part in the show in magical moments. For example a robin singing along during the Secret Garden or the sun breaking through at just the right moment to shine on an actor. 

Anna: The outdoor aspect is definitely special and unique. However, I think the thing that sets KFT apart for actors is the summer camp-like experience you can have when you do a show here. I’ve made some of my closest friends out here hanging out on the weekends, having meals together, and playing games. You just don’t get that in any other place.

Tod: There are a lot! The most obvious thing is the physical space of the theater itself. Natural beauty is a core component of the Pacific Northwest already, and KFT is an exemplar of PNW environs at its best. I've been to a lot of outdoor theaters, and I haven't seen another that integrates so fully and so well with its natural surroundings. By the time you get to the bottom of the trail leading to the theater -- with Douglas Firs reaching hundreds of feet into the sky, the scent of cedar in the air, the sound of the creek flowing just behind the stage, and of wind in the trees -- you really do feel as if you have been dropped into the middle of an ancient forest and could be miles from civilization.

This protean natural beauty affects the actors as much as it does the audience. There are always going to be times when you think maybe a show isn't going as well as you'd like, but you are always able to step back and appreciate the beauty of the place you are in. It's simultaneously calming and inspiring. It's especially impactful during a spring performance. Our rehearsals for a spring production start in March, so coming out there every week, we get the chance to watch the transformation of the forest around us as the maples and cottonwoods go from bare to bud to fully leafed, as the Trilliums bloom and the thimbleberries and salal berries come out, as the birds return.

Another reason Kitsap was special for us as actors is that because most of the cast is usually from Seattle, a ferry or long drive away from the theater, a lot of them put up tents on the grounds and camp out for performance and rehearsal weekends. There is a beautiful cabin and folks from past shows will volunteer to cook meals for the cast. We all eat together and spend nights after Saturday shows playing games or just hanging out. It makes the cast more of a community. 

Also, we started performing at Kitsap as a family with young children. I think that happens more at KFT than at other theaters because KFT has made a point of trying to recruit families into casts. This is partly because it takes a lot of volunteer work to keep a place like KFT running, and having families involved helps provide those volunteers, but it also means that each show becomes a multi-generational experience for the cast. When we first started performing at KFT, our kids were 6 and 8 years old, and the casts included other kids their ages, teenagers our kids could emulate and learn from, other parents, and seniors, including Marion Allred who at 80+ had been doing shows for 20 years (yes, she started in her 60s). It was like an extra summer camp, but one where you get to put on a show. 

Finally, the nature of the theater usually attracts people with a confluence of positive traits. I've always found that people in theater tend to be kind. To do theater well requires attentiveness and support, and yes there are a lot of people in theater who have experienced some form of exclusion or ill-treatment and so have developed a strong sense of compassion. Also, people who enjoy the outdoors tend to be kind as well, because they have a strong sense of gratitude and appreciation. To really enjoy Kitsap as a performer, you'd ideally be someone who enjoys both theater and the outdoors, which makes for some doubly-kind folks.

Q: Why do you think KFT has been able to survive for so long?

Carol:  I think KFT has survived this long because of our unique and magical setting, our dedicated performers, and our amazing audiences. Our unique and magical setting is one of my favorite places. When I come down the trail for the first rehearsal or a show, I am continuously in awe of the beautiful space. Birds singing, Chico creek running, and the sounds of nature calm me and I am always excited to be a part of the space once again. Our dedicated performers have spent generations making art in this space and that tradition is amazing. I've been a part of 18 productions over the 11 years and to know that I have been a part of 1/10th of the amazing history is thrilling. It's crazy to think that we are performing on the same stage in the same space that has seen so much history. Our amazing audiences are also what help us survive. There are people that have been coming to see shows for 10-20+ years. We often have new audience members that came as kids or their grandparents had talked about it. And we also have amazing new audience members that have just heard about the theater tucked into the woods. We wouldn't survive if it weren't for the audiences. As an actor I live for the moments when we all experience a live production, breathe together, and that moment when the audience takes in an important scene or laughs through a funny scene. 

Anna:  I think KFT has survived for so long because of that special experience that they provide for their actors. It makes people want to come back, then those people recommend it to their friends, etc. It also has its loyal players and volunteers, which the theater also needs.

Tod: That's in large part due to the dedication of the Mountaineers who founded and sustained the theater. Any theater takes a ton of passion and hard work, and a place that is subject to the effects of Pacific Northwest weather more than most, but passion and hard work is exactly what this theater has gotten over the past century. I think it helps that for many years, the people putting on plays at Kitsap were Mountaineers who liked theater, rather than theater pros, and Mountaineers members are already hard-working volunteer types with a lot of outdoors and DIY skills. Folks like Lois Sandall, Gardner Hicks, Gala and Bryan Lindvall, Art Winder, Chris Stanley, Harry Myers, and Earl Kelly, put years of effort into this theater, but almost every person involved in a show could be counted on to happily build sets, help maintain and improve the grounds, cook, park cars, whatever needed to be done. I do think that spirit of volunteerism is something that has sadly declined in our current society, but I'm constantly and pleasantly surprised to find there are people willing to put in the effort to make a unique theater experience happen. 

Q: What's your role in the current show, Seussical? Tell me about that character.

Carol: I play many roles in Seussical. I'm a snake in the Jungle of Nool, a Who, a Fish, a Cadet, a Hunter, a Circus Member, and a Hunch. I love having the opportunity to play so many varied characters with so many different backgrounds and movements. For example my Snake moves in a very winding and slithering way whereas my Cadet moves in marching rhythmic pattern. My favorite character is the Hunter. All three of us Hunters don large comical beards and go hunting for Horton with nets. It always gives the audience a laugh.

Anna:  I play Mayzie LaBird. She is so awesome. She’s a sassy and self-obsessed birdie who has been so much fun to play. This has been a dream role for sure

Tod: Ha! With two kids headed off to college this year, I didn't have much time, but I am playing a few bit parts, including Yertl the Turtle, Vlad Vladikoff (the eagle who carries the clover with the Whos on it away from Horton) and briefly a Wickersham Brother (the monkeys who torment Horton with the Sour Kangaroo). Storywise, there's not a lot of depth to them, but there is one particularly fun moment as Vlad where I "fly" up the central stairs through the audience and get to break the fourth wall a bit. At one performance, there was a little girl in a full-on bird costume (birds play a big role in Seussical), and we had a moment. Seussical is just the kind of chaotic, goofy show, where you can do

Q: What makes Seussical appealing to audiences?

Carol: Seussical is a non-stop show. Every Seuss character you can imagine is a part of this show and you never know what will appear next. Seussical is mostly sung through so there is non-stop music, dancing, and scene changes. 

Anna: It’s a show for everyone. Such fun characters, bright colors, and rhyming is so appealing to the littles. However, its sweet story and complex plot help the adults hang in there as well. It’s a great mix.

Tod: Overall, the show is very Faulkneresque. But I think it's a combination of nostalgia, continual silliness, rousing music, and what is actually a touching love story between Horton and Gertrude.

Q: What's your favorite KFT memory?

Carol: I have many treasured memories at Kitsap and it is near impossible to pick one. So I'll give you a few:

On Stage Memory- Tuck Everlasting is one of my favorite Kitsap shows I've been in. It just felt like it was meant to be done in our theater. A family living in the woods next to a magical spring, we didn't need a set, we had all the pieces.The part of that show that was super beautiful is the ending. Where most musicals end with a song and a wrap up, Tuck Everlasting ends with a ballet of Winnie Foster's life. This dance was a beautiful depiction of the life of Winnie through the years. And rather than only show the good (love, weddings, and children) it also touched on loss with members of the family slowly pulling away until the bond breaks. Told through dance both the actors and the audience were in tears near the end. But it is a reminder of the human lifecycle and the wheel of life beautifully captured in the lyrics, "can't stop rowing, growing, changing, and moving on". I had the opportunity to play Middle-Aged Winnie in that ballet and I remember feeling the heartbreak when the mother character passed on but the beauty in a life well-lived told through dance. 

Off Stage Memory- The pandemic is one of two times when KFT hasn't done shows in its 100 year history. During 2020, I experienced a lot of personal loss, health issues, and isolation. We had cast both Beauty and the Beast and Bend in the Road but ultimately had to cancel both shows. It was a difficult time. I still remember fondly when I returned to the theater after a horrible year. I came early to LIttle Women to volunteer and got to see friends I hadn't seen in 2 years. One of them gave me a big hug and suddenly I found myself sobbing. Because the theater was still here, we were still here, and most importantly I was still here too. I knew then that we were going to be okay. And in 2022 we were able to finally put on both shows again. 

There are many little memories like laughing until your sides hurt, playing games, swing dancing in the cabin, playing capture the flag in the woods, singing around the campfire, and swimming in Wildcat Lake. Every year and every show adds more memories. Kids who were young little ones grow into amazing humans. We grow and change and support each other through it all. 

Anna: I think just all the nights spent playing games and building relationships in the cabin. Those that I have done Kitsap shows with hold a special place in my heart because of that bond.

Tod: It's always amazing getting to act with your own kids, but I think my favorite memory is either playing "Mafia" with about a dozen kids and adults on the ferry ride home, making fairy houses in the forest, or perhaps the one year my older daughter, Jasmine, recruited a bunch of the other kids to create a "haunted" wagon ride that went through the woods, the grounds and the dorms that was truly frightening (imagine being pulled in a little red wagon through a forest at night with 15 kids chanting, "you should turn back as I did not" around you), but also wonderfully bizarre, creative and cooperative and watching them enjoy the freedom, community, and creativity of the place will always be a special memory for me.

Q: What sort of goals does KFT have for the future?

Carol: KFT's goal is to enrich the community by bringing stories to life in a magical outdoor setting that all ages can enjoy. Our values are: 

Celebrating the beauty of the out-of-doors

Producing high quality community theater

Bringing people of all ages together to work and play in community

Teaching respect for the out-of-doors, each other and the craft of theater

Supporting this unique venue and keeping the tradition alive for future generations

Our goal is to continue for another century providing beautiful stories in a beautiful setting. 

Tod: Another hundred years! We've been lucky enough to get more attention from Seattle media over the past few years and that's helped to grow our audiences. We've even started to get international visitors to some shows! So continuing to serve more people both on the peninsula and coming over from Seattle would be great. I think we all would like to see the current issues with the KETA Foundation resolved. Those of us who've been involved with the theater for a long time feel a little bit betrayed by that whole situation because the Mountaineers are the ones who gave the land to KETA in the first place and now they seem to be determined to make it difficult for us to continue the theater. If that issue can get resolved, we've been trying for a while to swap some land to get space to install real bathrooms down at the theater for the comfort of audiences. We've started a theater camp, and I think we'd all like to see that grow. The Pacific Northwest deserves its own French Woods or Perry-Mansfield, and KFT is uniquely positioned to provide that kind of outdoor arts educational experience. We definitely want to replace our 75-year-old wing walls with something more permanent that retains the feel of the theater and lights for evening performances would be awesome.

Q: What sort of challenges does KFT face?

Carol: KFT faces some of the similar challenges other community theater's face. We are always trying to draw audiences, provide exciting stories that excite our actors and our audiences, and staffing our shows. We have some unique challenges because we are an outdoor theater. Our theater was built 100 years ago so our space is aging. We are tucked into a hillside so getting to and from our theater can be challenging for some folks. This year we were faced with an access issue that almost canceled our centennial season. We are continuing to work to resolve this conflict so that we don't have access issues in the future. 

Tod: The conflict with the KETA Foundation is perhaps our biggest challenge right now (see above). It drains time we could be spending on fulfilling our actual mission, and prevents us from making improvements like expanded parking and bathroom facilities that would benefit our audiences.

The other big challenges are the same ones most theaters face, getting enough volunteers to do everything that needs doing, and reaching new audiences that are used to online entertainment. So far (knock wood), we are lucky enough to not be in any financial danger, but fundraising for major capital improvements is a challenge for us as it is for everyone.

Q: What are the ways people can become involved with KFT?

Carol: KFT is entirely run by our volunteers. We love our volunteers. During shows we need ushers, parkers, ticket takers, ticket sellers, concession staff, cushion sellers, and backstage help. Before shows we need people to help build sets, paint sets, sew costumes, and collect props. The theater property also needs people to help cook for cast and crew, cut firewood, spread gravel, clear trails, and much more. If you have a skill and are wanting to volunteer, reach out via our website to get involved. Many of our volunteers help out year round.

Tod: Audition! With the caveat that, unlike other acting gigs, here you are sharing a living space over the weekend and there are chores to do to help maintain it. you are in for a unique theatrical experience you will never forget. For non-performers, you will be amazed at what our production staff can teach you. We ALWAYS need volunteers to help people park at performances, build sets, make costumes, or cook for the cast. Just email players@foresttheater.com Cash. Cash is always good. Projects to replace our wing walls and finish our seats are coming up, so if you'd be interested in helping with big projects like that, email players@foresttheater.com and we'll reach out when they are starting up.

Q: Anything else you want to tell us about Seussical or KFT?

Carol: Come see the show if you have ever been curious about what we do. It is a great day trip to get outside, get some fresh air, and see some beautiful art. 

Tod: Yes, It takes effort to get to, but things that are easy aren't always as rewarding, and the effort it takes to get here makes it feel even more special.

Don't forget that kids under 6 are free!

Seussical runs through August 20th. For tickets or more information on Kitsap Forest Theater, visit https://www.foresttheater.com/

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