CHANGES AND CHALLENGES: CHUCK RICHIE

Turning “Three Quarters” on April 2nd reminded me of the world I was born into and grew up in.

Manual typewriters. Only land phones with cords. Black and white TV with roof antennas. Sputnik, the first satellite in space.

Things changed as I grew older.

Electric typewriters. Portable phones. Color TV with “rabbit ears.” The first men in space.

And again.

Typewriter printers. Car phones. Cable TV. The first man on the moon.

Then.

Personal computers with printers. Cell phones. High Definition TV. The Space Shuttle.

Today.

iPads. iPhones. Streaming TV. The first passengers in space.

Next.

????

Theatre changed too.

Broadway and a few resident theatres like Cleveland Play House
Plays and musicals come to Broadway from tryouts in cities like Boston and Philadelphia
No microphones or amplification in theatres, even for musicals

Then…

Off Broadway
The Regional Theatre Movement, The Guthrie, Arena Stage
The orchestra is amplified in musicals

And then…

Off Off Broadway
Performance Art
Actors wear body mics in musicals

And…

Most plays and musicals on Broadway come from regional theatres
First small professional theatres recognized by Equity
Fringe festivals

Then…

The pandemic shuts down all theatres
Equity-Diversion-Inclusion-BIPOC
Alternative projects like this one from Seat of the Pants

Next…

????

As a young actor in New York, I was right there in the middle of the revolution that brought about Off Off Broadway and Performance Art. I knew and worked with many of the cutting edge artists who changed the face of the theatre. It was not the “dream” of Broadway” but the reality of the challenge of becoming a better performer, a more mature artist, and a truly creative theatre practitioner.

Now you are doing extraordinary work with a brilliant director who is cutting new edges. And I’m challenged again by you, my young and amazingly talented colleagues in Our Country’s Good.

You will be the ones who discover the something new, the next Off Off Broadway, the next Performance Art, the next….????

And it is my honor and privilege to support you.