L.A. story
By Sommer Mathis
Nov. 5, 2002 9:00 p.m.
The founding members of a local theater company have two pieces
of advice for aspiring actors who are new to Los Angeles: see their
new play, and attend UCLA.
Buffalo Nights Theatre Company, formed in 1991 by a group of
freshly graduated theater, film and television students, will
present “Crazy Drunk” this month at [INSIDE] THE FORD,
the tiny theater underneath the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre. The
play, which depicts the 1904 murder trial of eccentric
philanthropist Griffith J. Griffith (creator of the eponymous
park), provides a rare glimpse into the often bizarre history of
Los Angeles.
For the masses lured here by Hollywood’s promise of fame,
the play will serve as an introduction to the story of Griffith and
his showy lawyer, Earl Rogers. Newbies shouldn’t worry too
much about their own naiveté, since most long-time Angelenos
have likely never heard the tale themselves.
“Everybody’s from somewhere else here,” says
Marco Sanchez, co-founder of Buffalo Nights along with Brian Kite,
Jeff Maynard, Maury Sterling and Kevin Weisman.
The constant influx of newcomers, says Sanchez, who plays a
member of the chorus in “Crazy Drunk,” means that
history is often disposable.
“We don’t keep anything around for too long, we tear
everything down so quickly. All these names people grew up with,
John Anson Ford, or Griffith, I mean who are these people? A lot of
people don’t know. I didn’t know,” he said.
The members of Buffalo Nights aren’t the only ones who
think this story is worth knowing. In the process of bringing
Robert Fieldsteel’s script to the stage, they applied for and
won grant money from the Los Angeles County Arts Commission and
A.S.K. Theater Projects, a nonprofit group that looks to develop
new American plays. “Crazy Drunk” will be followed in
the coming months by offerings from two other L.A. theater
companies, BOTH and Zoo District, which will round out the
county’s 2002-03 Hot Properties series.
None of this would have been possible without the lessons they
learned upon graduating from UCLA in 1991, when the initial members
received $500 in grant money to help launch “Hope on the
Range,” their first production. With such meager beginnings,
they knew they had to do more to get their company off the ground.
They just weren’t sure what.
Luckily, Weisman’s father is an attorney and was able to
help them attain nonprofit status, which allowed the members to
receive public funding. But theater hopefuls shouldn’t worry
if they don’t know anyone who has passed the bar exam.
“My advice is to just do it, do the art part first and
then figure out how the business works. I mean, don’t forget
about the business, because it’s crucial, otherwise
you’re just doing theater for your friends, and in your
basement for your family,” said Kite, a UCLA MFA
candidate.
Though their theater studies may not have immediately prepared
the group to tackle the business aspects of creating a theater
company, it did provide the opportunity to develop professional
relationships with fellow actors. Despite the din of friendly
banter during a tedious technical rehearsal on Saturday, the
members of Buffalo Nights maintained a level of productivity that
speaks of their commitment, not just to theater, but to each
other.
Many of them admit to having taken the advice of their UCLA
professors to heart.
“I’ll always remember (associate professor) Tom Orth
said, “˜Whatever you do when you graduate, it’s going to
be tough, so the main thing you want to do is surround yourself
with people that you respect, and that are positive,'”
Weisman said.
For actors, say the group members, one of the best places to
meet such people is at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and
Television. In their view, it serves as a magnet for some of the
most talented people in the country, and was directly responsible
for the formation of Buffalo Nights. As for the rest of UCLA, it
seems the same old north/south divisions still applied.
“I got scared when I went down to the math area. We
didn’t go to South Campus,” Weisman said.
“Crazy Drunk” runs Nov. 16 thru Dec. 22 at [INSIDE]
THE FORD in Hollywood, with low-priced previews starting Nov. 7.
For reservations call (323) 461-3673 or go to
www.fordamphitheatre.org.
