SYLVIA
The day I visited Magic Circle, the concert space, which becomes a lobby area during main stage theatre events, was crammed with children rehearsing a dance number while they belted out "Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better" under the direction of musical theatre teacher Joele Swift. "Isn't it amazing?" said Elsa. "They've created this whole one-hour presentation just since Monday - and today's only Thursday." There are four separate sessions that comprise Magic Circle's one-week summer camps. These include Musical Theatre (taught by Joele Swift), Improvisation , and Acting Techniques 1 and 2, led by John Rebstock and Maria Dawson. The summer camps in turn are just a third of Magic Circle's year-round workshops for training young actors. There are Winter-Spring and Fall sessions of ten weeks each for 8-to-12 year olds and for 13-to-16 year olds.
"Magic Circle is developing just as I had hoped," said Elsa. "It is drawing a wonderful variety of creative theatre artists as well as increasingly larger audiences. Magic Circle was created for the local community, but it is drawing both performers and audiences from the entire Monterey Peninsula. The people of Carmel Valley have really welcomed the Center, as there was a real need for this type of venue in Carmel Valley Village."
With press raves for recent main stage productions of SYLVIA , THE SHADOW BOX, and ACCOMPLICE Magic Circle has already established a reputation for creativity and professionalism in adult community theatre. Resident set designer Laura Cote does an impressive job of exploiting limited performing space as I could see as I walked through the set for ACCOMPLICE, a thriller directed by Hollywood veteran Ralph Senensky. The show was starting the final weekend of its sold-out run.
Two more plays from well outside the theatre mainstream will complete Magic Circle's 2001 main stage season. John Steinbeck's BURNING BRIGHT, which plays August 17 to September 16, will also pack up and travel to perform at the Steinbeck Center on Main Street, Salinas. And auditions are posted for a comedy import from Australia called MY SON THE LAWYER IS DROWNING, scheduled for November 2 to December 2. "The toughest part of this job is selecting a season of plays," Elsa admits. "I'm looking ahead to next year, and to date I've probably read about 75 scripts, some after pouring through catalogs, some on recommendations from friends - and I'm still obsessing!
"My background in clinical psychology influences the way I select scripts - and the way I direct them. I tend to go for plays with powerful character relationships and with something to say as well, even if it's said through a wild comedy like MY SON THE LAWYER. In the latter, behind the laughs, there's some pretty strong comment on the way humanity is wrecking the world. I think being a clinical psychologist has given me a certain objectivity as a director, along with a certain sensitivity. It has given me greater understanding of character development and relationships and has also made me a good observer, all of which are quite useful in directing."
"One thing I've been determined to provide here from the start is a really good environment for actors to work in - one in which they are appreciated - and paid. Time spent in the arts should be valued."
So far, almost all of it seems to be coming up roses for Magic Circle. A unique new part of Magic Circle's programs is the Senior Outreach Program, in which main stage productions are taken on-site to retirement communities. Residents of Park Lane in Monterey;, Hacienda Carmel, and Carmel Valley Manor in Carmel Valley are now able to see road show versions of major Magic Circle shows on their own home grounds.
"I've done a lot of community theatre in small towns," says Elsa Con, "and I'm always amazed and thrilled at the way people just appear out of nowhere, all different types of people, but all sharing a love of theatre. These first two years have been tremendously exciting, watching Magic Circle become a center for theatre artists to explore their creativity and for audience members to experience quality theatre in a lovely new venue."