The idea for Unicorn was born at one such party in 1977, in a hot tub, at a B.B.Q in Carmel Valley. Bob Colter (my then brother-in-law-to-be), Jeff Huddleson and I each sat with hot bubble jets at our backs, immersed in Scotch. We were having one of those "actors discussions." The conversation that began with, "If I had my own theatre I'd..." After some lengthy conversation comes the inevitable question..."and the name?"..."Unicorn," and with more discussion we all agreed, "Unicorn Theatre. That sounds good!" (I love the image of the Unicorn; it's magical, a wonderful name). And then...nothing happened...you see, we all had more to drink and the conversation ended.

I had gotten out of art school in 1976 and become a freelance illustrator, designing promotion for Seattle area theatres. It was my great luck to meet and work with drama coach Earl Kelly. I worked for about three years at the Piccoli Children's Theatre at the base of the Space Needle in Seattle Center. They were talented, hard-working people, and my passion for the theatre continued to grow. In Seattle theatres I was exposed to different ways of working. I was an Actor Guinea Pig doing scene work with student directors at the University of Washington. I loved the intensity of the process and the passionate critical assessment of the work we did. I came back from Seattle in 1980 and worked with the Children's Experimental Theatre under a CETA grant. I started to change my life.

I had gone to CET with Max Robert during the '60s. In the '70s, while I was in the north, he was in the southland attending Disney School. He had lived in Paris, had his toys displayed at the Louvre and was a commercial designer and dresser for "Snoopy" dolls for Charles Schultz. He had been active in theatre in San Francisco, writing three musicals in the late '70s and early '80s. Max and I were in a production of JACQUES BREL, directed by James Nesbitt Clark and produced by Staff Players. Once again we hit it off creatively. At a BREL cast party Max performed a Yeats poem he had set to music. I found it fascinating. He told me had had composed over thirty pieces for a Yeats' opera he wanted to produce called "Upon A Dying Lady." We decided to produce a show. It took shape and became CROWD OF STARS.

CROWD OF STARS

Unicorn Theatre was founded with a mission "to present classical, contemporary, and original works that somewhat express the magic side of life." Bob Colter and I presented the comedy BOX AND COX at Margo's Cafe Balthezar in Pacific Grove (where Peppers is now). In four performances we raised about $750 which was used to buy materials for costumes which Max built for CROWD OF STARS. Max and I designed the props and masks, and Bob and I built the set. We all pitched in, and, in the fall of 1983, we presented CROWD OF STARS at MPC's SRO Theatre at a cost of about $1800.00. The first production featured Bob Colter, Gina Welch, Lyn Whiting, Danny Gochnauer and myself. It was a very satisfying, creative and critical success.

Break-a-Leg
Max Robert & Carey Crockett (left to right)

Max and I had gotten a taste for producing. In the first years we produced all of our shows, putting in our own money and taking the money from the box office to pay back our expenses and then starting again. For a time we would do three shows a year. From 1983 to 1986 we were under the umbrella of the Cherry Foundation (our original home). In 1984 Cherry co-sponsored "Break-a-Leg," a weekly radio show we produced at KAZU. We would produce three at once - one for the current weekend, the next in rehearsal and a third being cast for a show to be presented three weeks later. We adapted a variety of classic stories and wrote original scripts. We also produced scripts from other writers in the community. The project was a tremendous experience; during the existence of "Break-a-Leg" we worked with over 120 actors and writers from all over the Peninsula. Of equal importance were the interviews we conducted with the various theatre companies. We went to all of the plays presented at the time. It was a chance for the different theatres to present their views, and we were continually impressed by the variety and depth of talent we had in the community.

THE MAIDS

In January of 1985 we produced THE SECRET LIFE OF THE TEDDY BEARS - Max's musical smash hit. It played to sold-out houses locally for six weeks, toured to San Francisco and returned to Carmel for an additional three-week run. In the spring we produced Genet's THE MAIDS and Cocteau's ORPHEE. It was the only time Max acted for Unicorn - incredible! Max was the driving force for Unicorn at that time, and it was a great privilege to work for him. In the fall of 1985 we produced THE POE SIDESHOW. This was to be the last play we produced for a time. Max had gotten work composing for Amy Irving's "Rumplestiltskin" and had begun work with Paul Rubens on Pee Wee's Playhouse - all opportunities which came at the same time that he received the news that he was HIV positive. Max was reclusive. AIDS was labeled as "the gay plague" and the politics and paranoia of the time was to "Get them away! After all, they did it to themselves." For those who faced this disease, AIDS was viewed as a death sentence. Everyone was in shock, as so many they loved were falling around them. In the theatre community many were lost.

In 1987 an opportunity came to Max to present TEDDY BEARS off-Broadway in New York! I designed all new sets for the production; it was very exciting. There was a lot of work done, but, in the end, it fell through. It was very upsetting. Max had spent eight months working on the project, and he had lost valued time. He thought this production of TEDDY BEARS was a project he could see through to a conclusion in a limited lifetime - but it was not to be. In his last years he wrote 2 1/2 seasons for Pee Wee's Playhouse and was nominated for four Emmys for his costume design and writing. And in the last, Max made peace in this life. Our final production together was in a musical revue called SOMETHING SINGS, Max's story of his life. It was his last performance on stage and reunited the cast and crew from CROWD OF STARS. We sang pieces which he considered his best work in one performance presented at the Wharf Theater - to a packed house and the curtain falls. Max died in the summer of 1990. He was thirty-eight.

He was older than I was when he died, and now I am much older than him. I often think of how much he might have accomplished had life given him a chance. There are so many gone from that time. One can only imagine how different the theatre landscape might have been if they were still around. I am spurred to create knowing time and life is precious.

THE SECRET LIVES OF TEDDY BEARS
Set design for the New York production

The Torch Was Passed...
By 1989 I took active leadership of Unicorn, and we started producing at the Wharf Theater for Frohman Academy's off-season. It was the first year of A CHRISTMAS CAROL with Bob Colter as Scrooge. In the years between 1989-1993 Unicorn made its home at the Wharf Theater producing three shows a year, from October through January. Then we'd plan for the next year. During that period at the Wharf we had done MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. At a cast party people started talking about what other Shakespeare plays we might attempt, "Something meaty!"...Tight-ass Androni-gas," Bill Logan joked..."The Scottish play!"..."No!"..."King Lear"..."King Lear?"..."King Lear!" The joke transformed itself into a possibility, the possibility into enthusiasm, and enthusiasm into a production schedule - simple as that. Eight months later it was on the stage with a great cast headed by Bill Logan as Lear. We played it at Hidden Valley, the Wharf Theater and at Santa Catalina. Ironically KING LEAR at the Wharf sold out - it was amazing. The actors would stand out on the balcony in full costume and makeup and look at the tourists as they walked below, "Is it a musical?" the tourists would say. "No," said the actors, "but it's great. There's a lot of sex and violence!"..."That sounds interesting; we'll come see it!"

I have found for us that the best work has come out of just such improbable circumstances of inspiration, coincidence or just dumb luck. Always stay open to the possibility. What came next was precipitated by the death of my father.

Next episode" "Are we Falling or Flying?"
Subjects:
Going non-profit
The house that POOH built
Magic and dissolution
A new resurrection