The first years of producing year round were a grand experiment of, in how big could it be, a Magical Mystery Tour, psychedelic!

Experiments in Life
The first two years we were at Hoffman we performed Late Night, usually starting after our Main Stage shows around 11:30. The concept was more off-the-wall theatre, improvisation. We did a show called THE ELVIS CAFE featuring a drop in cast of actors from other musicals running on

AN EVENING WITH POE

the Peninsula. They'd get off their show around 10:30 and drive over to Hoffman and say..."I'm going to sing this song from, FUNNY THING.... which they'd just done an hour before. There was a loose frame which we built around the Elvis Cafe, which, at midnight, was visited by the spirits of dead celebrities, at the outside Vegas - "Haunted Cafe"-it was just silly and fun. Its structure allowed a lot of talented people to show off - "A Lounge Lizards Spectacular!

We did AN EVENING WITH POE, featuring classic Poe short stories, and THE MYSTERY OF IRMA VEP, (great fun) but there were royalty costs and it involved some props and a substantial changeover. All in all we did about 4 - 5 productions, and eventually people's energy was sapped, as we were also working Main Stage Shows with the same company and our children's shows on weekends.

Work on Late Night gave way to the success of Family Fantasy Theatre. It's simple name - it's family, it's fantasy, and it's theatre. All shows were storybook fashioned and were compatible with our Main Stage sets. In general I have the majority adult actors from Main Stage shows - Thomas Burks as Toad, Coleen Finnegan as Pinnochio etc. The children's theatre productions served a duel purpose at Hoffman - to help pay our overhead and as a wonderful training-ground for younger actors. These shows usually ran concurrently with our Main Stage shows - we did about seven of them a year.

Kirsten Schmaltz as Alice

About Training...
I have not held normal theatre classes for children, but I have taken on apprentices over the years . These kids have developed some experience before coming to work with us and had a clear passion for theatre. With us they worked in all aspects of theatre - backstage, lobby, design and acting. Kirsten Schmaltz started working with us at age 16. She worked 25 shows in 2 1/2 years. She learned it all from box office, to stage manager, to lighting, to painting and set construction and she acted as well. She was Alice in ALICE IN WONDERLAND. By the time she left for college she knew more about the overall operation than I did. We are all proud of her as she has received her Masters in English and Drama at UC Davis. She will move to Maine with her husband and teach. They will be lucky kids that get her as a teacher. Sissarie Sherry and Max Spiegel were among my favorite Weasel kids in TOAD OF TOAD HALL. They were bright, fast and mischievous. Max was with us over a two year period, about ten shows including two Main Stage shows, and Sissarie has worked tech at MPC. Great kids with a great future!

One of the many casts of POOH

Magic of the Moment..
The house that "Pooh" built...
Our first children's show of every year was POOH AND FRIENDS. I think we did eleven different stories over the years and they were very popular. The success of POOH was due to the magical performance of Rob Foster, "A bear with very little brains," and terrific supporting cast every year. Among my favorites POOH alumni were Jody Gilmore as Tigger, Peter Eberhardt as Eeyore, Diana Crockett, Max Speigel and Kalyn Shubnell as Piglet, Katy Crockett at seven, eight and nine as little Roo and at ten as Christopher Robin and Cindy Womack as Owl. With the combined work of these actors, our audiences and thousands of helium filled balloons...POOH helped us squeak through. In its five years POOH AND FRIENDS performed for over 30,000 kids and parents. All in a fifty-seven seat house. Many a childhood memory was fostered by Foster and Company.

The Second Stage took the place of Late Night, featuring cutting-edge talent with shows by Frank Wortham, Tom Coble, and Comedian Tony Moorewood. It sponsored theatre groups from outside our area - The Improv group, "Um-Gee-Um!" and "Friends of Gus". We did one experiment "The May W.I.P" (works in progress) which featured about 14 performances from fully-staged touring productions - One Person Shows and Musicians. It was a major undertaking and critically successful, but by the time we came around to the "Second Annual" there was not the energy to sustain it.

Dissolution..
Hard work yields great rewards but too much work can be destructive. Unicorn Theatre had several goals. One not known by the public at large was that we were in negotiation for a space on the Peninsula that would have been adopted by us virtually rent-free. We had the help of several wonderful people in our community and were in negotiation for over fifteen months before it fell through. That's politics - you win some, you loose some. We produced two seasons of shows with the idea we would move into a new home that would allow us to take it a little easier. We were always under the gun to pay the rent. We had some grants and patrons, and we had the box office. When "the deal" fell through it was hard to face the same old grind. If you are in the theatre with diminished joy, it is a life that cannot be sustained. It is a life that demands joy!

Why did you leave Hoffman? - very simple - long hours, physical exhaustion and too much overhead paid out and joy lost. We did some granting, but with the amount of income made from box office we squeaked by for years, only at the cost of blood, sweat, and muscle. In our last year we did 17 shows in a year, mainstage and children's shows, that's one every 3 1/2 weeks on average. I was exhausted. I had a commitment to complete the season. I got to the point where I said I do not want to announce another season. I don't want to go under, but I'm not going to announce another season at Hoffman. I decided that in December of '99 I would give notice. We would complete our season there but no more at Unicorn at the Hoffman. Our last year of POOH featured a great production, and we produced DEATHTRAP, THE LADY'S NOT FOR BURNING, and THE SUM OF US. I think these shows were a good close to our stay at Hoffman. We gave notice at the end of March, 2 months before we left. I was tired of dealing with it. In the case of Unicorn at the Hoffman "The show must not go on!"

In reflection:
As a leader, one wants to inspire even in greatest moments of self-doubt. The loss of Unicorn at the Hoffman was a loss of a big life for me and I believe a cause of sadness for others who had worked so hard to fulfill its original vision. But I also believe in it value as a life because it touched so many lives so deeply .

Curtain Call - the Cast of Hoffman takes a bow!
Bob Colter - his Laurel to my Hardy, we share equally stupidity and brilliance, a steadfast loving friendship. A great partner in life and a true talent. Jody Gilmore came phenomenal distances, great as George, Tom and Ratty - he is highly disciplined and giving. Rob Foster, A.K.A. Winnie-the-Pooh was writer, director and graphic whiz! Thank you. Thomas Burks flows from his center, at his best crackling blue phosphorus. His Toad, DeFlores, George and Davey were standouts. Peter Eberhardt is talented, tuneful, articulate - a toasted rye - ironic and perfect for those Peter Eberhardt roles (see him in twin comedies at SPRC this month) - To Philip Pratt and Fred Nielson- the Dead Pan and The Pie in the Face. Our cast of hundreds! Mr. Ron Cohen for his Kent, Teddy, Peacham and Lord Slumley. Garland Thompson for his Orsino, Mack the Knife and Poetry Slams. To Karner Benjamin for "being" Karner Benjamin and Cindy Womack for "being" Cindy Womack - "Oh, but for a muse of fire!". Joan Swartz for her music and her Blue Fairy and Passing Comets. Sonny Jenkins, Kimberly Scott, Erik Peterson, Danya King, Rob Devlin, Tamera Gries, Robin Nisbet Summers, Marlin Basco and John Van Heis III. To Neva Hahns, Marlie Avante, Suzanne Gardener, Roo Hornaday, Jennifer Lister, Susan Keenan, Kelly McMenimen, Tricia Wayne and Lucinda Boone - unique strong individuals and a lovely bouquet of actresses. Reed Scott and Mark Shuler for their sets, Chris Greulach and Ed Hills for their lighting. Cieltis Reed, a great Rabbit, helpful all around. Alan Aston and Lady Rameriz-Hull, Cindy Ortiz and Fred Sebers for their tech support. Margaret Voss, Kimberly Scott and Holly Goodwin for their costumes. Our cast from Santa Cruz, without exception, have been wonderful - Susanne Schragg, Susan Forrest, Katherine Kinser, and Aaron Woods. Actors and members of the Board: the wonderful Lavelle Brown actress/organizer, Jeff McGrath on stage Hamlet and off stage administrator. Richard Munyon and Derick Neigemann - enthusiastic and dedicated. Bryan Colter, lighting who grew up at the Hoffman. To our chairs, Ben Goldman, a friend and steadfast supporter, and Barbra Alexander, an always inventive and charismatic captain. Deepest thanks to Kalyn Shubnell for holding up the mirror - a dedicated spirit, a great Piglet and a tasty Gwendolyn. Pacific Grove's Skip Kadish (Tiger Brown) - dedicated, balanced, a thoughtful Soloman - a man of high ethics - the voice of reason and reliable friend. Thanks.

A New Resurrection....
Unicorn left Hoffman last May 4th. We have done several show at Cherry Center. We plan to do less than five shows a year. Unicorn Theatre has cut back on the size of productions, most shows with casts of less than eight. We will do more original scripts and spend more time on each project. Slated for July is BELL, BOOK AND CANDLE and in November, DEATH OF A SALESMAN. Family Fantasy Theatre will be back this summer. Call Carey Crockett for info: 649-0259.