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By John R. Sutherland
VANCOUVER’S Pacific Theatre (PT) is a small,
quality theatre company in a city with many onstage options. Despite its
relatively small size, PT has consistently ‘punched above its
weight.’ This has been recognized beyond the Christian community, as
seen in this Vancouver Sun tribute:
 | Pacific Theatre artistic director Ron Reed |
“Talk about faith. In the first difficult decade
of Vancouver’s Christian-rooted Pacific Theatre, founding artistic
director Ron Reed had to trust in the future as his company struggled to
keep going after receiving a grand total of one review in B.C.’s
newspapers – a withering critique.
“Most theatre companies don’t even last a
decade, let alone one filled fighting the hostile neglect of theatre
critics and government funding agencies . . . But Pacific Theatre
experienced a reversal of fortunes in its second decade, when it finally
began to convince government agencies, theatre reviewers, the
country’s artistic community and diverse audiences that it is not out
to ram Jesus Christ down anyone’s neck.”
PT has received 77 Jessie nominations, and has won
several awards – including Outstanding Production and Outstanding
Director. To mark PT’s 25th season, BCCN talked to actor and
playwright Ron Reed,
PT’s co-founder and artistic director.
BC Christian News: Pacific
Theatre very much reflects the values and talents of you, as its founder.
Were these talents obvious from a young age?
Ron Reed: Not at all. I
came from a family that was musical and loved literature. I read endlessly
myself. But drama was not part of my upbringing.
BCCN: What provided the
initial spark?
RR: I saw my first
professional play in grade 8 – Great
Expectations. It was for me a unique and
formative experience. One character pulled out a pipe and smoked it, and
seconds later I could smell the pipe smoke. Later, pallbearers carried a
casket down the aisle, just inches away from the audience. It was just so
physical. I was enthralled by this play.
BCCN: So you became an avid
theatregoer. But what about becoming an actor? Did your God-given talent
show up pretty quickly after that?
RR: Quite the contrary! I
enrolled in my first drama class in grade 10. Apparently I had no evident
talent to act. I got my lowest grade in grade 10 in drama.
BCCN: Obviously, something
changed.
RR: Right. In grade 11, I
had what I call my spiritual awakening. I grew up in a church-going family;
but our faith was never discussed at home. But with my re-birth, to use the
biblical expression, my whole life was changed dramatically –
including my ability to act.
BCCN: Was there a linkage
between the spiritual awakening and the emergence of your dramatic talent?
RR: Absolutely. I felt
liberated. It occurred to me that if God thinks I’m great, who cares
what others think? This realization gave me a sense of life and enthusiasm.
I went from “it’s all about me” to a fascination with
other people. I now would ask myself: “What would it be like to
be them?”
BCCN: So you hit the stage
running after that?
RR: Not at first. I now
wanted to be an actor, but my parents objected. They weren’t too
crazy about my second choice either, to be a pastor. I did a humanities
degree at the U. of Alberta, although I did do a year of theatre school
part way through. I also attended Regent College here in Vancouver, and for
a while was a youth pastor on the North Shore.
BCCN: But it wasn’t
for you.
RR: No. I craved to be an
artist; so I hiked off to California and did the Masters in Fine Arts at
the California Institute of the Arts. Then in 1984, I co-founded Pacific
Theatre with three other actors.
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BCCN: You didn’t have
your own theatre at first.
RR: No, we used various
rented premises. But in 1994 we secured our theatre, rehearsal and office
space at 12th and Hemlock. This was a huge improvement in more ways than
one.
BCCN: How so?
RR: Well, among other
things, we were admitted to the Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance.
The local papers also reviewed our plays. As time went by, we became fully
accepted by the local artistic community.
BCCN: You are often called
the Christian theatre in town. Is that an appropriate term?
RR: It depends what you
mean by the term. If one thinks it means we’re propagandistic –
preaching answers, exclusive, even amateurish – then we’re
certainly not that.
BCCN: What is your
distinctive, then?
RR: We do plays that
interest us.
BCCN: But most theatre
companies would say that.
RR: Yes, but the
‘us’ is different.
BCCN: Explain.
RR: I, and the company, are
preoccupied with the things Jesus talked about and embodied:
reconciliation, forgiveness, restoration, new life and a new start, the
supernatural, ethical and moral decisions, and peace and justice. So we put
on plays that explore these themes.
BCCN: So the Christian
aspect has more to do with your worldview, than whether a play could be put
on in a church.
RR: That’s right. But
I should add that we are also interested in plays that deal with Christian
experience. We have done Cotton Patch Gospel, A Man for All Seasons, God’s Man in Texas and Shadowlands, all of which were nominated for Jessies.
BCCN: So what’s
happening in this important anniversary year?
RR: Is this my opportunity
for shameless promotion?
BCCN: Absolutely.
RR: This season’s
choices vary tremendously. Our first production, Mourning Dove, explores issues raised by
the Robert Latimer story. What does one do in the face of relentless
suffering and hopelessness? Jesus My Boy looks at life from the point of view of Jesus’
stepfather Joseph. It has some lovely comedy and evocative music.
A Time to Dance is a true story of a pioneer in modern dance, an
Austrian woman with a Jewish father, who had the misfortune to live in Nazi
Europe. And there’s much, much more.
BCCN: When do the 25th
anniversary celebrations begin?
RR: October 17 to November
15 with Mourning Dove.
BCCN: Be there or be
square, right?
RR: I couldn’t have
said it better.
Ron Reed’s latest play, A Refuge of Lies, just finished an
off-Broadway run in New York. PT details are at: pacifictheatre.org
October 2008
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