WillRep's Kird Boyd Bids An Emotional Adieu

Kirk Boyd in the theater space he both loved and loathed.

At an emotional press conference full of hugs, kisses and teary thank you’s, Willamette Repertory Theatre’s Artistic Director Kirk Boyd announced today that the theater company he founded nine years ago would be dissolving after the current production of Wild Oats runs its course.

"And now for the shameless self-promotional part of the deal," Boyd said, as he promoted Wild Oats, which he called a "wonderful 18th Century romp with live music." Wild Oats opens Friday and runs through April 19. Tickets cost as little as $15 for Thursday night performances (and tonight's preview show is as little as $12).

In a statement issued with sometimes shaky, emotional delivery, Boyd said the unanimous decision to cease WillRep’s operations "was made with [lighting designer Michael A. Peterson’s and my] blessing; though it was a painful decision."

"We’ve had amazing support from our donors. That is not the challenge," Boyd said. "There simply wasn’t enough revenue from ticket sales to support the operations at the level that we insist on producing."

Boyd sounded optimistic about the future of theater in the Eugene community, saying live theater "speaks to people in a way that no other art form can."

Boyd recalled a friend who said that theater creates "searing emotional memory." So he bid a farewell, recalling past and current highlights: "Let’s go out on Woody Guthrie’s American Song … let’s go out on A Midsummer’s Night Dream … let’s go out, with our fingers crossed, on Wild Oats."

On the question of the difficulties Boyd encountered with the Hult Center’s cavernous Soreng Theater: "With 500 seats it’s hard to be intimate with this theater. For me the challenge is the proscenium setup. This, on a steady diet, is too formal for people. I like to get into the three-quarters thrust, theater in the round, I like to be a little closer to the audience."

On the question of whether Boyd could continue producing plays in the community using the resources he’s established over the past ten years: "I believe that the professional model can exist in this town. But we have to rethink it. It will probably be somewhere else [in a smaller venue]."

What would Boyd have done differently? Boyd said going into the venture under-financed. "It became crippling on a day to day basis," he said.

On programming of specific plays in order to get people’s butts in the seats, Boyd acknowledged that "it’s always a crapshoot." WillRep's highest attendance was for their production of To Kill A Mockingbird. Their last production, Proof, had dismal attendance.

When asked how the loss of a professional theater company will affect the local arts scene, Boyd said that "professional theater raises the bar all the way across. Theater begets theater. My understanding is the Lord Leebrick’s base audience has increased quite a bit since we came to town. I think there’s a certain respect for the art form that happens so passionately in professional theater."

See the blog post above this one for the full audio of the press conference (using my cheap digital recorder, mind you). And, lastly, GO SEE THIS PLAY.