economic issues

See/Hear
Kirk Boyd on Eugene actors, Eugene audiences and his dream theater
by Suzi Steffen

This interview kicks off a new occasional blog series for me: See/Hear: The Local Visual and Performing Arts Scene. Sadly, although the Q&A was meant to be an introduction to the artistic director of the Willamette Repertory Theatre at a moment when his final staged play of the company’s ninth season was about to open, it also serves as a kind of valedictory address: The Willamette Rep just announced that it’s closing down after the run of Wild Oats because, frankly, it couldn’t make enough money.

I interviewed Kirk Boyd a couple of weeks ago, and though at the time he seemed concerned about how hard it was for the plays to draw a consistent audience — and I’d heard from other sources how badly the WillRep’s Proof did, financially speaking — he talked about reading scripts for next year and what plays he had picked for the three May Readings in Rep. (By the way, if you already have tix for Readings in Rep, you can get refunds at the Hult Center box office. Call 682-5000 for more info.)

UPDATE: Though I was unable to attend the press conference this morning, our gracious sometimes-reviewer and calendar editor Chuck Adams did. His report and the audio of the whole thing are available here.

On the other hand, we also touched upon the difficulties of the space — Soreng Theatre might be OK for some of the Bach Festival’s Discovery Series, but it’s a terrible, ridiculous space for performing plays — and some of Boyd’s disappointments with the Eugene audience, not to mention the night that all of his scripts (including his director-marked Wild Oats script) were stolen from his car.

Kirk Boyd grew up in Eugene and left for some years to work with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. But he wanted to run his own company, and once he moved back to Eugene, he spent a couple of years getting the WillRep together before kicking off the first season. I wasn’t able to talk much with Boyd on the day he sent out the press release marking the demise of WillRep, but he did say he wasn’t leaving Eugene for greener pastures. “I’m staying right here,” he said.

We talked for over an hour on the day that we met. This transcript has been edited for clarity and because of the subsequent news. As always, Boyd spoke smoothly and with eloquence about a variety of topics, ranging from why the Hult Center should be taken apart and rebuilt to why he preferred the attempt to work with Equity actors.

I encourage readers to share memories of the Willamette Rep and your thoughts about it for Boyd, general manager Michael Peterson and everyone associated with the company in the comments section of this post.

Read more here.