Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeff Stillman.
Hi Jeff, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I joined Avon Players Community Theater in November 1997. I had done theater in high school and college, and after two years as a working professional I wanted to get back onstage. I had planned to check out all of the community theaters within a 20-mile radius of my home, but when I saw “The Secret Garden” at Avon Players in May of 1997 I was so overwhelmed by the technical brilliance and the superb performances that I never looked anywhere else.
The first show I auditioned for was “Dial M for Murder.” There were five male roles and only six male auditioners, so the odds were quite good, and I landed the part of Max Halliday, crime fiction writer and secret lover of Margot Wendice. On the Sunday following the eight-week rehearsal period and the nine performances over three weekends we tore down the set. I stood there forlornly on the bare stage wondering what I was going to do with my free time now and when I’d see all my new friends again. The VP of Facility asked whether I’d consider coming out on Tuesday to help build the next set. I said I had no experience with building; he said someone would teach me. And thus began the pattern that would define my nearly 30-year association with Avon Players: time spent on the stage alternating with time spent behind the scenes. We have had countless members who have done the same, and that is what sustains the theater over the years. Take your moment in the spotlight, then shine the spotlight on someone else.
It is through that onstage/offstage experience that I’ve been able to try new things and develop my skill set. I’ve been an actor, director, producer, writer, crew member, builder, set designer, and board member. I’ve had great mentors along the way and after 30 years I’ve done my share of mentoring.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There are always challenges in the theater — personal, production-wise, and organization-wise. You don’t always land the role you want, or sometimes any role, and you have to learn to not take it personally. It’s a very creative field and there can be clashes of personality, differences of vision, or sometimes feeling like not everyone’s pulling their weight, but you have to remember that we’re all amateurs, we’re all unpaid, and we’re all trying to do our best.
Productions are always beset with problems. One of my favorite quotes is said by Geoffrey Rush’s character in “Shakespeare in Love,” who says about the theater: “The natural condition is one of insurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster. Strangely enough, it all turns out well.” There’s low turnout at auditions. Actors have unforeseen emergencies and illnesses. The set doesn’t get built fast enough. There are a hundred costumes to find for the big musical. Actors forget their lines, sometimes during actual shows. Actors forget entrances. Props break. Set pieces freeze or collapse. Actors drop out, sometimes at the last minute.
A favorite anecdote of mine about perseverance in the face of imminent disaster comes from our production of “Children of Eden.” The actor playing Noah’s son Ham injured his knee during some stage combat during the final Friday performance. He gamely finished out the last 10 minutes but knew he couldn’t manage closing night. We promoted a chorus member, and the rest of Noah’s family came in two hours early on Saturday to walk him through his paces. As the older brother Shem, I spent most of the performance dragging him around stage. Our choreographer stepped into — crawled into, rather, his role as a Komodo dragon during the filling of the ark. As we loaded the animals aboard, he loudly ad libbed, “I love Komodo dragons!”
And as far as the organization goes, it can often feel like we’re subject to the 80/20 rule, where 80 percent of the work is being done by 20 percent of the membership. Part of that is due to the rise of the theater gypsy, who flits from theater to theater landing a plum role, then disappearing until another plum role is available, never doing anything to aid the company. It leads to a conundrum sometimes at auditions: Do you cast the experienced member who continually gives back, or do you cast someone unknown who hopefully will become a longtime, hardworking member… but quite often will not? Despite the fact that we state at auditions that we expect those individuals who are cast to work on a future show, not everybody does. How do you honor commitment while still seeking to grow?
That question of balance is not the only one faced over the course of a season. Every new slate tries to strike a balance between box office draws and more daring material, as well as a satisfying lineup that has strong roles for young and old, for men and women, for large casts and small. The challenge is to provide enough opportunities for members both onstage and offstage that they’ll keep coming back every season, and enough variety and excitement in the lineup for the audiences to do the same.
As you know, we’re big fans of Avon Players Community Theater. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Avon Players was founded in 1947 by a group of teachers and Congregational Church members. It was named for Avon Township, the former name of Rochester Hills, as well as being a nod to Shakespeare, the Bard of Avon. The company put on plays at Rochester High School or Rochester Middle School until 1965 when it opened its distinctive A-frame theater on Washington Road along Stoney Creek.
The company puts on five shows a year, opening and closing with musicals and filling out the season with a comedy, a drama, and a wild card show that could be a music revue, a mystery, a Christmas show, or another comedy, drama, or musical. The company also puts on a youth production every year. Some of our youth members have gone on to star on Broadway, in touring companies, and on TV shows, The membership is comprised completely of volunteers. Avon Players is run by a nine-member executive board.
Avon Players has been proud to be a part of the Rochester and Rochester Hills community, participating in Art and Apples, Concert in the Park, the Rochester Centennial, Rochester Posed, and the Kris Kringle Market. In 1987 Avon Players hosted the Community Theatre Association of Michigan play festival.
Per our bylaws, “Avon Players is a nonstock, nonprofit Michigan corporation organized to promote and develop civic interest in—and enthusiasm for—nonprofessional dramatic and musical productions throughout the Greater Rochester Area. It seeks to generate community amusement, interest, and education in theater and to provide an opportunity for self-expression.” These days we like to say that we strive to offer Broadway-level shows at community theater-level prices. Our large pool of season ticket holders is a testament to that goal, but there’s always room for new ticket buyers to check us out! And we’re always looking for new members to join. Even if you don’t sing or act or dance there’s plenty of chances to put your existing skills to use and learn some new ones.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
I love the creativity and the collaboration that drives a theatrical production. Whenever you see a show anywhere, you’re seeing a unique version of that show because of the particular talents of the individual people involved and because of the fusion of those talents.
When I read a script that I’ve been assigned I have a sense of how I’m going to approach the character. But then I get onstage opposite someone else and their reading of their own character forces me to react in unexpected ways. Then the director begins communicating their vision and making their own suggestions with the whole show in mind, not just my part, and my performance morphs again. Then the set takes shape and the props come on and I start to move around the space differently. The costumes are added and I find myself changing my posture.
And just when we think we’ve got it all tight and buttoned up for opening night, we add an audience to the mix. Now we’re riding the waves of laughter in a comedy, we’re drawing energy from applause for a song or a dance number, or we’re leaning into the pauses of a drama as you can feel the audience silently weeping. It’s appropriate to say you give birth to a show because it truly does feel like a living entity that is continuously growing and changing.
As much as it’s fun to soak up the audience reaction when the show opens, what truly makes me happiest is that process of exploration where everyone is bringing their creativity to the mix and we’re crafting something together that is our own take on the material.
Pricing:
- $28 for a nonmusical
- $32 for a musical
- $60 for a membership
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.avonplayers.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avon.players/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AvonPlayersTheatre/
