Director Robert Mintz and THE NEVERENDING STORY at The Growing Stage

The Neverending Story is being performed at The Growing Stage, The Children's Theatre of New Jersey from March 10th to March 26th. The show is adapted by David S. Craig based on the novel by Michael Ende. Robert Mintz is directing the production on the Netcong stage.

Told with all the thrills of a classic adventure, The Neverending Story begins with Bastian, a lonely boy, who stumbles into a bookshop where he discovers a curious book, "The Neverending Story." Bastian hides in the attic of his school and as he begins to read, a huge adventure surges into life. The show features fascinating characters like Falkor the Luck Dragon, Artax the horse, Morla the Turtle, and Uyulala and many more.

Broadwayworld.com had the opportunity to interview Robert Mintz about his career and The Neverending Story at The Growing Stage.

Mintz is thrilled to be directing his first Mainstage production at the Growing Stage after having directed the Studio Series production of "Into the Woods" and choreographing the Studio Series production of "The Wiz." A Byram native, Robert began his acting career as a young performer at The Growing Stage and still enjoys coming back to perform in productions when he can. Some of his favorite roles at The Growing Stage include the title role in "Peter Pan," the Scarecrow in "The Wizard of Oz," and Pinky Whitehead in "Harriet the Spy." Robert primarily works in the Washington, DC area as a performer, director, choreographer, and teacher. He has worked on productions at The Kennedy Center, Arena Stage, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Signature Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, and Adventure Theatre, as well as having worked on numerous high school and university productions. Robert studied Shakespeare at the London Dramatic Academy and holds a Bachelors of Music degree in Musical Theatre from The Catholic University of America.

Tell us about some of your favorite memories of performing as a youth at The Growing Stage.

I rarely have specific onstage memories from performances, but there are certainly a few shows and roles that I remember vividly and cherish deeply. One of my first shows was an adaptation of "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" created by Executive Director, Stephen Fredericks and Artist-in-Residence, Perry Arthur Kroeger. The story was presented as a comedic send-up of the Old West, and all the characters were different animals. I was a tap-dancing prairie dog, and I loved every second of it. I, of course, will always treasure playing the title role in "Peter Pan." I had a blast singing those classic songs, and of course flying over that stage was an incredible experience. However, my fondest memories from that production took place offstage. Some of my dearest friendships developed during the run of that show, and for me, that's part of the reason The Growing Stage still feels like home after all these years.

Important mentors?

At the top of such a list would have to be Stephen Fredericks, the Executive Director and Founder of The Growing Stage. He directed me in my first show at the age of 7, and he was, in effect, my first acting teacher. Though a large amount of the theatrical knowledge I learned was instilled by working directly with him, a larger portion of his influence on me was indirect in the very nature of the environment that Steve has created at The Growing Stage. I don't know of many theaters that have professional adult actors working alongside young performers from the community, but I can't think of any better way to enter the world of theatre. Between watching these brilliant artists perform and soaking in every drop of knowledge and advice they had, I gained an artistic and professional outlook that I carry with me today.

How do your many roles in the theater compliment each other?

I've found that being a performer, a director, and a choreographer, I have a much more balanced perspective on my work. As a choreographer, I'm often thinking about the visual aspect of something; how the bodies are moving in space, the overall pictures that are being created, etc. As a director, I tend to focus more on the story being told by the actors, and the message of the show. As a performer, I tend to be a bit more selfish and focus on what physical and creative elements I need to do my job. So when I'm directing a show, my primary focus is the story and the message. But I rely on my acting and choreography strengths as tools to help me in that mission. So the choreography side of me will say, "What if we create this beautiful formation onstage to help the audience focus in on that important bit of storytelling?" Then the performer side of me will say, "If you want to do that, you'll need to give the actor more time to travel there and a clearer motivation of why his character would make that move." The same crossover happens in the other areas as well. When I'm choreographing, my director brain is always asking what story is being told by these dance steps. Or when I'm performing, my choreographer brain is asking how do I need to carry myself in this scene or dance number to match the style and imagery being presented by the creative team.

What are some of the challenges of working in Children's Theatre?

One challenge in Children's Theatre, and especially in this production of "The Neverending Story," is to not lose the message of the piece. There are lots of different characters and settings in this play, requiring lots of fantastic puppets, costumes, and set pieces. It makes for quite a visually exciting production, but it can sometimes overshadow the story and important themes of the plot. "The Neverending Story" is about facing life head on, not losing hope when things go badly, and using your imagination to inspire hope for the future. Thus, it's important that the acting remain simple and truthful underneath all of the spectacle, so that the audience will have a message onto which they can cling.

Tell us a little about the cast/creative of The Neverending Story.

As is the case with most shows at The Growing Stage, the cast is comprised of professional adult actors and young performers. The young performers are all local and range from the ages of 10 to 18. Our adult cast come from all over Northern New Jersey, and include 5 members of Actors Equity.

Two members of our creative team that deserve special recognition are our Costume Designer, Lori B. Lawrence and our Set and Props Designer, Perry Arthur Kroeger. Our cast of 17 has the task of playing over 35 different characters, from schoolyard bullies to gnomes to horses and dragons. This would not be possible without the incredible costumes, masks, and puppets that Lori and Perry have created. There are over 40 handheld puppets and scenic elements, all of which are hand-made. This process has been a true collaboration between these designers and myself, and without them I could not have brought Fantastica and "The Neverending Story" to life.

Why do you think that NJ audiences will enjoy the show?

There are not many professional theaters in Northwestern New Jersey, and only The Growing Stage caters to the whole family. I think families will particularly respond to this show, because the story is very much cross-generational. The film version of "The Neverending Story" premiered in 1984, and I, along with many people of my generation, watched it as children. Now the people who watched the film in the Eighties have their own children, and they are at the perfect age to be introduced to the story. It's a not only a great opportunity to introduce a new generation of children to "The Neverending Story," it's a great way to expose them to the Theatre. I'd recommend seeing the show, and then going home and reading the book or watching the film. It'll open a world of conversation and hopefully inspire many more similar experiences in the future.

Anything else, absolutely anything you want BWW readers to know.

I just want to stress that there are only three weekends of performances of "The Neverending Story," running from March 10th through March 26th, Friday evenings and Saturday and Sunday afternoons. The story may be never-ending, but the production is not!

The Neverending Story will be performed at The Growing Stage, The Children's Theatre of New Jersey 3/10 to 3/26. The show runs for 75 minutes with a 15-minute intermission and is recommended for the entire family. Performances are on Fridays at 7:30 pm and Saturdays and Sundays at 4:00 pm. The theatre is located at 7 Ledgewood Avenue, Netcong, NJ 07857. For more information and ticketing call 973.347.4946 or visit their web site at http://www.growingstage.com/.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Robert Mintz