Interview: Theatre Life with Colin Hovde

Today's subject Colin Hovde is living his theatre life in two very different ways. He is currently in his fifth season as the Producing Artistic Director of Theater Alliance which performs at the Anacostia Playhouse. Their current production Mnemonic runs through April 9th. The show is directed by Hovde.

What some of you might not know about is Colin's other huge contribution to our theatre community. You might be reading a review on Broadway World or elsewhere and notice a photo credit for a particular production around town. Lately, and more often than not, the credit reads "Photo by C. Stanley Photography." Now you know who C. Stanley is. Colin photographs all over town at venues like Theater J, Arena Stage and many others.

Theatrical photography is an art form that only a handful of people can do well. The truth is that the work people like Colin and others do is very specialized and the "let's do it ourselves" approach that some companies take is unlikely to yield the same quality. It also takes considerable skill to capture all the highlight moments in a production without causing a distraction to the performers or an audience.

Next time you read a review of a show and notice a "C. Stanley Photography" credit in the photo caption, rest assured Colin took plenty of care to provide the best shots possible to serve the production.

But let's not stop there. Next time you're looking for something a little bit out of the ordinary to fill your theatre fix, consider at trip over to Anacostia Playhouse for a Theater Alliance production. With productions like Mnemonic in their arsenal, Colin Hovde and his Theater Alliance team will make your trip across the river a worthwhile one.

What or who started your journey into working in the arts?

My two great mentors Gerald Freedman and Bob Francesconi were so instrumental in forming my spine as an artist. In very different ways, they helped open me up as an artist as well as see how theater can be a rewarding and challenging way of life.

Were you directing productions before you became a theatrical photographer?

Yes. I studied acting and directing at the North Carolina School of the Arts. It was not until a couple years after leaving school and working professionally for a couple years that I did my first real production photography shoot. I was working at a theater (actually Theater Alliance ten years ago) and for some reason the production photographer could not be there. So, I grabbed my camera and took the photos. They turned out really well and were printed in the Washington Post. Other theaters saw my work and it grew from there.

You are the Producing Artistic Director of Theater Alliance which is now located at Anacostia Playhouse. Can you please talk about how you go about choosing a season that is artistically satisfying while trying to get audience?

I feel that one of the most challenging and exciting responsibilities of being an artistic director is choosing a season. Theater Alliance looks for plays that demand to be produced; those that connect with the audience, push the field, and open dialogue. We work with artists and tell stories that are reflective of the world we see on a daily basis. There is a mercurial balance of finding a play that deals with an important issue and opens it up in a way that it not cynical or depressing, but honest and illuminating. We do not want to beat people over the head with our agenda or the playwright's, but rather allow people to shift their paradigms, and challenge their own ideas, when confronted with the questions that our work asks of our audience.

This is your fifth year as Artistic Director of Theater Alliance. What was the biggest change you made to the company when you took the position?

When I took over Theater Alliance almost six years ago, the company was in crisis. There had not been a staff for the last year, only one show had been produced, and there was donor fatigue as well as significant debt. The biggest asset that the company had was a very committed board. I surrounded myself with a team that could help me with the internal day to day running of the company. Instead of trying to do everything myself I made sure that the company was more than just me and my vision, but rather a group that was committed to our mission and to working hard to make magic out of very little. After almost six years we have a core four-person staff and produce three to five shows a season. We also have a strong individual and foundation base of support and are completely out of debt. So, in short I did everything I could to ask for help from people that were dedicated to our mission and pushed us to see what we could accomplish together.

Mnemonic may be considered a departure from the kind of work that Theatre Alliance usually produces. Can you please tell us a little bit about the show and what drew you to it in the first place?

I actually think that Mnemonic is right in line with a lot of what Theater Alliance has been producing under my leadership. It is only a departure in the size and scope. The piece asks vital and challenging questions, it has moments of intense humor, is ensemble-based, and is highly theatrical. I see elements of this piece spread out over the last few seasons with White Rabbit/Red Rabbit, Occupied Territories, and other shows. Mnemonic just pulls all of the theatrical tools together and takes the audience on a wild ride. I would say that it is a very different piece mainly in the fact that it is not written by a playwright, but rather a re-envisioning of a piece that was devised by a very specific ensemble, Complicite.

All of the things that I outlined above are what drew me to the piece. It is inspiring to me that a piece of theater can literally take your breath away and make you think about your life in a new way.

You recently directed a fantastic Theater for Young Audiences show at Kennedy Center called Where Words Once Were. After first reading the script, was it an "I must do this!" type of response?

It absolutely was that kind of a response. Finegan Kruckemeyer's work is so stunningly playful and powerful. The way that he uses words and the way that he tells stories for a younger audience that also resonate for an older audience really inspired me.

As a production photographer, what is the most challenging show you've had to photograph?

As a production photographer, I love the challenging shows. The most challenging shows that I have shot are usually dance performances as they care less about lighting faces and the lighting is SO dim. I love the challenge of finding the right way to capture a story in one image or two images while still capturing the spirit of the moment. Not always the easiest, but really a fun challenge.

What is the secret to effectively photographing a production without it becoming a distraction to the performers?

There is no secret. It is pretty simple. The distraction is all on their shoulders. I have to get the best images I can and if they are a little distracted then that is what has to happen. I try to be as respectful as possible. I have heard stories of production photographers getting onstage during a run to get the right angle. And that is really where I draw the line. I try to keep all my angles to something that the audience would see from their seats and that minimizes the distraction to the performers.

I imagine you are pretty solidly booked with theatre work all year but do you photograph other functions such as weddings etc?

Theater Alliance keeps me very busy. I am always trying to grow the company so that we can reach a wider audience, so we can pay our artists better, ask the relevant questions, and engage in dialogue with our audience. So, I rarely have time for many other photo gigs. When a friend gets married I'll sometimes shoot their wedding. I sometimes do headshots for actors and have done an event or two on Capitol Hill, but not often.

After Mnemonic, what does 2017 hold in store directing-wise for you?

Nothing at this moment. We are still putting the final touches on the upcoming season for Theater Alliance so I am sure that I will be directing something in the next year. But at this point I do not have any freelance work lined up and I am fine with that. A minute to breathe will be nice.

Special thanks to Theatre Alliance's publicist Tricia Homer for her assistance in coordinating this interview.

Theatre Life logo designed by Kevin Laughon.