Interview: David Blackburn and Austin Theatre Project

We continue our series on Austin theatres and producers with David Blackburn and the award winning Austin Theatre Project. In just four short years, Austin Theatre Project has become a company known for new and edgy musical productions. We sat down with him to learn a little more about both him and Austin Theatre Project.

BWW: What is the history of the Austin Theatre Project?

DB: There's actually a little pre-history. In 2009, I received a text from a friend who told me there was a woman in Cedar Park looking for a pianist/music director for a production of THE FANTASTICKS that was happening in Leander. I set up an appointment and soon found myself driving to her home and trying to think of ways to get out of it. (I had had an extremely bad experience with a theatre [no longer in existence] and its producer [no longer in Austin].) Well, I got there and played about half the overture and she hired me. That woman was Barbara Schuler and we spent the next couple of hours talking and discovered that we had seen each other perform many, MANY years earlier in Orlando while she was working with Mark II Dinner Theatre and I was with Musicana Dinner Theatre.

Over the next couple of years, we worked for several producers as a Director/Music Director team. Some of them were wonderful to work for... some, not so much. We would end each project with, "When we have our own theatre..."

Late in the fall of 2010, we were in San Antonio to see a friend perform in the lead role of Terrence McNally's CORPUS CHRISTI. It was a wonderful production we were both moved beyond belief. Barbara leaned over to me and said, "We need to produce this show in Austin." I leaned back and replied, "I guess it's time to start that theatre, huh?"

In the spring of 2011 we opened our production of CORPUS CHRISTI and followed that with THE EFFECT OF GAMMA RAYS ON MAN-IN-THE-MOON. We followed that with our first musical, BABY. The success of BABY helped us decide to be a musical exclusive company.

BWW: What is Austin Theatre Project's mission?

DB: Our official mission is to be a center of artistic and educational growth for the greater Austin community through outstanding productions and services for a wide audience. However, it goes so much beyond that! Going back to those days when we would talk about what we would and wouldn't do when we had our own theatre, I would have to say that we wanted to make sure our actors were treated with the respect deserving of their talent. We were one of the first companies in Austin to give every actor a small honorarium for their work. It's not near what we hope to give them in the future, but we're both proud that we've done this with every production. We also didn't want to be a burden on the actor's time. Some companies tie up their actors for months while rehearsing and we put our shows together in just five or six weeks.

While we respect our people and honor their talent, that doesn't mean that we're pushovers. We expect everyone to treat everyone else with the same respect they are treated. In the years we have been doing this, there have only been one or two people who haven't been able to handle our environment... and they don't work for us anymore.

BWW: What are your goals?

DB: We would definitely love a permanent home! But then again, there are a lot of companies in town that would love the same thing. Right now we rehearse in different spaces around town, build our sets in Cedar Park and move everything into a rented venue for three weeks and then move out. It would be so nice to be able to do everything in one location!

With a permanent home we would like to create an educational outreach program with some of the local schools, and perhaps even work in conjunction with another educational program in the city and help create an unprecedented learning opportunity for the talented youth in the city.

We would also like to see our financial position improve to the point to where we can pay competitive salaries to our actors, crew, and musicians.

BWW: What is your background in theatre?

DB: I'm from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. My high school had no theatre program at all. But the summer after my sophomore year of high school, my mom saw an ad that the local summer stock company was looking for extras for CINDERELLA. I think she wanted me out of the house because the next thing I knew I was being dropped off for an audition. Luckily, I was a boy and all I had to do was pretty much just show up!

A few weeks later, the company had lost their music director for THE APPLE TREE. One of the other apprentices told the director that I played the piano and they asked me if would music direct the show. I had ZERO knowledge of what a music director was but she promised to help me... and pay me! She would sit behind me as I was "directing" rehearsals and she would lean in to me and tell what to say next, what to do next, what to ask next, what to fix next, and so on. She literally taught me how to music direct a show while I was music directing my first show.

In college I was a piano performance major but the summer after my junior year I had an accident and severely damaged the tendons in my right hand. I had a wonderful teacher who helped me recover and build my hand back up, but I never got the "classical chops" back to 100%. I found myself playing for BRIGADOON which was a joint production of the music and theatre fraternities and found my home. I ended up with a double major in music and theatre at Appalachian State University and in 1979 set off to Mobile, Alabama for my first professional job as a performer in a touring children's theatre company.

After that, I found myself in Florida working as a pianist for Musicana Dinner Theatre and through them I was able to get experience in night clubs, resorts, cruise ships and the national touring company of THE MOST HAPPY FELLA. I ended up on their production staff, writing, arranging, and directing shows. After 11 years with Musicana I became a free-lance music director and musician in Florida.

In the late 90's I was hired by Six Flags Fiesta Texas and became a part of their production team. After just six months, the corporate big wigs decided to shut down the production offices and contract out for their shows. I'd never been laid off before and didn't know what to do. Literally, the next day I got a call from a local San Antonio theatre was hired as their music director. I took a job waiting tables during the day and did theatre at night.

Unfortunately, I was REALLY good at the restaurant thing and soon became a manager. For six years I barely touched a piano, let alone work on any shows. While I loved the financial security of the restaurant company, I was miserable. The company moved me to Austin and eventually, I ended up leaving. I worked temp jobs and played the piano whenever and wherever I could. Eventually, I found my way back into theatre and more importantly, Barbara Schuler's living room!

BWW: Is this the first company you have run?

DB: Technically, yes. However, while in Florida I was elected President of the Vero Beach Theatre Guild and was essentially responsible for the running of that community theatre. Fortunately, the theatre had been around for decades and pretty much ran on its own so I wasn't able to destroy it or anything!

BWW: What challenges have you encountered bringing a theatre to life?

DB: I would say there have been two major challenges. The first is getting noticed. In just four years we have been honored with eleven awards from the Paynes, the CTETs, and BroadwayWorld.com. But when it comes to getting our press releases published, or having a variety of reviewers come to our shows, we run into a brick wall. (Thank you BWW, for always being there for us!). We just brought an excellent marketing person onto our Board of Directors, so hopefully we'll see some progress there!

The other major challenge is one that every theatre company deals with. That is the financial picture. One of our challenges is that we do a season of all musicals. Musicals cost up to ten times more to produce than non-musicals. We've been able to make it even though there have been some very close calls. Our next challenge is to find corporate sponsorship for our productions as well as season sponsors. That alone will make a huge difference and guarantee that ATP has a financially sound future.

BWW: Where do you see Austin Theatre Project in 10 years?

DB: That's actually a tough question. I find myself concentrating so much on the current season and productions I barely have time to plan our upcoming season! As I think about it though, I would love to see us in our own space where we can centralize all aspects of production and performance. I'd like to get our educational program off the ground so that in 10 years we have schools begging to participate. I would hope that in 10 years, we have at least one or two people that are paid, full-time staff.

BWW: Is there anything else you'd like to tell the readers of Broadway World Austin?

DB: I would like to thank Broadway World Austin for their support through the past four years. I honestly don't think we would still be here without BWW's encouragement and dedication to all of the local theatre companies in Austin. That's enough from me.... Good Lord! Haven't I gone on enough?

We here at Broadway World wish David and Barbara all the best in making their future dreams an Austin theatre scene a reality.

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