The Center Theatre and Training Center for the Working Actor may be gone, but it certainly has not been forgotten. Founders, friends and former students of the Center gathered at Prairie Moon in Evanston July 30 for a 20th anniversary party and reunion. R. J. Coleman organized the evening of food, drinks and cake that brought together over 40 alums and spouses, several of whom flew in from various coasts. Founder and artistic director Dan LaMorte came in from New York (and brought several of his sisters with him) while ensemble member Marc Vann arrived from Los Angeles (where he’s abandoned live theatre in favor of TV and film, and says he doesn’t miss it—which is live theatre’s loss).

Dale Calandra, a Center Theatre acting, teaching and directing stalwart, was not able to make it. Quite recovered from his life-threatening illness of two years ago, Dale now is part of the national tour of Hairspray as understudy for the co-starring role of Edna. The show was in Washington, D.C. the night of the reunion, but Dale phoned from backstage at the Kennedy Center to send everyone his love.

Those with long memories will recall that the Training Center for the Working Actor was established by LaMorte in 1981 as a part of Wisdom Bridge Theatre. In 1984 it went independent and set up shop at 1346 West Devon Ave. with a 12-person Equity acting ensemble and a complete roster of professional-level courses. The reunion marked the 20th anniversary of Center Theatre’s first independent season, 1984-1985.

On the Move I: The successor to Center Theatre, in many respects, has been The Artistic Home, the theatre and training center established by Center Theatre alums John Mossman and Kathy Scambiatterra (Mr. and Mrs. in private life) after they returned in 1998 from several years in Los Angeles. Currently situated at 1420 Irving Park Rd., The Artistic Home has earned a reputation that belies its tiny storefront quarters. Caught in the Revenue Department vice two years ago, The Artistic Home had to spend thousands of dollars in costs and penalties to remain open and gain a PPA license.

Despite that investment, Mossman and Scambiatterra are looking to pick up shop and move to larger quarters. They have their eyes on an Edgewater location on Broadway in the same building that houses offices shared by Alderman Mary Ann Smith and several state elected officials. The storefront studio theatre still will be small at about 50 seats (although that’s 50 percent more than they have now), but there will be room for a separate training studio plus offices, and that’s the big factor.

On the Move II: The 12 year old Breadline Theatre Group is counting the days at its present location at 1802 W. Berenice in the rapidly-gentrifying Ravenswood industrial corridor. The building housing the two-story Breadline complex of theatre and rehearsal spaces has been sold. According to managing director Heather Kampf, the new owner has said he will honor the troupe’s lease, which has two years left to run, but he won’t renew it. However, the same owner purchased the building around the corner that housed the Breadline Studio Theatre (and various other arts-related suites) and quickly terminated the leases despite assurances that he would honor them. The Kampfs (Breadline’s artistic director is Paul Kampf) have taken a “wait and see” attitude.

Northlight Theatre’s season brochure promotes a May 10-June 18 run of William Nicholson’s The Retreat from Moscow, starring Steppenwolf ensemble members John Mahoney and Rondi Reed. Of course, Reed is featured as Madame Morrible in the new Chicago sit-down production of Wicked. In order to accept the role in the Broadway musical, Reed had to make an early exit from Romeo and Juliet at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and back out of a commitment for an upcoming show at Writers’ Theatre. Of course, CST and Writers’ Theatre both operate on CAT agreements that have an out clause for more remunerable employment. But not so the Equity Production Contract that governs Wicked. Indeed, there is no employment in theatre more remunerative than the Production Contract. However, Reed was clever enough to negotiate a leave-of-absence from Wicked so she could do the Northlight show, and the Wicked producers wanted her in the show badly enough to agree. Reed, Wicked and Northlight all get what they want, which is what they call a win-win-win situation.

With so many actors in town, and so many TV commercials shot here (although not nearly as many as there used to be, heaven knows), it’s surprising to me how seldom a familiar theatre actor face turns up on the small screen. We should be happy, therefore, that three very familiar stage faces currently are principals in commercials that have received heavy airplay. Is there anyone out there who hasn’t caught Renee Matthews and Bernie Landis as an Old Married Couple bantering for some geriatric product (I forget which one; I‘m having a Senior Moment)? Or how about TimeLine Theatre’s artistic director, PJ Powers, at his obnoxious best (“That voice!” one theatre critic I know laments about him) walking into glass doors in a spot for AOL? Powers probably could fund the Time Line season on residuals.

Former Chicagoan Victoria Bussert, long affiliated with the Great Lakes Theatre Festival (Cleveland), is set to direct the New York workshop of Bringers at the Off-Broadway York Theatre next November. Bringers is the musical by Chicagoans Paul Libman (music) and David Hudson (lyrics) that received the 2005 Richard Rodgers Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. The award, one of the most prestigious in the field, carries a $3,000 cash prize for the authors and also a $40,000 stipend for a full workshop staging in New York. During her Chicago days, Bussert was a multiple Jeff Citation winner for her outstanding directorial work at Pegasus Players, where she specialized in Sondheim musicals.

Bringers, which is based on World War I era poems by Carl Sandburg, was developed through Theatre Building Chicago’s (TBC) musical theatre workshop. Fittingly, Bringers was the featured attraction of Stages 2005, the annual festival of new musicals at TBC, August 12-14, where it was given two concert performances.

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