2-15-08
Van Swearingen Steps Down from A Red Orchid after 15 Years
Van Swearingen
A Red Orchid Theatre is one of the most respected theatres in town. For 15 years, they’ve done works about social justice and interpersonal relationships that consistently get good reviews (see Kevin’ Heckman’s review of Fatboy in Review Roundup) and attract the most talented actors, writers and directors. The theatre helped launch the career of Tracy Letts, whose Bug premiered at A Red Orchid before being picked up for a New York production. Michael Shannon, one of the three original AROT ensemble members, was in both the Chicago and New York productions of Bug, which was his launching pad into films. Danny McCarthy, also an AROT alum, also has a strong film career after being cast in “Prison Break.” AROT’s ensemble list looks like a Who’s Who of Chicago theatre, and includes Dado and Brett Neveu and Lance Stuart Baker.
Yet A Red Orchid Theatre, according to tax documents filed on Guidestar, has been running on a budget of just under $120,000 for the past few years. That’s barely enough to pay its actors, designers, directors and part-time staffers. It’s never been enough to pay Guy Van Swearingen, who has been artistic director of the theatre since its inception. Van Swearingen has a degree in theatre, but has spent most of his adult life as a Chicago firefighter in addition to his artistic director duties.
Now, Van Swearingen has decided to step down, step away from the theatre he co-founded, and focus on other aspects of his life.
“After 15 years, maybe it’s time to change the paradigm,” said Van Swearingen by cell phone from the firehouse. “I kind of did all of this by a shoe string, by hook and by crook as I went along.
“The theatre has been my spiritual home for 15 years,” he added. “My spirituality is taking me away from the theatre now.”
Replacing Van Swearingen is ensemble member Kirsten Fitzgerald, who first worked with AROT in David Williamson’s The Removalists in 1997, before joining the ensemble in 2000.
“It was pretty obvious that Kirsten was the right candidate,” said ensemble member and AROT co-founder Larry Grimm. “I think what became astonishingly clear, as it is for many theatre companies, is that artistry and business requires different skills, and Kirsten has skills in both realms.
“Part of that skill,” Grimm added, “is the skill to delegate, which did not come easy to Guy and is both the blessing and curse of A Red Orchid.”
“I think the biggest thing over the years is watching how our artistic product has grown stronger and stronger and has outshone and outperformed our infrastructure,” said Fitzgerald, who officially took over at the beginning of February.
“In order to continue doing what we do, we need to solidify our base, so we can explore the possibility of growth,” she added.
That means more collaborations with other theatres, and exploring marketing possibilities, which was never AROT’s strong suit. Grimm said he is going to develop an educational outreach program that will hopefully bring more money in.
“It’s getting old to be the best kept secret in theatre,” Grimm said.
Fitzgerald stressed, though, that the mission is not going to change. “As an ensemble we all feel strongly that the theatre is the greatest sustenance for the human spirit,” she said. The challenge, according to Van Swearingen, is finding the scripts.
“It’s very hard to find issue oriented drama—socially conscience plays—that are good.”
Right now, said Grimm, the ensemble is working through finding its identity without Van Swearingen.
“Guy has single-handedly carried that theatre on his shoulders,” said Grimm. “It has made the theatre run and it has made Guy run into the ground.”
Van Swearingen is not leaving the ensemble, and will still be active in A Red Orchid, both as actor and director, while he finds his path outside of the Wells Street building.
“I don’t know where this is going to take me, but I’m hoping it takes me somewhere good,” he said. “I’m trying to think what’s the best way I can reach people and effect change.”