Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2006 - 61

40th anniversary season. ATC will then rent out the set to Kansas City Repertory Theatre, another of the 2001-02 co-producers, who has also chosen to revive the show this year.
Because ATC's scenery is always built to travel (from the
shop to the theatre and then from venue to venue), the company has increasingly chosen to store complete sets and then
rent them out to other companies as an additional form of revenue. ATC is currently storing sets from five of its most popular
recent productions and is actively marketing them to other
theatres. The musical Ella on ATC's current season is specifically being designed with future rental possibilities in mind.

David Ira Goldstein, artistic director of the
Arizona Theatre Company, will be the keynote speaker
for the 2007 USITT Annual Conference and Stage Expo,
being held in Phoenix, AZ, from March 14-17.
Goldstein has been artistic director of ATC from
1992 to the present, a period that has seen unprecedented growth in artistic programming, educational
programs, and statewide support for the arts in Arizona.
He has personally directed more than thirty mainstage
productions for ATC, including Oh, Coward, Much Ado
About Nothing, My Fair Lady, Valley Song, H.M.S. Pinafore, Side Man, The Mystery of Irma Vep, How I
Learned to Drive, Scapin, The Two Gentlemen of
Verona, The Illusion, A Midsummer Night's Dream,
Other People's Money, and The Boys Next Door, as well
as the world premieres of Inventing van Gogh, Rocket
Man, Private Eyes, Over the Moon, and Dracula by
Steven Dietz. When he isn't directing, Goldstein has produced more than 125 other mainstage plays, workshops,
and presentations including two acclaimed appearances
by the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain. He received the 2003 Governor's Arts Award for his contributions to the arts in Arizona.
Goldstein has been a guest director at theatres
around the country, including Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Berkeley Rep, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Alaska
Rep, The Empty Space Theatre, Mixed Blood, Seattle Rep,
The Children's Theatre Company of Minneapolis, Quicksilver Stage, Illusion Theatre, Portland Rep, and Tacoma
Actors Guild.
Before coming to Arizona, Goldstein was associate
artistic director of ACT Theatre in Seattle. His many productions there included Glengarry Glen Ross, Hapgood,
Lloyd's Prayer, the world premieres of God's Country by
Steven Dietz, Willi by John Pielmeier, and a joint SovietAmerican production of The Falcon. He was associate artistic director at Actors Theatre of St. Paul from 1983-86.
Goldstein earned an MFA from the University of Minnesota. He has been a visiting instructor and director at
Arizona State University, University of Washington, University of Minnesota, and University of Northern Iowa. He
has served as a panelist for the National Endowment for
the Arts, Theatre Communications Group, Arts Midwest,
and the Arizona, Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington
state arts commissions. He was a co-founder of Minnesota Young Playwrights and has been a site reporter for
the National Endowment for the Arts for more than 20
years.
Goldstein's keynote address, which will kick off the
2007 USITT Conference & Stage Expo on March 14, will
be held in Phoenix's historic Orpheum Theatre.

Maintaining the local connection
Arizona Theatre Company, despite its somewhat transient presence, is actively supported by the three communities it serves.
ATC is, by a large margin, the most prominent theatre company in Tucson, but it rents the Temple of Music and Art facility
from the city, acts as its caretaker, and helps rent the space to
other civic groups and arts organizations. This past year, the
residents of Tucson showed their appreciation of ATC with an
outstanding 91% subscription renewal rate. Consistent and local audiences in both Tucson and Phoenix have allowed ATC to
cover 60% of annual costs through ticket sales, with the remaining 40% coming from donations by individuals, corporations, foundations, and grants from government agencies.
In Phoenix and the wider valley region that includes
Mesa, ATC is one of four Equity theatres, is well respected, and
fills an important cultural role. ATC manages several educational outreach programs (including a teen critic writing program and an arts exposure initiative called The Wasserstein
Project) as part of its mission "to be responsible for the introduction, education and incorporation of theatre into the lives
of all members of the community."
Arizona Theatre Company continues to make headlines
and to keep its place at the forefront of theatre in Arizona. By
proactively searching for new audiences, ATC has grown its
operation from one to three successful venues and, as a result
of that expansion, has pioneered innovative production methods and schedules. ATC also welcomes and seeks out interaction with other theatre companies through its involvement in
co-productions and rentals and through some of its youthcentered outreach programs. Arizona Theatre Company, the
State Theatre of Arizona, serves as a valuable model and example
of how a company can adapt through changing climates and become a beloved part of not just one, but three communities. ❖
Jeff Brown is a technical theatre director and set and
lighting designer. He currently serves as first vice chair
of the USITT Desert State Region board of directors and
is also the Phoenix promotions coordinator for the 2007
USITT Conference & Stage Expo.
Lindsay Brown, Jeff's wife, has degrees in arts
administration and English composition.

THEATRE

DESIGN

TECHNOLOGY
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2006

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