After working in New York City for five years, Richard Dines returned May 3 to the Vandivort Center as managing artistic director of Springfield Contemporary Theatre. He manages daily operations and coordinates productions. His first show back is “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged).”
Q: What did you miss most about Springfield when you were in New York working for off-Broadway company Entertainment Events? A: Every year, I’ve come back to direct one show a season. The reason I kept coming back is that there’s really something wonderful about having a supportive environment like this, where I’m typically selecting what shows I want to do and given the reins to go where I want to with the production.
Working in New York, it’s a very commercial world where a lot of people have their eyes (on a production). ... But it’s nice as a director to have the freedom to do material that really excites you and go where you want to go with it and have a team that supports you.
Q: You were at the Vandivort as associate producer until 2005. Have you been back long enough to see any differences? A: Sure. People and personnel, volunteers change. There’s always a wave of change in terms of people. That’s always kind of an evolution as time passes. In a lot of ways, the theater is still committed to the mission we’ve always had, which is contemporary theater. I think that, if anything, hopefully that mission is refining itself even more. The big change right now is we’re transitioning into being a nonprofit organization.
Q: Why nonprofit? A: You really pay about 60 percent of your operating costs with ticket sales. We have been lucky enough in the past, we’ve been able to keep operating expenses low enough to be able to cover that with ticket sales.
However, with just economic concerns and inflation and everything else, those costs of operating escalate. … We want to keep ticket prices as low as possible, to where it can be an everyday part of people’s lives and not a special occasion.
Q: What is a typical day like for you? A: I’m usually out running errands in the morning. I’m in by noon, if not sooner, working office hours until five and then usually back by 6:30, 7 p.m., with whatever show is in rehearsal and working with that show, either as a director or in whatever capacity I’m working. Usually, the day ends about 10 or 10:30 at night. I usually keep that schedule Tuesday through Saturday. Sundays, if it’s a weekend that we have a show playing, then I’m in from about noon to five.
Q: The Contemporary Theatre season includes 10 shows this year. Are you working on all the shows right now? A: At this moment, we have (the Shakespeare) show. I have a show in rehearsals that opens at the end of June. I have another show, our last summer show, we just had a meeting about yesterday because it’s in the process of being cast and getting all the personnel lined up. I’m personally directing the first show of the fall, which is in the process of casting and getting all the personnel lined up. And then, we’re starting to do some preplanning for the October musical. We’re not really meeting yet on the holiday show.[[In-content Ad]]
