F: And listening. Z: And listening ... F: One more question — a three, parter. How would you characterize Portland theater five years ago? Today? And how do you envision it five years from now? Z: Five years ago, Portland theater was not really aware of its own potential and didn’t take itself seriously. I don’t mean we were all frivolous — in fact, we were often downright grim. What was happening, I think, was that the theaters were like private clubs or even families — surrogate families. People tended to work for only one theater that was “theirs” — Storefront, Production Co., etc. It was a we/they situation that made even minimal cooperation among theaters a really difficult thing. Also, five years ago there wasn’t any clearly identifiable “theater audience. ” Productions were hit and miss. If one show happened to strike the public’s fancy, a lot of people would come to see it, but then you wouldn’t see them again until you could come up with another “hot ticket.” No predictability and that made planning almost impossible. F: But all that’s better now. Z: Yeah. The old rah-rah “my company” idea has pretty much disappeared, and theater people are adopting a much broader perspective — that all of Portland’s theater belongs to them. Actors, designers, technicians move freely and comfortably from theater to theater. As a result, competition among theaters is a lot healthier than it used to be. And there is an audience now. We’ve learned to predict what kind of business we can do; budgeting is a lot easier. Several theaters have good-sized subscriptions audiences now. That would have been impossible five years ago. Production values are a lot higher, and so are budgets. I can remember when budgets were so tight that we used to straighten out nails and reuse them. Whole shows were being mounted for as little as $200. Those days are gone, and I can’t say I miss them. Another good sign is that lots of people who left town over the past five years are coming back here to work. F: Anything else? Z: Yes. Five years ago I wasn’t making any money and now I am. F: What about five years from now? Z: I think there will be at least four full-time professional theaters and the audience to support them. There will be bigger staffs with better skills, paid a living wage for their services. But something will be lost, too. It’s not going to be as much fun. There will be more specialists, and less of a sense of community. That’s inevitable. At Storefront, for example, every decision the theater made had to be approved by the whole membership, which got as high as 30 people. Thirty people in a room deciding whether to buy a saw. That kind of democracy had to be sacrificed so that work could get done, and more such sacrifices will have to be made. It’s going to cost us a lot of our uniqueness, and that’s sad; but as I say, inevitable. I do think that in the next five years, theater will become a real part of people’s lives here. Not as high culture, but as entertainment. I recently worked with Charles Marowitz in Seattle, and he talked about his experiences in Czechoslovakia, where people discussed theater much the way we do movies. They knew the actors and directors, they knew the plays. They could remember this actor’s last play, that director's next project. This is not “theater people,” just an interested, informed audience. We may not get that far in five years, but that’s the road we should be on; and I think we’ll make a lot of progress toward that goal. F: Well, that’s all my questions. Anything you want to add? Z: Yes. Storefront Theater opens with two Northwest premieres: Sam Shepard’s True West and David Williamson’s The Removal- ists. The two will run in repertory until mid-May. Both plays are powerful scripts with dynamite casts. F: Who, for example? Z: Well, True West has Peter For- nara in it. He’s one of my particular favorites. A truly fine, sensitive actor. F: You’re too kind. Z: Don’t mention it, Pete. F: Don’t call me Pete. VOTE FOR Michael MARCUS Multnomah Coounty District Court Department 3 • Experienced District Court Judge Pro Tem. • Combines technical excellence with profound respect for the people and the process. • Explains what is going on in the courtroom and why. • 11 years as Legal Aid attorney for clients as the tenants of the Evergreen Apts., the tenants of the Park Haviland Hotel, the patients of Edgefield Manor, and the Gray Panthers. • Endorsed by Multnomah County Labor Council. To help, contact the Michael Marcus for Judge Committee, P.O. Box 18736, Portland, OR 97218, 888-1696. Order now for the holidays 1201 SW Morrison 222-3821 10:30-8:30 10:30-5:30 10:30-6:00 12:00-5:00 Mon., Fn. Tu.-Th. Sat. Sun. 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