George Green: Passion to save the Playhouse

George Green became executive artistic director of the Lake City Playhouse in 2010. Under his direction, playhouse budgets have increased dramatically as has the level of audience enthusiasm.

Seems that most folks who end up in the theater always dreamed of ending up in the theater. Was that you?

Actually, I wanted to be a pro football player. I was very good in high school - wide receiver. But soon enough I found out I wasn't going to be tall enough or huge enough.

I got some offers from small schools - nothing big - but it's something that would no doubt have led to injuries and death.

And your second choice?

I wanted to be an actor. But then my father told me when I was 18 that if I did that I'd starve.

I was raised in a very conservative family in San Antonio. My father's a Southern Baptist minister and there were six of us kids. I was the freethinker of the bunch.

My family was always supportive of everything I did. They were always there in the front row for school plays and sports. But when it came time for me to go off into the world, acting wasn't an option.

What was an option, then?

I joined the military - the Air Force. I was in physiology and supported those who went into flight. It was a medical-related career field. I spent nine years in the Air Force.

Did you miss acting?

I never stopped my pursuit of theater - specifically, community-oriented theater.

I was stationed in Lubbock and found someone who wanted to open a resident theater company there, so that's exactly what we did. And we did it in a museum.

Then one day I'm performing in "Of Mice and Men" and someone from a radio station called and suggested I give radio a try. So I did and became a DJ.

Next stop?

I was transferred to Fairchild in '96. There was a radio station opening up at the time I got there, so I continued to do some radio. And I fell right into the Spokane Civic Theatre. I was a performance volunteer.

After that, I decided I needed to move on and pursue the artistic side of myself. I left the military in 1998 and went into radio.

I got a job in the Tri-Cities and my ratings were strong there. I got some calls to go back to Lubbock, so I did. I was a success there, which led to my taking a job again in Spokane. I never thought I'd have made my way back to Spokane.

When did your wandering ways lead you to Lake City Playhouse?

I was passionate to go back to a paid position in theater and eventually I became marketing-development director of the Spokane Civic Theatre for three years.

Within a month of my leaving them, the Lake City Playhouse board of directors called me and said the playhouse was closing its doors unless they could find someone to turn it around and that they thought I might be that guy. In 2010, I became executive artistic director for both management and artistic operations.

How would you describe the state of theater in Coeur d'Alene?

The entire Inland Northwest region is just full of talent with massive, massive potential. There are major ambitions for what we can do in our region.

The problem is we're in a conservative area. North Idaho/Eastern Washington is typically a conservative voting region. Research into the arts has shown that conservative areas do not support the arts - they support sports programs primarily.

When you look at Lake City Playhouse numbers, the majority of our patronage comes from Spokane. Fifty-four percent of our audience comes from Washington state and 35 percent of our patronage comes from Coeur d'Alene.

What is the best way to present the arts in this venue?

What I do is make sure I give a balanced season. I give season ticket buyers a variety of options in the content of the packages we offer.

We have the traditional war horses like "The Sound of Music" as well as the classics, like "Arsenic and Old Lace" and "The Nerd." I try to keep a light fare, but I'll throw in a "God of Carnage" and "Spring Awakening." I also have my eye on shows like "American Idiot" and "Dogfight" - some modern musicals - so we can appeal to the young audience.

How do you make contact with your audiences?

I always feel bad when someone is offended about art and it's a foolish business practice that's going to purposely offend someone.

When we do an edgy show, we want discussion - that's what an artist wants. Whatever you take away from it - maybe you've been changed - we've inspired thought and emotion.

When you look at the old chestnuts, you have to look at what they were in their time. Did they take on gender relationships? Racial issues?

You know, it's always the same stuff. Nothing has changed that greatly in 200 years.

What is it you're offering the community?

Pre-2010 the theater was having a pretty rough go. Poorly managed - the quality of the art presented on the stage - and major financial issues. I think we've gotten over that hump.

There are folks who haven't been here in years that are coming back. I hope organizations in our community will get the message. We're an unbiased conduit and are never pushing a political agenda, a racial agenda, a sexual agenda - we are simply presenting information.

It's the folks in the auditorium who need to decipher how they feel about what they saw. We hope to ignite people. You know, I receive emails from couples - all ages - saying thanks for the show and that they all talked later about how it made them feel. That's what keeps me going.

What do people find offensive?

It's hard to say. I get all sorts of reasons and that's why we don't filter a show.

As an actor, what is your favorite role?

"Of Mice and Men." I played George five times in my career - both professional and amateur. It's a steller play and I love that role. All the struggles and all the pain are conveyed through George, but everyone gravitates to Lenny.

Tell me about casting parts.

In terms of casting, we put a notice out and we see who shows up. As a community theater I see my role as giving astute performers a place to explore a venue in which they can become vulnerable and perform their art because there're not a lot of professional venues around here to do that for them. But we do have an equal to that - an environment for those who are wanting to grow and wanting to educate themselves and be involved in the performance arts.

What about scheduling?

We do eight shows a season on one stage and each takes anywhere from three to five weeks of production. We typically turn a show every two to three weeks between a close and an open date.

When one show's running, there are typically two other shows being juggled in various phases.

What about money?

We're staying afloat and we've stayed afloat the past four years, but there's always more we can do. When I arrived in 2010, the budget was between $60,000 and $80,000 for the year. This season, we're sitting at $270,000.

My goal is between $350,000 and $400,000 per year.

Where do you want to be in five years?

I'll do what the community wants me to do. I have a family and my wife and I both work in the arts. I love what I do for the community and for the artists that in turn do so much for the community. Seeing that we've had progress and are continuing to trend upward is what excites me for the future of this organization. As long as that continues to hold true, I'll be here.