Saratoga Shakespeare’s ‘King Lear’ appearing at Congress Park
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. >> This week and next, Saratoga Shakespeare is doing what was once thought foolhardy. They are producing one of Shakespeare’s tragedies as a summer entertainment.
This year the production, offered free of charge, in Congress Park downtown Saratoga Springs is “King Lear.”
Playing Lear, is Lary Opitz, who is one of the individuals who helped found the company back in 2000. He recalls that at the time, it was thought that summer audiences who attended free outdoor theater would only support the comedies and romances.
“We proved that wrong with our very popular productions of ‘Merchant of Venice,’ ‘Hamlet,’ and ‘Macbeth,’” he says.
Besides playing “Lear,” Opitz has performed Shylock in “Merchant of Venice” and Falstaff in the company’s production of “Merry Wives of Windsor.”
“It was never my intention to be an actor in the company,” he says. “I hadn’t acted professionally for years when I was asked to audition for ‘Hamlet.’ To my surprise I was offered the plum role of Polonius.”
Indeed, when he was a founding member of the company he never intended to be its Artistic Director. But as Shakespeare says in “Twelfth Night”, “... some have greatness thrust upon them.” In 2012, William Finlay, a Saratoga resident who was the theater chair at Union College, suddenly decided to step down.
It left a huge hole in the leadership of the company.
Opitz was on the original board and his wife Barbara joined the board in 2010. They realized if they didn’t assume leadership, the company would likely fold. Both were theater veterans with administrative experience. Lary was, at the time, the theater chair at Skidmore College.
He accepted the position of Artistic Director for Saratoga Shakespeare. Barbara was a seasoned administrator and was lecturing at the college. She became Executive Director. Both are still associated with Skidmore.
They knew from experience the time, energy and financial obligations they would expend by taking over leadership of the company.
“We had a couple of decisions to make,” says Barbara. “We had to define our vision for the future in order for the company to grow.”
One of those changes involved increasing the professional visibility of the performers.
“We always were an Equity company, but somehow the professional credentials of our performers were not realized by the public,” says Lary.
A solution was to add more Equity contracts. As a bonus, many of the additional performers were professional actors who live in the community and their local reputations added even more legitimacy to Saratoga Shakespeare’s professional status.
As a by-product, the onstage work prospered by the influx of new talent.
As the quality of performances improved, the company’s national reputation increased. Saratoga Shakespeare is now a coveted company for which to work. Barbara points out that for this 2019 season between 150-200 actors auditioned for roles. She and Lary are extremely proud that they have offered 17 Equity contracts for two productions.
The other area the pair vowed to elevate was the company’s training program. The pair had already developed a training program in which Skidmore students would travel to London and immerse themselves in the work of Shakespeare. They used that model as a template for an intern program.
Today Saratoga Shakespeare has 19 interns living on the Skidmore campus. They study in the morning, rehearse with the main company during the day and prepare for their own production in the evening. There is no pay, but the students who come from all over the country do earn college credit and some build Equity credits in the pursuit of a professional career.
Lary jokes that the public perception is theater presented free in the park is free from cost. They estimate it costs approximately $5,000 a night to produce a show. He quickly points out that their annual budget is between $110,000 and $120,000, which is ridiculously low.
The sum does not include in-kind services, which the pair say is generous – specifically pointing out the City of Saratoga, Skidmore College and business sponsors. Grants provide a great deal of funding, but the money that comes from passing the hat at the end of the performance is critical to their financial well-being.
Another reason the numbers are manageable is there is no paid staff. Performers, directors and designers are compensated under Equity requirements, but there is no paid administrative staff. Both Barbara and Lary work as volunteers.
Lary says, “It’s not about us. Everything Barbara and I do is all for the community. It’s been a labor of love.”
Despite the love, the couple know this has to change. Not only for themselves, but for the good of the company.
“You cannot run an expanding professional theater company with an understaffed volunteer force. Things have to change if Saratoga Shakespeare is to prosper and expand,” says Lary.
They have been working with a board consultant and after the season closes they plan a total reorganization of the company’s structure and board.
“We have to look towards the future, to see how we can grow in different ways,” says Barbara.
She said it is too early to be specific about the shape of the new board, but does say the goals are a paid administrative staff and fundraising.
Will the Opitz’s continue to be involved full time? They each sounded doubtful agreeing that it was time for new people to take the company into the future. How about continuing to act?
About that, Lary laughingly said, “It’s human nature to want to get rid of the responsibilities but keep the perks.”
So when you attend “King Lear,” which is in Congress Park starting at 6 p.m. nightly Tuesdays through Saturdays until August 3, applaud the actors – but remember there are dedicated individuals behind the scenes making it all possible.
Two of them are named Lary and Barbara Opitz.