Interview with
Ron Krempetz, Theater Designer
by Lorien Fenton
LAF: I finally met you this summer when you, your wife and friends where dining at Creekside Bistro. I have known about you for many years and have seen your work several times at productions though out the county. Your Marin County theater design career started with Jim Dunn and Harvey Susser at the College of Marin Theater Department in the 70's. You built and designed sets for some of the most innovative theater productions in the Bay Area at the time. What were you doing in theater before COM? Could you tell me some stories about working with Jim and Harvey? Was that as fun of a job as it seemed?
RK: I started working at Com in the fall of 1970. Prior to that I spent two years at Boise State University as designer and theatre history instructor. I had worked with Jim in 1965, '66 and '67 in Santa Clara as a stage manager for the California Shakespeare Festival while I was attending San Jose State College. I worked with Jim and Harvey for 17 years at COM. Those were very exciting years. Our goal was to provide an educational program that would approximate a professional theatre atmosphere. We had high standards and expected a great deal from one another as well as from our students. We hoped to give those students who were interested in working in theatre a real taste of the demands and expectations. For those who would not seek a future in theatre they would, as future audience members, relate to what efforts were necessary to accomplish the task of each production. Recently the IJ printed a story about those years. The story lists many of our students who went on to become theatre professionals. This was a very unique time in the '70's when we had a wave of dedicated students and financial support to produce productions with lots of visual detail. We had 4 full time instructors and 3 to 4 part-time. Plus we could afford a production support staff for each show. During the year we would produce four major productions and during the summer we would have 2 to 3 shows. From 1970 through 1980 we had produced about 75 productions. After prop 13 all that began to change, financially that is. It became more difficult to maintain the visual support and much needed technical support teams. By the mid 1980's I left COM to pursue building a business that designed and built theatrical display for retail stores (i.e., animated Christmas windows) and trade show booths. Today under the guidance of Carla Zilber-Smith the COM drama department is growing and gaining more and more support. It is very exciting to be back working there.
LAF: My first introduction to your work was when you were working with Marin Community Playhouse in San Anselmo and I was dancing in a production of the old Marin Dance Coalition. How did you end up at the Playhouse working with the then director Corey Susser? Could you tell me about working there and some of your most memorable experiences?
RK: The COM drama department began producing at the Seminary theatre in the 1972. We needed another theatre facility, as we had to share the main stage at COM with the music department. The Studio Theater at COM was too small to mount some of the shows that Jim and Harvey wanted to produce. The Playhouse building was in such bad shape that the Seminary was considering condemning it and the fire department would not let us use it without attending to major safety repairs. I wrote a small grant request to the San Francisco Foundation, which when funded provided us with the necessary repairs. In 1977 COM stopped using the facility. Because the seminary did not want to play a producing role to maintain the facility and the need for a rental house was very much in demand in Marin, Cory Susser and I found support in setting up a non-profit group that would run the facility. The non-profit was set up to offer small theatre companies, dance companies and musical performance groups a low cost venue for their art. I'm glad to see that it is still providing that service. The Playhouse is a unique facility. All warm Redwood and steep rows of seats. A very intimate space. It provided many challenges technically. There is no real off stage space, the site lines are very unique and there was limited power to operate theatrical lighting. The playhouse did offer the students an opportunity to work in a non-traditional setting and provided them with a unique experience. I believe that some of our very best productions occurred at the Playhouse.
LAF: Your most recent set designing endeavors have been with Shakespeare at Beach in 1996-98 under the artistic direction Jeffery Trotter. Outdoor Theaters are almost always without wings, gaffing, lighting grids, scrims, backdrops, etc. in other words, nowhere to hang or secure props and scenery. How do you feel about designing sets for outdoor venues? How many have you done and what did you do for these productions to get around the limitations?
RK: Outdoor productions offer many challenges. Weather conditions, lighting restrictions (i.e., the sun not setting until 8pm) sound requirements and general organizational problems. Up and down the state there are dozens of outdoor theater companies offering everything from Shakespeare to musicals. In Marin we have The Mountain Play, Marin Shakespeare and Shakespeare at Stinson. The audience loves the relaxed atmosphere. Remember that theatre got its start out of doors, for centuries all productions used the natural sunlight to illuminate the stage. There is something magical about it, the audience, cast and technicians alike agree. Scenically it is just another technical problem to be surmounted; its fun and dynamic. After all problem solving is another creative opportunity.
LAF: I am friend's with your ex-wife, Virginia Stapleton, and two of your children, RT and Cynthia, which are all very involved in dance and theater. R.T. has followed in your footsteps into the technical aspect of theater and Cynthia is in New York pursuing a dance career. How do you feel about your children working in the theater/the arts? Do you have any advice for young people who have dreams of becoming an artist and working in the technical side of the theater?
RK: We have been blessed with three wonderful children. Each one is there his/her own free spirit. We are all proud of their endeavors. R.T. is currently living in Dallas, Texas designing web pages for a variety of clients. His background in theatre is obviously present in his visual presentations. Meghan is studying at San Jose State University, working on her MA in Women's Health Care issues. She spent two years in the Peace Corps working in Niger, Africa, living in the "bush" providing health care instruction. Cynthia is currently in New York studying dance and looking for a modern dance company that will challenge her creativity. Each one of them is dedicated to their work and constantly amaze me. I am in awe of them.
LAF: I always ask this question. I know that "my soul" is that of an artist, a choreographer. There is nothing else that I could have done and been satisfied. How do you feel about being a set designer? How has it effected your life - both in the good and not so good ways?
RK: Living and working in theatre is constantly a challenge. We are definitely not in it for the money. My parents supported me in my quest of theatre. They always said that to live life you must enjoy what you do -and I do love the work. It is both my vocation and avocation. I have been working in theatre since I was 14 years old. This is what I always wanted to do. It is not easy on family and friends. The time-spent working does not always balance with family and personal needs because the work draws on your emotional base and you are constantly in a flux of highs and lows. I do not regret my choice. I love the challenges and the rush that designing provides me. I am always looking for that next project. If it sounds like I am addicted, well yes I am.
LAF: I always ask this question, too. Who was the person(s) who influenced and encouraged you the most in your set design career and what did he/she/they do to help you?
RK: As I mentioned in the other question, my parents supported me about my choice. I cannot say I was encouraged. I think they knew that it would be a difficult life direction. My instructors in high school, college and friends supported me. Maybe it was the look in my eyes when I talked about it; they all could see my excitement and how much I cared. I was lucky. I knew what I wanted to do since I was a teenager. I went to college to get a degree and I became a teacher because I wanted the opportunity to excite others about this realm of life. Also, I have been very fortunate in having the opportunity to work with some very fine directors, actors and theatre technicians; most all of whom shared that very same goal.
LAF: You are teaching again at COM. How does it feel to be back in the "theater"?
RK: After leaving the theatre for 17 years to build a design company for the business world I am returning to work in the theatre because I missed it. As much as I enjoyed designing theatrical store displays, tradeshow booths and other venues I missed working with the spoken word that is only offered in theatrical productions. There is nothing like it. Believe me. The poetry in the spoken word, the music and the dance, forms the basis for the visual core. The entire production is formed to support an interpretation of the author's ideas and images. Working towards that goal with the theatrical team is very fulfilling. It is the collaboration that creates a family unit for a brief moment in time. It is "a dream, devoutly to be wished."
Photographic Images provided
by Ron Krempetz
© 1999. All Rights Reserved.
No images published herein may be duplicated, printed, or published on the internet or
elsewhere, without the express permission of the artist.
Interview by Lorien Fenton
Page Design by Hilary Kretchmer
