The Rural We: Alan Paul
Meet the new artistic director of the Barrington Stage Company.
Last week, Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield announced its 2023 lineup, beginning the season with the musical “Cabaret.” The announcement was particularly anticipated because this will be BSC’s first season under the artistic directorship of Alan Paul, who is taking over for the theater’s founder and former artistic director Julianne Boyd. Paul came to BSC from the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington DC, where he was associate artistic director. He’s also been a leading producer on over 75 productions spanning all eras and styles.
I first came to the Berkshires to do a theater weekend when my best friend appeared at the Berkshire Theater Festival. I fell in love with seeing shows in the summer and came back a second time as a fan and tourist. It was my gateway to thinking about working here. When the artistic director position opened up at BSC, a search firm told me I should apply. I had to write a one-page letter, and it felt easy because there was a lot of symbiosis between Julie and myself, and what the theater wanted.
As the new artistic director I want to make sure there’s continuity between what Julie did and what I’m going to do. It’s important to have the playwrights Mark St. Germain and Bill Finn, and Julie be a part of it, and to bring along artists who have been important— a gesture of solidarity to the past.
Choosing to open with “Cabaret” was a decision I agonized over for weeks. It’s so easy to pick a musical, but hard when it’s the first where the audience is going to see how I work. I finally decided on “Cabaret,” because it has a lot to say in the moment. A lot of musicals don’t age well, but “Cabaret” feels like 100 years ago and it could be today; it explores fascism, extremism, and complicity in a way that feel modern. It’s as entertaining and sexy as it is serious, with amazing dancing, and it’s a great vehicle for actors.
This week we start rehearsals for the 10x10 New Play Festival — ten plays, each ten minutes long, with no thematic relationship between them. I’m so excited about it. The past five months have been about budgets and HR and fundraising. Now we get to go into rehearsal to find what’s funny. I know it’s one of the highlights of the winter for the actors.
I’m settled in and it feels great. The fun thing has been getting to know people in the area, who have been incredibly welcoming. All the leaders of the other theaters have been so supportive of my coming here. I have to admit I was a little bit afraid of the winters here. During that first storm in December, I lost power in my house, so I drove to Bistro Zinc in Lenox. I thought I’d be the only person there, but the bar was full; these people were not afraid to get on the roads and go out. I felt such a sense of community, the feeling that despite the weather, we all want to be in the Berkshires.
