by Kirby Lindsay, posted 9 April 2012
On Monday, April 16th, Sandbox Radio will transform West Of Lenin into a recording studio, with a live studio audience. Sandbox Radio 4 “The Chase” contains live performances of original music, short plays and spoken word (with a few public service announcements and ‘commercials’ thrown in for good measure.) The audience can watch sound effects being created, see performances by experienced artists, and bear witness to the direction of Leslie Law. For those who miss out, or want to live it again, the entire experience will be captured for an on-line podcast.
And May We Present…
Law directs, but she also produces and originally conceived the idea of Sandbox Radio, which premiered as the first production at Fremont’s West of Lenin theater on June 20, 2011. “I would not have been able to do it,” Law said, “without The Collective.”
Law serves as webmaster and communications liaison for The Sandbox Artists Collective, as well as a member on the Leadership Committee. “It started originally as an organization to network,” for working, professional artists, in mid-career, to gather for classes, lectures, networking or simply chat over a glass of wine about what they and other members are working on – and see if cooperation can evolve.
Membership is by invitation only, for actors, writers, choreographers, musicians, directors and dramaturges. Members tend to be those looking for opportunities to collaborate, rather than operating independently, through their own theater company. A few members do have theater companies, according to Law, but essentially, “we’re looking for people who don’t already have that outlet.”
For a theater company to be really successful, Law explained, it must have a business manager, or someone capable of wearing that hat. It is rare indeed to find someone able to juggle the business details while being the artist.
“What we’re going for, ultimately, for our members, is a place where they can bring their project and we can facilitate,” Law explained. Founded at Freehold Theatre, where it remains a project, The Sandbox Artists Collective members can access that space for rehearsal, and use the non-profit status. They can also find, among the broad diversity of talent, and the even broader range of experience, collaborators for nearly any project.
‘Outing The Sandbox’
Exhibit A is Sandbox Radio. A self-described “huge fan of radio,” Law dreamed of producing a live theater event based on an old-time radio model, using new, original material – only she knew she didn’t have the funding for staging something over a series of nights.
Law brought her kernel of an idea to her “dream team of people,” in early 2011. These were fellow members of The Collective, and one of them – a sound and lighting tech expert – was A.J. Epstein. Epstein listened to her pitch about a one-night-only live theater event recorded for podcast (and posterity,) and offered her a space to stage it – in his new theater, West of Lenin.
“We joke about me outing the Sandbox,” she explained about this first large-scale venture for Collective members. Through The Collective, Law can tap a huge community of artists who write, compose and perform for each unique installment of Sandbox Radio. In the fourth installment, called ‘The Chase,’ local artists involved include Megan Ahiers, Christine Marie Brown, Shawn Belyea, Ki Gottberg, Mik Kuhlman, Amy Love, Charles Leggett, Todd Jefferson Moore, Peter Dylan O’Connor, Rebecca Olson, Kathryn Van Meter and Richard Ziman – plus the original live music provided by Jose Gonzales.
Law manages to gather together such a large group of performer in large part due to The Collective, but she also accommodates them by staging Sandbox Radio on Monday nights – when most professional theaters go dark. “Most of the artists involved are working,” Law explained, “myself included.” Law currently appears at Village Theater in ‘It Should Have Been You.’
“What we’re doing is quite unique,” Law offered. The content often references local markers (including an ‘ad’ for one of the more colorful METRO bus routes.) The artists have established followings from their work at theaters, clubs and open mic nights all over town. And all can contribute content which Law then organizes into a two-act show – not including the ½ hour of live music before recording starts.
The performers entertain the audience, but Law stipulated that, “the audience is a large part of the performance.” The studio audience provides reaction and, occasionally, participation in the show. “You don’t want to discount the visual, live experience,” Law said, of seeing the action – including the creative creation of the curious sound effects, engineered by Eric Ray Anderson. Audiences, “see the art created around them,” Law said, “and [get to] be a part of it.”
Tickets can be purchased for Sandbox Radio 4, done live on the evening of April 16th, through Brown Paper Tickets, although they usually sell out quickly. Of course, unlike standard live theater performances, if you missed this one – or any previous productions – Sandbox Radio can also be found on-line anytime!
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©2012 Kirby Lindsay. This column is protected by intellectual property laws, including U.S. copyright laws. Reproduction, adaptation or distribution without permission is prohibited.