Children's theatre director puts kids front and center stage

By Nat Shuda
shudang@uwec.edu

As the lights dim, hushing the murmur of voices, the sound of a keyboard and subsequent tuning of instruments signals the audience that an adventure is about to begin.

Suddenly, a voice, familiar to the avid Eau Claire theater-goer, slices through the silence left by the last few adjustments to a violin.

“Good evening, and welcome to the State Theatre,” the voice says.  After making a few brief courtesy reminders to patrons and acknowledging the show’s sponsors, the voice disappears as a baton rises up out of the orchestra pit.

It’s at this point that the owner of the voice sits back in his chair and just takes it all in — the excitement, the tension, the suspense. It’s opening night.

From auditions to the final curtain call, Wayne Marek, executive director of the Eau Claire Children’s Theatre, has filled the director’s chair since he founded the non-profit organization in 1989.

As a senior at UW-Eau Claire, Marek started what began as a just a summer musical program, sponsored through the university’s College of Arts and Sciences outreach office. Now, doing 10 shows as well as other events within the community, the Eau Claire Children’s Theatre provides Marek with one of two full-time, paid positions.

“It’s not always as glamorous as what people think it might be,” he said, explaining that a lot happens behind the scenes that the audience might not always know about. “My position is kind of all encompassing. As both the art director and executive director, I’m in charge of not only directing shows but also fundraising, marketing, promotions, and booking venues when on tour.”

While the theater does perform a variety of theatrical genres, including school matinees based on children’s books, special events and touring shows, in addition to holding classes during the summer, Marek said, the stage shows are usually the most popular in the Eau Claire community.

“With the big musicals like ‘Les Miz’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ there’s more people involved with them, more interest with them, more people auditioning (and) more excitement generated,” he said.

Sarah Lanners, 20, of St. Paul Park, Minn., first met Marek when she auditioned for the ECCT production of “Peter Pan” in February.

“As far as directing goes, he’s very casual,” she said. “He lets actors make a lot of decisions on their own, which is nice.  It allows for experimentation.”

It is this flexibility and experimentation, Lanners said, that separates the community theater from strictly professional theater and provides a more laid-back atmosphere.

One of Marek’s the hallmarks when interacting with the cast and crew is his use of dry humor and sarcastic one-liners.

Responding to the almost-perfectly timed sound of a bassoon that interrupted Tinker Bell’s “monologue” during a rehearsal of “Peter Pan,” Marek broke the unusual pause in dialogue onstage.

“Tink does not swear in this show!” he shouted from somewhere within the black expanse of the empty theater.

His use of such humor is something, Marek said, that allows him to consciously break the sometime-tense mood that the stress of a show creates.

“We don’t always want this to be so painful around here,” he said with a laugh. “They’re used sparingly enough to provide impact but not to turn rehearsals into a gab fest.”

One of the things Marek said he enjoys most about working with the cast and crew is getting to see numerous individuals start out at a young age and see them progress throughout the years.

Links:

Find out more about Eau Claire's State Theatre at its Web site.

Click here for more information on the Eau Claire Children's Theatre.

See what's new at the Chippewa Valley Theatre Guild's Web site.