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Rehearsals for the American Legacy Theater production of UpperPhoto: provided by Matthew David Gellin
While Matthew David Gellin was an undergraduate theater student at the University of Buffalo in 2007, he questioned his chosen career. “I feel like I’m wasting my life,†he told his advisor. “I hate the theater. When asked what troubled him, he admitted to liking his studies and his performances, but it was not enough. He had read the history of theater and he felt that contemporary theater no longer played the important role it had in the past.
“I was in love with how the Peloponnesian wars would cease fire and even make peace treaties after attending a theater festival. I was won over by the idea of ​​the yellow cab drivers in New York going on strike because they saw Waiting for Lefty on Broadway. To me, that’s what theater has always been, and we’ve moved away from it, â€Gellin said. CityBeat.
Gellin had big ideas and wrote a 20-page article on his planned role in the theater and handed it over to his advisor, Kazimierz Braun, the former director of the National Theater of Poland. Gellin says the seasoned theater professional told him, “About half of the things you write aren’t really made here in the United States. They are performed in theaters in other parts of the world, but not here.
When Gellin asked about the other half, Braun replied, “It’s easy. I’ve never seen him do it before.
Gellin says Braun told him, “Maybe that’s what you’re supposed to do in this life. This may be your space in the theater world.
This caused Gellin to think about a different type of theater as he traveled the world. Once he and his Cincinnati-rooted wife moved to all tri-states, the time seemed right to launch a new kind of theater. In 2018, he decided, “Let’s really do it. I designed a unique mission and started to deploy it, â€he says.
The result is a new Cincinnati-based theater company, American Legacy Theater. Its declared mission is to generate “inviting and reinvented theatrical experiences so that people have a voice in enriching societyâ€.
Gellin sees it as a ‘national theater’, the kind of institution that exists in many countries – such as the National Theater in London, which aims to entertain, challenge and inspire, in accordance with its mission statement, or the National Theater in London. Poland, designed in the 1700s to present theatrical works and initiate debate, but not in the United States.
American Legacy Theater plans to both present productions and enrich society with professional performances in a “sporting event†atmosphere where live tweets, eat, drink and chat about the show are encouraged.
Gellin also wants the American Legacy Theater to be a professional development opportunity for local theater artists, using experimental workshops to create new best practices in theater and develop new American works. It emphasizes the educational impact on students and considerable community engagement.
Gellin’s first effort – funded by a grant from the now-closed local creative incubator People’s Liberty – produced 10 theatrical performances in October and November 2018 on the Cincinnati Streetcar. Public transport theaterThe ‘sketches were presented in three different four-hour blocks in which streetcar drivers could watch the material in its entirety or hop on and off while young actors tackled gentrification in Over-the-Rhine, the neighborhood in through which the tram travels on its 3.6-mile loop.
“A lot of people who take the streetcar aren’t traditional theatergoers,†Gellin says. “So we were listening to the community, meeting them where they were, breaking down the walls of thinking about what theater is meant to be. Whether someone shows up for a few minutes or more, they can be told a story of the beginning, the middle, and the end with a call to action.
Gellin is poised to take a further step towards the creation of theater to address contemporary issues with the upcoming production of Upper, an original rock musical.
Produced as part of The Carnegie in Covington’s “Creative Disruption†initiative, this is the story of Benjamin, who seeks love from the people around him and develops a lifelong relationship with the heroine. Carnegie’s goal with its initiative is “to act as a creative engine and rapid response team to the changing situation of live performance in a pandemic world”. by Gellin Upper, with original music by Mark Levine, shows how a love affair with the heroine has a ripple effect on Benjamin’s family and community. American Legacy Theater has partnered with local agencies Price Hill Will, Housing Opportunities Made Equal and others, bringing theatrical emotion and experience to demonstrate the missions and goals of these organizations.
Gellin collaborated with Levine, a songwriter and musician who personally struggled with addiction but is now a recovery counselor. The show grew out of stories of hundreds of veterans Levine met across the United States who are touched by the stigma of addiction, which Levine hopes his show can reduce.
Upper came out of the American Legacy Theater program to help playwrights and composers bring their ideas to life.
“We work with them individually every week for three years, in this particular case, to turn this idea into a real, publishable, and achievable piece,†says Gellin.
He considers that Upper will be produced elsewhere after its six performances on the main stage of The Carnegie.
Gellin helped Levine create the show. “It’s still something of a work in progress. There’s not much you can do in a vacuum – you need the audience’s response to say this piece is great, â€Gellin said.
Gellin in workshop Upper at the Hamilton County Salvage Center and hoped to put on the show there. “But there is a lot of paperwork around it, and the space now allowed the public,†he says. Nevertheless, he is already in conversation with possible future locations.
“We spoke with the Heroin Coalition of Hamilton County,†Gellin says. “They say they’ve put in place some great strategies to rehabilitate people, to get them to come in for help, but what they don’t have is a great strategy to educate the public so let him support and get things done. ”
He hopes that people who do not go to the theater regularly will attend this show. American Legacy Theater offers discounted tickets to those benefiting from the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program benefits and other grants. Anyone who cannot afford regular admission should call the American Legacy Theater directly at 513-443-5429.
The ambitious Gellin doesn’t feel like he’s wasting his life anymore, he says. His vision for the American Legacy Theater, although currently limited to his hometown, holds promise for using the theater to engage communities far beyond Greater Cincinnati.
Upper, presented by American Legacy Theater, will be on stage at Carnegie (1028 Scott Blvd., Covington) from October 29 to November 7. For tickets and more information, visit americanlegacytheatre.org.
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