California Stage

The Short Center Repertory Interviews

May 4th, 2007

Interview with Crom Saunders:

Working with the Short Center Rep, is a new interesting experience for me, I think most interest of all is that fact that I work with a blind woman in one of the performances-a blind woman. It’s interesting because her with her background is orally and auditorally based, and my background is visually based, so we’re both depend on the one thing that the other person doesn’t have, has not experienced. It’s really nice that we can accomplish and overcome this challenge and make our interaction on stage really believable within our role. And that’s going to be really nice, nice to see that happen.

I recently was exposed to most of his writing a little while ago. I’ve seen a couple of his short plays and I’ve have seen Short Center Rep perform some of his plays. But I believe last year, in the fall of last year I got a hold of one of his books and read it and all of his work that had been printed.  And I think Ives is really a master in the art of short little glimpses into daily life of whoever. So a lot of stories really are surreal, but the situation in itself is a common everyday situation. So that’s where we are connected with the common everyday with the surreal. You know it’s just you can really understand the experiences that we’ve had because we the common person has had that experience.

Iceworm is a theatre company that was founded and run to provide theatre venues for the ASL community. ASL means American Sign Language. The ASL community is not just deaf people, but incorporates family members, interpreters, and our company provided an improve show in ASL with voice interpreters. We also performed comedy skits would range from a full dialogue with a voice interpreter, all the way to a pantomime performance depending on the audience. We also provided theatre interpreter services generally and workshops on ASL application within the theatre. (It’s) one thing to sign onstage and another to perform with ASL, which is a big difference. Almost like a cold reading as opposed to performing the role would be a comparison of the two. So we discuss different ways to use the language onstage or how to interpret the theatrical experience rather that just straight interpretation.

I am working on many things simultaneously; I’m rehearsing for this show. I also have my on man show, CROM MANIA, which I tour, it’s a nation wide tour and this weekend I go to the Bay Area, and I’ll perform four times in one weekend, so I’m always doing review work and rehearsal and a person who’s going to be voicing with me and working on the timing of that and the tour of that, so I’m rehearsing that too right now, plus rehearsing for this show for Short Center Rep, and also I’m working freelance as a technician for several different productions, I’m always doing something with whatever free time I have. And soon I will be moving to the east and so I will be starting all over again with networking there and establishing myself as a performer and writer and technician in the east. 

One thing I’ve noticed in the theatre community is that Sacramento as a whole, and most of the theatre companies here, are very open, very accommodating very welcoming of all different people of all different backgrounds. Some other places that I’ve heard, I’ve heard horror stories, how it’s very cut throat, and, if you have a disability or you have very little experience, it’s impossible to get into the door. But here, since the seven years that I’ve been working here and I’ve started with no theatre training and no experience to becoming a performer that travels nationwide plus interpreting experience, writing experience and tech experience, it’s just equal to some of the people who have to go to college classes to get it. So here it’s just an awesome awesome great community here for people who want to be involved and are involved in theatre.