Performers see Green in opening new theater
A couple of recent college graduates want to break the mold for Quad-City theaters when they open The Green Room next weekend in downtown Rock Island.
“Most of the theaters in the Quad-Cities do pretty much the same thing,” said Tyson Danner, who is partnering on the project with Derek Bertelsen. “The groups that do musicals do big Broadway-style musicals on a proscenium stage with a large auditorium. The groups that do plays tend to do smaller, more classic plays in kind of a larger space.”
Danner and Bertelsen will present shows in a much smaller venue, the former Brew & View in The District of Rock Island. They’ll be able to seat 50 people per performance, and the action will take place on the floor of the renovated building, which previously housed Glass Impact.
The two — both veterans of Quad-City Music Guild productions — got the idea after working together on productions of “Ragtime” and “The Secret Garden,” both of which Bertelsen directed as benefit performances for the Childrens Therapy Center of the Quad-Cities.
“We wanted someplace where we could be permanently,” said Bertelsen, an Aledo, Ill., native who graduated in the spring from Millikin University in Decatur, Ill.
“There were a couple of other places we were looking at, but this one worked out better for us,” said Danner, an Illinois City native who received his degree this year from St. Ambrose University, Davenport.
Both said they were attracted by the “arts mecca” atmosphere of The District, as well as by the brick building and atmosphere of the former Brew & View.
“You walk in and there’s a lot of history to the building,” Bertelsen said. “It just screams: ‘independent Bohemian theater.’ ”
“It’s designed really well, the stage and the seating, and it’s perfect for what we want to do,” Danner added.
Its initial production will be the Stephen Sondheim musical “Into the Woods” for four performances next weekend. Bertelsen is directing the production and Danner is the musical director. Two of the four performances quickly sold out. Although the musical has a large cast, many of the performers will be playing multiple roles during the opening four shows.
Although the full season for The Green Room will be announced next weekend, the two said they already are planning to do Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie” in October.
Major performances, most of them with at least two-weekend runs, will take place every other month with the other months reserved for “cabaret nights.” They also hope to host play readings of new works and other performances that would work best in a small setting.
“Just a plethora of things, showcasing talent,” Bertelsen said.
Danner and Bertelsen are confident that an alternative to the larger theaters can work in the Quad-Cities.
“It’s going to work because people want to see different things. Obviously ... with an area this size, it won’t be like something they’d see on Broadway,” Danner said. “We’re really up for trying out new things. So people are going to come here and see some things that are familiar to them, but they’ll see them in a completely different way.”
The biggest challenge the two see is their inexperience. Although Bertelsen said Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre — which grew from a church basement into a theatrical institution — is a role model, he said they are looking at the Web sites of some small theaters to get ideas.
The Green Room does not fit the typical design of a theater. Black curtains will designate a backstage area, and cast members will have to apply their makeup in the building’s public restrooms. But Danner and Bertelsen said that will give the audience more of a theater experience than just watching passively.
“It’s not just presented to them,” Danner said.
The name The Green Room came from Bertelsen, who decided to christen it after the name of the area traditionally reserved for actors when they’re offstage.
This way, he said, the audience can feel like it is among the performers.
“I think that’s kind of a nice idea,” he added.
David Burke can be contacted at (563) 383-2400 or dburke@qctimes. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.
IF YOU GO
What: “Into the Woods”
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Aug. 10-11; 2:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, Aug. 11-12
Where: The Green Room, 1611 2nd Ave., Rock Island
How much: $15
Information: (309) 786-5660 or TheGreenRoomTheatre.com