Today we’d like to introduce you to Doug Haverty.
Hi Doug, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
It all started for me in the 7th grade when I was cast as The Mayor of Munchkin City in THE WIZARD OF OZ. I hadn’t grown yet, so I was perfect. And I had a huge crush on our Dorothy, who was a 9th grader and very tall and very hopeless. But I was hooked. I acted, directed and wrote plays during high school (two of my plays were produced). I majored in theater at the University of the Pacific and did Summer Rep every Summer during college. In L.A., I did some soap opera work, a movie and more plays. I took a full-time job at A&M Records (my other passion is music) and concentrated on my playwriting more because I could time-manage that better while working. My first professionally produced play opened at the Evergreen Stage (now The Fountain). It was a hit and moved to the Callboard Theatre. This production was critically-acclaimed and as a result, I was signed to Miss Audrey Wood at ICM (she discovered Tennessee Williams, Preston Jones, William Inge, etc.) My 1991 play, COULD I HAVE THIS DANCE was produced at The Colony and won the American Theatre Critic’s Choice for Best Play of the 1991-92 Season (for plays produced outside of Manhattan).
In 1982, I joined The Group Rep where Lonny Chapman was the Artistic Director. Along with an acting company, he started a Playwrights Unit where we developed new plays. We workshopped a new musical there and Lonny decided to open it and give it their normal five weeks run. It was a huge success and eventually ran five months. That musical was then done at The Colony and eventually moved to New York at Chelsea’s The Village Theatre. From there, it went to the Florida Studio Theatre (out-of-town try-out) and finally opened Off Broadway at The Cherry Lane. That musical is called INSIDE OUT (co-written with Adryan Russ) and has since been published and produced around the world. The Original Cast Recording was recently re-mastered and re-released. In 2017 it was translated into Serbian and in 2018, it opened in Belgrade and was a huge hit, playing right until the entire world shutdown all theater in March 2020.
I was asked to co-moderate the Writers Workshop at Theatre West (where I still co-moderate). Meanwhile, I continued to write and act at The Group Rep. I was invited to be on the Artistic Council at Group Rep and served there for many years. In 2019, the Group Rep asked me to be their fourth Artistic Director and I accepted. I appointed a new Artistic Council and we announced our 2020 season. I revived Lonny’s Playwrights Unit and we started to have readings and workshops of new works.
When the pandemic closed us down, physically, we created a Virtual Stage. Although we are all stagecraft people, we became filmmakers. We produced four festivals of new works, all with different themes. And we developed material for our brand-new outdoor theater called THE YARD. We opened MOTEL 66 (thematically-linked plays that take place along Route 66) in June of 2021 and it ran through mid-August.
We opened our indoor theater on September 17, 2021 and will run two plays in rep through October 24.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There are always obstacles and challenges when it comes to presenting intimate theater. The finances are not in the favor of the presenting organization. ‘Breaking Even’ is considered immensely successful. I once went to a seminar on running a theater hosted by Mark Taper Forum’s founder, Gordon Davidson. Someone in the audience asked him how they could avoid operating “in the red.” His answer was to just embrace the red. He furthered by explaining to us that running a theater is all about debt management and how each theater manages their debt. Once you accept that notion, it makes things a little easier. We would normally break even every year. Once the pandemic hit and we were shutdown, we became filmmakers and presented five virtual presentations. When it was safe, we opened an outdoor theater and our audiences embraced it.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Playwright/Librettist: A Carol Christmas – A contemporary, female-oriented musical update of “A Christmas Carol” with Book by Doug Haverty and Music/Lyrics by Bruce Kimmel
Love Again – The musical one acts and discovering and holding on to that fleeting thing called love with Book by Doug Haverty, Music by Adryan Russ, and Lyrics by Russ/Haverty
The Ghost of Gershwin – A young composer is visited by the ghost of George Gershwin who, when asked for musical advice, gives personal guidance with Book by Doug Haverty, Music and Lyrics by Wayland Pickard
Next Window, Please – a play about the family formed by co-workers in a bank facing a merger and staff reductions by Doug Haverty
iGhost – A contemporary musical inspired by Oscar Wilde’s “The Canterville Ghost,” with book by Doug Haverty, Music by Adryan Russ, Lyrics by Russ & Haverty
Aftershocks – A three-character (all female) play about what happens after an adopted daughter locates her natural mother by Doug Haverty
Inside Out – An all-female musical about five women in group therapy. They’re so “crazy” they burst into song at the drop of a hat with Book by Doug Haverty, Music by Adryan Russ, and Lyrics by Russ/Haverty.
Could I Have This Dance? – A contemporary family comedy/drama where life comes to a grinding halt when the family business and life itself boils down to taking a medical test by Doug Haverty
Death Defying Acts – A soul-searching play about a woman who puts the brakes on her thriving career to do some healing (she hopes) volunteer work by Doug Haverty
In My Mind’s Eye – A memory play about a young, legally-blind public school teacher as the replays her diary-on-tape and gets a new perspective by Doug Haverty
Flavia and the Dream-Maker – A family musical based on the life of poet/painter, Flavia Weedn who grew up in South Central L.A. and defied all odds with Book by Doug Haverty, Music by Shelly Markham and Lyrics by Bob Garrett
The Legend of the Crystal Waters – A family musical about the precious natural resources of planet earth (who is a character in this play that incorporates signed, sung and spoken language) with Book by Doug Haverty, Music by Mark Henderson and Lyrics by David M. Strauss
Tenants Anyone? – A farce about a former Miss America forty years and forty extra pounds later who is managing an apartment house in Hollywood and hiding her identity by Doug Haverty
Hello, This is the Bottom Drawer – A comedy/drama about seven college students living together in an old house with a junk-store on the lower level. This family of choice is forced to leave the frivolity behind and focus on rallying support by Doug Haverty.
Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
At the Group Rep, we develop new plays and musicals through a series of readings/discussions, followed by a public staged reading.
Pricing:
- Dues: $50/a month
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.theGROUPrep.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/douglas.haverty
- Other: http://playworksmusic.com/haverty_contact.html
Image Credits
NWP (Next Window Please) photo by Sherry Netherland THE GHOST OF GERSHWIN photo by Sherry Netherland LOVE AGAIN photo by Doug Engalla A CAROL CHRISTMAS photo by Karen Staitman
