Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicola Vann.
Nicola, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’ve always loved unusual performance spaces – from front porch plays as a kid to atmospheric outdoor theatres like CalShakes in my native Northern California.
As an undergrad at UNC Chapel Hill, theatre production in non-traditional spaces became my unofficial thesis. I directed Midsummer in the campus’s magical arboretum. With support from UNC’s Morehead-Cain Foundation, I conducted research on alternative venues in New York City, London, Dublin, and at the incomparable Edinburgh Fringe. When our student theatre group lost access to our primary performance space, a traditional black box theatre, I led the transition to working in site-specific spaces instead. This included our favorite watering hole, a well-worn dive bar called Linda’s. It worked. Very well.
As I moved further into adulthood, I missed the creative outlets and community that are so plentiful in college and so elusive in later adulthood, even while pursuing a career in the arts.
My passion for site-specific work never waned. Whenever I went to a restaurant, bar, park, or other particularly vibey place, I’d immediately start mapping how a performance might work there.
Nine years and a global pandemic later, I decided it was finally time to bring Bardfly Theatre Co. to life.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Yes and No. It has been a lot of trial and error. With each performance and production we learn more about how to run the whole process, work with venues, and increase our following. I’ve repeatedly had to remind myself it’s an experiment.
One challenge is that running Bardfly is not my only job. I am a professional actor, screenwriter, intimacy coordinator, and acting teacher. The other performers are similarly spread thin. Part of the challenge has been coming up with a structure that can involve professional artists without conflicting with their careers. We rehearse, but minimally. If an actor books something that competes with a show, we work out an understudy. It’s challenging, but we’re scrappy.
What has been gratifyingly easy has been getting buy-in from people – the actors, venues, and audience members alike have given us a chance and been happy with what they experience. I can take some credit for this, but I also think it’s due to the magic of a city full of enthusiastic creatives and great people introducing me to other great people. We are also lucky to have been taken on by Mockingbird Incubator, a fiscal sponsor who allows us to operate under their non-profit umbrella.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Bardfly is a Los Angeles-based, site-specific theatre company. We primarily do Shakespeare – and perform in bars, in parks, in places you can drink a beer and stop and smell the audience. So far we’ve done shows with The Velvet Martini Lounge, Idle Hour, Lawless Brewing, Boomtown Brewery, and The Good Nite. We’ll continue to partner with new venues and already have some exciting collaborations in the works.
There are people all over the world doing versions of bar room Shakespeare, it’s awesome. Some are done with no rehearsal or director, with twists and themes, or with drunk actors! These are Bardfly’s hallmarks: 1) We do the full production so you’ll experience a play that could be in a traditional theater and wouldn’t feel out of place. 2) Our style is what I call “modern-neutral” – we’re wearing modern clothes and speaking with a modern cadence, but no one is getting a text message from the Duke. 3) We’ll hit the emotional notes of the play and deliver the poetry earnestly, but we’ll also make sure you get the dirty jokes.
A non-traditional venue is an easy selling point, but it also makes the shows a more social experience, the way attending a concert often is. So much these days is done on screens or in isolation, but music venues still regularly sell out. I wanted to make going to live theatre feel a lot closer to that experience. Less sitting politely in the dark. More drinking and developing a crush on the drummer. Or in our case, the fairy.
We’re known for a damn good show in a really fun environment, and I’m super proud of that.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Our actors are all trained and excellent improvisers. We perform each show in multiple, sometimes wildly different venues, have far less control over the space than you would in a traditional venue, and our rehearsals are very limited. The cast’s ability to think on their feet and work together in the moment is crucial to our success. It’s also a big part of the fun.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bardflytheatreco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bardflytheatreco
- Other: https://www.givebutter.com/bardfly
Image Credits
photos by Alexander Cameron, Charly Shelton
