Motif Magazine
August 2006
Chris Simpson has a lot on his plate.
In June, he wrapped up a production of the Pulitzer-winning Proof. He just helped organize a 24-hour play festival. And his theater group is about to present You Can’t Take It With You.
When that’s done, he returns to Princeton for his junior year. He’s majoring in comparative literature while minoring in theater and African studies. “I’m concentrating on East African theater,” and plans to pursue something theatrical upon graduation.
Busy guy. The Warwick native is director of South Kingstown’s Courthouse Theater Company (www.courthousetheater.com). “We spell it the American way,” he says when I ask which “theater” they prefer – with an “er” or an “re.”
“It’s like color is American, but colour is English.”
Director is an all-encompassing title. “It works with both of my responsibilities. I run the company, and I direct the plays of the company.”
Born in Warwick but raised in Kingston, Chris has “always been involved in the arts” through school, including as an actor in high school.
In his freshman year at Princeton, “I saw a production of Neil Simon’s Rumors. I thought, that’s good, but my friends from high school and I could do a better job.”
Chris called the folks at the Courthouse Center for the Arts, got some of those friends together, and put on a weekend run of the show – three nights total. It was a success, and they were asked to return this summer.
Chris is happy to provide a “rough history” of the Courthouse. “It was built in the 1800’s as a regional courthouse,” but its use was discontinued in the 60’s with the building of the Stedman Complex on Route 1. “In the early 90’s, some local arts aficionados said, we can really put this space to use. They put together a plan, approached the state, and made a deal for a dollar, after agreeing to promote the arts in South Kingstown.”
Since its renovation, the Courthouse has become South County’s “arts place. There’s all sorts of great stuff. Arts and Crafts shows, films. But not a lot of theater.”
Chris and his group are doing what they can to change that last part. “Upstairs is a grand room, 45-feet square, with vaulted ceilings. They use it for concerts and films. We stepped in and we’re using it for our shows. It’s the ideal space, in a lot of ways.”
Nothing really complex, but enough to make a show work. “Thankfully, the courthouse has this movable staging, a prepackaged deal. You can put it together, any shape or size, however we need it. The sound is pretty minimal. There’s a lighting grid, nothing incredibly complex. There aren’t a lot of effects, but we can do doorbells, night and day, stuff like that.”
You Can’t Take It With You is much bigger than any show they’ve done before. “It’s a huge cast – 17 actors. It presents some entirely different problems, and an entirely different set of blessings. The show doesn’t sit on any one person’s shoulders.”
You Can't Take It With You runs Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 pm and Sunday at 2 pm from August 17-20 at the Courthouse Center for the Arts, 3481 Kingstown Rd., Route 138, West Kingston RI. (401) 782-1018.
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