IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Patrick White & the Capital Region Festival of Theatre

By J Hunter.

As we saw the last time he was In The Spotlight, Patrick White’s days are both full and rich: between his podcast The Play That Changed My Life, his articles & reviews he’s written for multiple Capital Region publications, the acting classes he leads, and all the plays he attends (here and in NYC) every single week, theater is on White’s mind and in his face all day, every day.

And that’s not including Harbinger, the dive-bombing theater group that’s brought new, challenging plays to the region every year since Lockdown was lifted. Their latest season is already well underway, with White’s longtime partner Chris Foster putting the finishing touches on Brynna Turner’s At The Wedding at Sand Lake Center for the Arts while White begins rehearsals for Stephen Adly Guirgis’ Between Riverside and Crazy, to be performed later this summer at Albany Civic Theater.

You’d think all that would be enough to satisfy White’s hunger for the stage. But Patrick had a dream, going back years, and that’s what he presented to a bunch of us at an organizational meeting last April at ACT: The Capital Region Festival of Theatre, a multi-day, multi-venue celebration bringing together the 100-plus theater groups that dot the area – and apart from the reasonably-priced mixer at the Cue, the whole thing is FREE!  

I’ll admit I was skeptical when White made his pitch, picturing a massive herd of cats made of raspberry Jell-O standing in a field, ready to ignore someone at a moment’s notice. Oh, me of little faith! Over a year later, CRFT is a real live thing, starting Thursday, June 12th with a musical mixer at Albany’s Cue Theatre, and ending with a massive slate of programs, workshops, and original plays at UAlbany. In between, there are programs aimed specifically at seniors and their place in the theater community, workshops for anyone interested in the technical side of shows, and a Mayoral Candidates’ Forum on the importance of the arts in the world today.

Patrick was good enough to take a few minutes from preparations to talk to us about CRFT:

RRX: Can you remember when the idea of CRFT first came to you?

PW: I’ve been dreaming of it for many years, 20 years. Every time I see a great performance that’s not reviewed or attended sufficiently. Almost every weekend for the past 20 years, I have looked around at our theater community and I thought that it deserved greater recognition, acclaim, and support. I think there are extraordinary things happening in the Capital Region, and it just keeps growing stronger, more diverse, and more adventurous every year.

RRX: When you reached out to the community for ideas, shows, demonstrations, and anything else they thought should be done at the inaugural CRFT, did the number of responses surprise you?

PW: No, not really. We had a general interest meeting at ACT on 1/25/24, which I only invited Artistic Directors to, and we had 60 people show up (which was surprising!), and the ideas and suggestions just flew for an hour and a half. I think it’s indicative of the pent-up demand for this kind of event for the theater community. From the beginning, we have had major buy-in from our leading players, especially Owen Smith at Playhouse Stage Company.

RRX: There’s been a long roll-out to CRFT, from the first organizational meetings to events like the Shakespeare birthday party. We’re talking over a year. How close to your initial vision was the process, and what surprises did you find along the way?

PW: The shape of it, as far as the multiple venues, is almost exactly what I wanted, with, you know, some adjustments on schedules and things like that. Every venue except one is my first choice to hold the event they are doing, and the one that I initially approached somewhere else has been the champion as far as planning, communication, and punctuality. Hint: It’s Senior Day at SLCA. 

The biggest surprise is the Mayoral Candidates Forum. I was looking for photo opportunities and dropping t-shirts off in politicians’ offices – Assemblyman Santabarbara, Councilman Anane, Senator Fahy, Assemblyperson Romero – when Owen suggested the Forum. I was with City Auditor Applyrs and mentioned it to her, and we got it set up with Owusu Anane loaning his Madison Theatre. I am always looking for the cultural life of public figures, and it means a huge amount to me when they show up and support Capital Region Theater, so this is beyond my wildest dreams.

RRX: I was very excited to see the Candidates’ Forum, because the arts are a subject that is rarely brought up in debate (for any office) by either side of the political spectrum. How did this event come about, and what was the initial reaction from the respective campaigns when you first contacted them? 

PW: It took a minute to get everyone on board, but this group of candidates has been very eager and willing to get together and discuss issues. I’m thrilled that there will be one on the Arts!!

RRX: I know this is kind of like asking a parent who their favorite kid is, but is there one event during CRFT that you are looking forward to the most?

PW: This is tough! I can’t possibly answer. We see 300 plays a year and I want to see the folks I’m unfamiliar with: Electric City Puppets in the Studio on CRFT Day, there are 10 singers at the CRFT Mixer I have never seen, Children at the Well and Paul Ricciardi of Ancram Center for the Arts storytelling workshops at Theatre Education Day… The slogan of the Festival is going to be “You Can’t See Everything. But it’s FUN trying!”

To find out more about the Capital Region Festival of Theatre, go to www.crftinc.org. To find out more about Harbinger’s new season, go to www.actingclasswithpatrickwhite.net.