For decades, the Boal Barn Playhouse served as a landmark summer theater that housed the State College Community Theatre. Today, that barn — refurbished and repurposed — is still bringing theater to the region with Nittany Theatre at the Barn.
The rebirth of the structure was the vision of David Saxe, currently serving as producing artistic director of the Nittany Theatre at the Barn. That vision has seen the venue evolve into one that brings professional artists to the region to join those based here.
As the Nittany Theatre company enters its second season of shows, the company is working to secure its share of the entertainment dollars available here.
“We have to find our market,” said Saxe. “We want to become a small Equity house. The Barn offers an intimate setting.”
In order to meet the requirements of various professional theatrical unions, the Nittany Theatre removed seats and reoriented the stage to create what is known as a thrust stage, rather than theatre-in-the-round, which had been the norm previously.
“We now have 99 seats in the theater,” Saxe saidd. “I receive emails all the time from people who want to work here.”
Can this region really support all the theater groups that are vying for ticket sales? Saxe believes it can.
“In our first year we sold 43 season tickets,” he explained. “This year, we sold 209 season tickets. They are the backbone of a theater like this.”
The Nittany Theatre at the Barn invested a great deal of money and time to turn the Barn into a comfortable place to watch a play or musical. The improvements include things seen and unseen, including well-cushioned seats and rewiring of the electrical system. Two silent fans will run during performances to keep the barn comfortable for patrons.
“Our biggest challenge is climate control,” said Saxe. “The Millbrook Playhouse near Lock Haven has done it and we are going to do it. It will be a real step forward. We can’t air-condition the barn, but we can use heat pumps to cool or warm the place. It will be a significant leap forward from what it used to be like in the Barn.”
Governed by a small board of directors, Nittany Theatre at the Barn is a 501C3 nonprofit. “The State College Community Theatre didn’t think the economics of the Barn would work for them. We have got to find a way to make them work. We want to keep the old summer stock theater alive.”
The company has an angel in EBS Construction, a company with a national presence. Its founder-owner was influenced by David Saxe’s father, Earle Brian Saxe. “Tony B. was helped, as a young man, by my father. Now, he is helping us launch the theater in return.”
The group now presents awards called the Tony B’s, and also offers EBS Internships.
Saxe said that Nittany Theatre at the Barn will look for ways to stretch its artistic abilities, including producing non-traditional versions of musicals and plays.
Last season, the company’s most popular show was the musical “1776,” with an all-female cast. “This year, we’re going to do ‘12 Angry Men’ with six women in the cast,” said Saxe.
One of the first productions in the United States of the comedy “Calendar Girls” will include what Saxe calls “fabulous concealment,” or the illusion of nudity. “Re-Max Realty has bought out the whole first night of that show. So we are expecting it to sell out.”
The 2016 summer season will also include “All Shook Up,” Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” set to the music of Elvis Presley. “The Complete Works of Shakespeare” — a Barn tradition — presents 27 of the Bard’s major works using three actors in 90 minutes.
