By Candice J. Wanner

Beer…Theater. For decades, two entirely separate entities and ne’er the twain shall meet. Until now. Thanks to Thelonious Theater and the Appalachian Brewing Company, those two very disparate items are melding into one melodious evening who’s whole is much greater than its separate parts. Now, tell me, can it get any better than this?

So, okay, there are other good things about the collaboration of Thelonious Theater and the Appalachian Brewing Company besides the beer/theater thing. Like, finally having a Harrisburg theater company dedicated to producing original works, especially those written by local playwrights. But, just think of it, theater and beer!

Alright, alright, enough about the theater and beer. I don’t want anyone to think I have a fixation or anything. Especially since what Todd Drazien and Tom Bissey, the founders of Thelonious Theater, are trying to do is admirable in every way shape and form. There has been a distinct lack of venues for original works in the Harrisburg area for a number of years. The Little Theater of Mechanicsburg produces one original work every summer as does York Little Theater. And, the remaining theaters in the area will occasionally offer a new work or a reading of a local playwright. However, there’s been no concerted effort on the part of the existing Harrisburg theaters to focus on original and local works. There are good reasons for that, of course, mainly the chancy draw of an unknown work, but Drazien and Bissey feel that there is enough demand in Harrisburg to support one theater dedicated to the concept. States Drazien, “we hope to tap into a crowd of people who want something different and new. People who think it’s great to see something new and exciting in Harrisburg”. Obviously, they’ve succeeded since Drazien claims that the last two shows performed at the Brewery were sold out. Quite an accomplishment in these times of half-full theater houses.

As I stated, Thelonious Theater has already done two shows at the Brewery and have two more planned for the upcoming months. June will see them presenting “Comedy Behind Bars” featuring Edward Albee’s “The Zoo Story” and Karen Gray performing her monologue “Swirlies”. Performances are scheduled for the 5th, 6th, 12th and 13th at 8:00 p.m. August will see Drazien and Bissey’s own original rock opera “John Doe” being performed the first three weekends in August. Bissey has written the music and Drazien the script. Both are extremely excited about the prospect. As well they should be.

Drazien recalled for me the first time he ever had a play produced. It was a production done by a theater group in Jacksonville, Florida called Players by the Sea. Drazien had been living there at the time, hoping to break into the Orlando film scene since that is where his inclination and college training seemed to be leading him. In an effort to network in Jacksonville, he volunteered to videotape a production for the Players by the Sea and through talking with the theater’s manager, happened to mention a video he had written, directed and produced in college. The manager asked to see the video, liked it and asked if Drazien had ever written any plays. The answer was “no”, but that mistake was soon remedied. Players by the Sea produced Drazien’s original one act and also showed the film and called it “A Night of Mixed Media”. When asked how it had felt to have his works being performed, he gave a shy smile and said, “the first time I ever heard something I had written spoken aloud was very, very strange. Up until then, those things were all in my head and then they were being shared with a bunch of people I didn’t even know. It took me a long time to get over feeling weird about it.”

Well, obviously he’s gotten over it for he’s been writing and producing plays for the last six years. He is currently President of the Little Theater of Mechanicsburg and has taught playwriting in workshops on several different occasions. He’s even tried theater from the other side of the clipboard as an actor, but says it’s not his thing. “I like to rehearse, but I don’t like being in front of an audience. I don’t like the idea that once you hit performance, the show is set and you can’t get up and leave if things are going badly” He went on to say that, “actors are a special breed of people.” Boy, is THAT the understatement of the year! Having spent sixteen years in theater myself, I KNOW.

When asked to look five years into the future of Thelonious Theater and tell me what he sees, Drazien huffed a put-upon sigh and said, “I hate that question!” But, he did go on to say that he’d love to see them be able to promote an entire season in advance as the existing theaters do with season tickets and the works. He’d love to see Harrisburg become known as a testing ground for original works where they’d have submissions from national and international writers. Drazien stated that “the larger cities are so saturated with theater, that it’s almost impossible to get any recognition at all. It’s fabulously expensive to try to produce an original work in New York or one of the other bigger venues. Places like Harrisburg can tap into those markets and become known for their affordability and willingness to try something new, like Minneapolis, which has that reputation already. I’d love to see Harrisburg become the new theater Minneapolis.” Thelonious Theater will always, however, put the local playwrights first and foremost since that’s where their own origins. (For those of you who are aspiring playwrights, Drazien is looking for new materials to produce in the near future. Call the box office at 232-4036 and speak to Todd about your manuscript and he’ll tell you how to submit it.)

Drazien stated that they couldn’t have had even this much success without the help and support of the Little Theater of Mechanicsburg, which has been like a parent theater to them. Thelonious Theater also owes a huge debt of gratitude to Al Baker and John Harris High School for the gift of lighting equipment, which had been leftover from the Arts Magnet School. “It’s made all the difference in the world with our being a real theater”. Other local businesses such as Castle Windows and Simons Insurance have been of great help in providing rehearsal space and office help. And, of course, there’s Appalachian Brewing Company, which has been their home from the start. When asked if Drazien ever sees Thelonious Theater in a home of its own, he stated that it would be nice, of course, sometime down the road. But, they are perfectly happy with Appalachian Brewing Company and even if they do get a permanent home, would like to continue to produce works there due to ABC’s popularity and the convenience of people being able to have dinner downstairs and then bring their cocktails upstairs for the show. (I told you, it’s the beer thing.)

So, call 232-4036 for reservations and check out Thelonious Theater for either “Comedy Behind Bars” in June or “John Doe” in August. I mean, what could be a better night out than ABC’s food, a new show by an up and coming young playwright and supporting a new venue of the arts that’s trying to put Harrisburg on the map? And, oh yeah. Don’t forget the beer.