washington theater
Written by Earl Bugaile | Photos by David Pinchot
Setting the Stage
Longtime local theater director Barry Wood has found the formula for theatrical fun.
Sometimes, one discovers his life’s work at a very early age. In the case of Barry Wood, who has become one of this region’s most gifted directors of musical theater, his artistry and love of teaching and directing was discovered in the backyard of his grandmother’s home in Pine Grove, Pa., a community halfway between Lebanon and Pottsville, in the eastern part of the state.
“My grandmother had a shed in her yard, and I cleaned it out and we had desks, where we would play school,” he recalls. “In terms of putting on plays, I recruited my three sisters and all the kids in the neighborhood, and we would do comedies and musicals. I was the master of ceremonies, and introduced all these different acts.”
Wood describes the backyard shows as something out of the “The Little Rascals.” “We would hang a blanket on my grandmother’s back porch, and the people in the neighborhood would come and put out their lawn chairs to enjoy the show. I guess I’m still directing backyard shows,” he says, referring to the nearly 30 shows he has directed each summer for Washington Community Theater in the pavilion at Washington Park.
Wood’s latest endeavor “Meet Me in St. Louis,” will be staged from June 21-25, at Washington Park, with a company of over 50 performers and an orchestra.
Wood’s career direction (pardon the pun) became more focused during his teenage years, when he volunteered to direct plays at his church youth group. “There weren’t a lot of adults to sponsor the youth group, so I volunteered, and the minister and I put on shows in the church to raise money,” he says. It wasn’t until he entered school at Berea College in Kentucky that he fully developed his talent for directing. “There was never any money for college, and so I took a Civil Service test and was working in Washington D.C., across from the White House,” he said. “One of the guys in the front office was a graduate of Berea, and one of the neat things about the college is that if you’re accepted there, you get a full, four-year scholarship. All you have to do is work for the college.”
Wood entered Berea as a pre-ministerial student, where he auditioned for parts in several plays, and finally earned a walk-on role by the end of the first semester. By the next semester, Wood had won a lead role in “Marty,” and began considering a career in professional theater.
It was in his junior year that Louise Scribner, a faculty member, approached him and asked if he would do an independent study in Directing and Oral Interpretation. Wood agreed, and he was offered an opportunity to direct a high school musical. He selected “The Lark”, a story about Joan of Ark. “Everything seemed to click with the high school kids, and the show was an enormous success,” he says.
Wood earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Theater and Directing at Ohio University, while studying with many professional directors who went on to Broadway. “I was kind of the joke of the department, because everyone else was going to Broadway, and I was going to high school,” he recalls.
Wood established his reputation as a director when he taught theater at Peters Township High School. His musicals won acclaim throughout the region, and more than a few of his theatrical students moved on to careers on the stage. After 25 years at Peters, Wood’s responsibilities were changed by the district, and he now teaches English in the high school.
Like many artists and musicians who become famous for one particular style, Wood developed a reputation for musicals while directing at Peters. “I think the kids’ best work were the dramas and comedies---and then the musicals. But the musicals always sold out, and that’s what people loved the most.”
“There has to be an element of fun,” said Wood when trying to identify his style. “Whether you are doing ‘Hamlet’ or ‘The Three Stooges,’ we should all be having a blast. There has to be enjoyment and joy going to the theater for the audience as well as the performer.”
Wood believes the work ethic of both he and the performers are part of the reason his shows have been so highly praised and successful. “I’ve been really fortunate to have worked with talented people, both at the high school level and at the community theater level,” he said. “I bring a serious commitment of time and effort to it, and I expect no less from anyone involved. But a good director will not be stern. He will invite the performers to bring their unique ideas and talent into the roles too, because theater is a collaboration. We all have to work together.”
Wood now looks forward to the opening of “Meet Me in St Louis” and sharing the result of nearly three months of rehearsals with an audience. “I sometimes feel weighed down by all the work in front of me, but I know that when I rehearse with all these people, my creative juices and my enthusiasm will get flowing, and I’ll be so excited,” he said. “Part of the excitement is sharing all of this with an audience, because until an audience comes, there is no such thing as live theater.”
“People are so tired of movies and television,” he says. “The theater never seems to let you down. There is something unique about the live experience of having performers in front of you. We came into this world as children, and our parents told us stories and sang to us. I still think that in this modern world, when the electricity goes off and we don’t have radio and television, we have each other. We tell stories---and that’s what the theater does.” •
