PUSHING THE ENVELOPE
BY JON THEISS
PHOTOGRAPHY BY NICHOLAS HINSCH
& SCOTT CUNNINGHAM
Steve Guyer, founder, CEO and executive producer of Columbus’ only sketch comedy and rock and roll theater company continues to break new ground
After numerous permutations, setbacks, runs of bad luck, near misses, downright failures and a devastating fire, Shadowbox eventually became a wildly successful theater company completely unique to Columbus – until they opened a second Shadowbox in Newport, Kentucky in 2001. Their style mirrors late-nineteenth century vaudeville: kinetic, flamboyant, bawdy humor with elements of physical comedy, slapstick, socio-political satire, live music, dance and video content. Executing a show like this takes a large staff, so Shadowbox employs around thirty full-time artists who wear nearly as many hats as Guyer.
Interestingly, Guyer’s career in original theatre started on the wrong foot, a fact that he’s quick to admit. His first project, an original rock opera that he wrote, produced and directed, essentially failed – though out of this failure sprang success. “When I wrote the rock opera, it really was my best effort at the time – but it was also not good,” he explains with a flippant air of self-effacement. It was his first foray into theatrical production, and although he may not have earned a place in the pantheon of dramaturgy, he did captivate a few admirers who recognized his potential – potential that he was all too eager to capitalize upon.
POTENTIAL ENERGY
Guyer tosses the word “potential” around pretty often. It’s one of his favorite touchstones, even citing it as the driving force behind his business model. “The idea here [at Shadowbox] is to express all of your potential in one business,” Guyer says, adding, “I need good actors, good musicians, good singers and good sketch comedians who are also good waiters, good administrators, good PR people, good at marketing – you name it.” Katy Psenicka, a member since 1993, echoed the same sentiment. “I’m part of the creative team, the general manager, choreographer and director of media relations,” she says. “We do it all here!”
Shadowbox, in essence, is a collaborative artistic troupe – but it’s also a business – and a successful business at that. How do they pull it off? Guyer’s mantra may explain it. As Guyer repeats his creed, it’s obvious that he’s said it many times before. “The hours will be long, the work will be difficult, your hand will not be held and the reward will take years to achieve. You will learn – if you try – and you will produce some of the best shows in the world,” he says. “I try like hell to make my staff understand that.”
It’s clear from Shadowbox’s website that Guyer demands a certain level of professionalism from the cast. On the company’s audition video, Guyer speaks urgently into the camera: “You’re going to have to learn if you come here – I guarantee it. If you think you’re going to come in and be as good as the other people onstage, it’s not going to happen,” adding, “I’m not going to tell you what your potential is – only you can do that. You’ll have the opportunity to prove things on a constant basis. If you like that kind of challenge, this is the place for you.”
“When it’s time to provide criticism, I’m not going to be your mom or a kindly old grandfather,” he says during the same video. “I’m going to be more like a drill sergeant. I’ll tell you exactly how it is.” Psenicka agrees. “As a performer, you have to be able to take constructive criticism,” she explains. “Our time here is really limited, and Steve’s time is even more limited. When we put a show together, there isn’t time to worry about people getting their feelings hurt. He needs to be able to cut to the chase and say what he means. It’s not personal criticism. The tone at a dress rehearsal is, ‘say what needs to be said and say it in a non-threatening way. Just get done what needs to be done.’”
This may seem like a hard-nosed philosophy, but both Guyer and Psenicka come off completely easygoing and affable onstage and in person. In fact, they both have a tendency to talk about irreverence when describing their attitudes. “You have to have a sense of irreverence about yourself,” Guyer says, “but we take our craft
absolutely seriously.”
It’s important to remember that comedy, acting, singing and dancing simply isn’t a pastime for these players – this is an art form that they’ve chosen to pursue full-time. They don’t have day jobs at the bank or spend nine-to-five in a cubicle. They’re all employed as full-time Shadowbox staff – and that kind of dedication is completely necessary due to the nature of their creative process. “Shadowbox isn’t a hobby, it’s a profession,” Guyer says with no shortage of conviction. “We’ve got the big show here in Columbus, the big show down in Newport, the lunchbox, the new show that’s always coming up, the new musical in production, the musical that’s running, preparation for the downtown move, a television project in the works, video segments that we film ourselves, community relations … there are 10 to 15 projects going at any given time.”
ARE YOU EXPERIENCED?
Helming a ship that blends comedy, theater, live music, dance and video is demanding – so what makes Guyer qualified for the job? The Shadowbox website lists his experience as “tons of life, rock and roll and business experience, but thankfully very little theater and college experience.” Hear him talk about his trial-and-error attitude and dedication and you’ll quickly realize that Guyer learns from every experience. Spending 20 years trying to understand his audience and deliver what they want (without sacrificing his own artistic sensibilities) has afforded him with a wealth of knowledge, even though some of the comedy can be hit and miss, or fall completely flat. “Now I know how much there is to know about this business, but even after all the sketches that I produce, some still don’t work. That knowledge isn’t infallible,” he concedes.
The Shadowbox team works hard to embrace criticism, with a philosophy of “all press is good press,” Psenicka says. “Sometimes we get a negative review in print and people will say ‘I totally disagree!’ and rally around the show. Or, they’ll say ‘there’s no way the show could possibly be that bad. I need to go see it!’ But, audience criticism is what we listen to most often. We listen because sometimes it’s right. Their criticism matters.”
Critiques may come from the media, the audience, and sometimes even from within the company itself. “I never wanted to be a lone wolf,” Guyer says, but “I had to learn to listen, to be aware that something that somebody says might be the next big thing.” Now, he understands the importance of being a team player – especially since Guyer can’t accomplish all of this by himself. He often asks his team, “What if I get hit by a bus tomorrow?” in an attempt to maintain a groupthink where his hands need not touch everything. Delegation is key in any professional environment, and the “creative team” that Guyer employs – a group of eight founders and associate producers who steer Shadowbox’s creative direction – generate the momentum that drives the rest of the organization.
HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?
The teamwork-centric atmosphere has led to Shadowbox’s most wildly praised production to date: an original musical called Back to the Garden, based in and around the Woodstock phenomena of the late 1960s. It features an impassioned Shadowbox cast firing on all cylinders, ripping through a classic rock soundtrack of artists ranging from Joe Cocker to Jimi Hendrix to Janis Joplin, featuring the festival goers as characters. Opening last year to fervent audience praise and critical acclaim, the show was an enormous boon, even attracting Country Joe McDonald (an original Woodstock performer and Guyer’s character in the show) to a performance. After the show, he spoke to the audience, noting that the house band “played Santana better than Santana did!” Guyer knew that this original musical was something special – so the Shadowbox crew revived it in early February for an open-ended run. They’re also bringing the newest “big show,” After Dark, to an end on March 20 – and the new show, Spring Fling, starts March 25.
COLUMBUS SELLS OUT
Thanks to their loyal following that has stuck by them for years, Shadowbox still consistently sells out shows. “Our audience really gave us a chance to learn and grow, patronizing us even when, frankly, we really weren’t that good,” Guyer says, laughing about years past.
“I think that’s something that’s unique to Columbus. Columbus was willing to support us even when we sucked. They looked beyond the flaws and recognized our passion, let us grow, let us find our groove. People in this town wanted this to succeed.”
For tickets and showtimes, visit Shadowbox’s website: click here.
