{"id":85200,"date":"2025-03-13T10:12:21","date_gmt":"2025-03-13T17:12:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/?p=85200"},"modified":"2025-03-13T10:15:26","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T17:15:26","slug":"theater-news-25-years-on-the-garage-theatre-still-has-its-edge-and-communal-spirit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/art\/theater-news-25-years-on-the-garage-theatre-still-has-its-edge-and-communal-spirit","title":{"rendered":"Theater News: 25 years on, The Garage Theatre still has its edge \u2014 and communal spirit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Welcome to Theater News, a regular column by longtime reviewer Anita W. Harris. Look for it most Thursdays. Or sign up<\/a> for our Eat See Do newsletter to get it in your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though it\u2019s been nestled in a storefront space on Seventh Street at Long Beach Boulevard for two decades, The Garage Theatre is still no less edgy than when it was first founded 25 years ago \u2014 and no less rooted in community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a self-described history of creativity, passion and innovative offerings, The Garage is \u201cdedicated to producing independent, non-commercial performances that resonate with the human experience,\u201d according to its season announcement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Co-founder Eric Hamme said in an interview that he and fellow co-founder Matthew Anderson knew for sure that the Long Beach community valued the theater after the 2020 pandemic shuttered it and donations came pouring in \u2014 more than double what they expected \u2014 allowing The Garage to reopen again in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re so grateful to be part of this community,\u201d Hamme said. \u201cI feel more honored to be a part of it now than ever before.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps one of the reasons for the theater\u2019s longevity \u2014 and what differentiates it from other local theaters \u2014 is that there is no single artistic director. Instead, a collaborative ethos pervades The Garage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Directors, playwrights, set and lighting designers, and others are given the freedom to exercise their imaginations in staging shows, with many coming back to the theater as volunteers while holding professional gigs elsewhere, Hamme said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though Hamme and Anderson ask that productions fit The Garage aesthetic, no one could ever really define what that is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe theater is not the vision of one person,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s built as a community. We put very few limitations on creativity. They know our aesthetic, but they get to express themselves. We try to get out of their way. It\u2019s fun, creative, collaborative \u2014 it\u2019s that kind of environment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Link<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

So named because the company was literally founded when a group from Orange Coast College\u2019s theatre department staged a show in a friend\u2019s garage, The Garage Theatre now has 90 performed shows under its belt, including 20 world premieres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t have the resources to wow anyone with the latest and greatest in technology,\u201d Hamme said of the theater\u2019s beginning. \u201cIt really became about creating an atmosphere, an environment to break down that wall between performer and audience. Everyone\u2019s there together in a shared experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The theater first put on shows to entertain and \u201cimpress\u201d their friends, Hamme said. But then more people started coming, and the group of friends grew, with some contributing or volunteering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s how we\u2019ve always seen and treated our audience \u2014 we\u2019re friends,\u201d Hamme said. \u201cAnyone who chooses to drive to a little sketchy part of 7th Street and park their car and walk into this little storefront and hand over their money \u2014 it\u2019s incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The theater\u2019s 25th season lineup includes shows that fit the theater\u2019s mission of \u201cbringing unique and thought-provoking performances to the community\u201d and \u201cpromise to captivate and inspire.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently on stage through April 5 is the world premiere of Ryan McClary\u2019s \u201cThe Tragedy Giftshop.\u201d The play is set in the small town of Townesville where a new shop opens in the wake of an unspeakable tragedy, highlighting the \u201cintersection of grief and consumerism in modern day America.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anderson, who is directing this play, notes that taking small steps like going out to a theater to participate in something larger than ourselves is important when political events make the world feel like it\u2019s turning upside down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Whitney Ellis as Greta Welles in \u201cThe Tragedy Giftshop,” part of The Garage Theatre’s 25th season lineup. Photo by Diana Kaufmann.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we break free of our little isolated bubbles of our lives, we have the opportunity to experience something new, feel some feels, and think some thoughts,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The season continues in May with \u201cThe Call List\u201d by Brian James Polk, about a law firm assistant who must phone a list of strangers to let them know that a client has passed away. Directed by Diana Kaufmann, the play brings to life how \u201cone night can change a life forever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWitch,\u201d written by Jen Silverman and co-directed by Hamme, follows next in July and August, a play in which the Devil prowls a small village seeking to make Faustian bargains, only to be refused by a woman branded the \u201ctown witch.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continuing the season in September and October is \u201cPredictor\u201d \u2014 written by Jennifer Blackmer and directed by Jessica Variz \u2014 a story about how one woman radically advanced women\u2019s bodily autonomy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Set in the 1960s, the play focuses on Margaret Crane, who invented the world\u2019s first home-pregnancy test, before which women had to wait weeks to know if they were expecting, having to first make an appointment with a doctor and then await the results of a urine test.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rounding out the season in November and December is Part 3 of Jamie Sweet\u2019s local melodrama, \u201cLong Beach is Sinking! Or, Hard Times are Better than a Lifetime of Injustice.\u201d Directed by Rob Young, the annual holiday series centers on the Long Beach Pike and the \u201clocal heroes who save it from oblivion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Garage is offering a $150 annual subscription to see all of the above shows \u2014 as many times as you like, based on available seating \u2014 and includes 10 free drinks plus a one-time free friend ticket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have invariably found The Garage Theatre\u2019s productions to be compelling, well-acted and thought-provoking \u2014 surprisingly so given its intimate, somewhat scrappy venue. There\u2019s not much room between the set, actors and audience, allowing its shows to have an immediacy and in-your-face quality that makes them feel visceral and alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And as Anderson notes, attending such lively theater right now may be just the communal remedy we need in a time of uncertainty and fear for many.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is in the coming together of community, to share in something that only exists in this moment,\u201d he says, \u201cwhere change happens, and we become somehow stronger, together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Garage Theatre is at 251 E. Seventh St., with metered parking available on surrounding streets. Performances are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. Tickets are $28 or $20 for students, seniors, teachers and military members. Two-for-one tickets are available Thursdays with promo code TWOFER. Tickets may be purchased at the theatre\u2019s box office 30 minutes before each show or online at <\/i>TheGarageTheatre.org<\/i><\/a>. <\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Birthed in a literal garage more than two decades ago, the theater is celebrating its longevity while holding to its roots. Here’s what’s on tap this season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":207,"featured_media":85199,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[32337],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[32310],"class_list":["post-85200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art","tag-theater-news","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/207"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85200"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85200\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85204,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85200\/revisions\/85204"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85200"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=85200"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=85200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}