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EP # 233 Behind the Curtain: The Heart of Professional Theater
Step behind the curtain with Greg Langenhagen, the Producing Artistic Director of Florida Repertory Theatre, in this captivating episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast. Join us as Greg shares his extraordinary journey—from a professional actor performing on stages across the country to leading one of the finest regional theaters in Florida. Discover the fundamental differences between professional and community theater, as Greg sheds light on the level of talent and artistry that defines Florida Rep.
In these unpredictable times, Greg discusses the theater's resilience through the pandemic, highlighting their community outreach and commitment to quality performances. This thought-provoking conversation underlines the vital role theaters play in fostering creative expression and building connections within the community.
As audiences reconnect with live performances, Greg inspires curiosity about upcoming Florida Rep shows. From dramas to musicals, there’s a something for everyone, promising experiences that resonate on a personal level. You won't want to miss this insightful exploration of art, passion, and community.
Join us as we celebrate the transformative power of theater! Tune in, subscribe for more stories, and share your thoughts with us!
Florida Repertory Theatre
Greg Langenhagen / Producing Artistic Director
2268 Bay Street Fort Myers, FL, United States, Florida 33901
239-332-4488
Boxoffice@floridarep.org
floridarep.org
This is the.
Speaker 2:Good Neighbor.
Speaker 1:Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, cabo, jim Schaller.
Speaker 2:Welcome Good Neighbors to episode number 233 of the Good Neighbor Podcast. Today we have Good Neighbor Greg Langenhagen from the Florida Repertory Theater.
Speaker 3:Welcome, thank you so much, jim, great to be with you.
Speaker 2:Absolutely Pleasure to have you on and learn a little bit about what you do. So without further ado, let's jump right in. And why don't you share a little bit about what you do over at the theatre?
Speaker 3:Very happy to. So I am the Producing Artistic Director at Florida Repertory Theatre here in Fort Myers, florida, in downtown, part of the downtown River district, and as the producing artistic director I'm responsible for many, many things. I share the executive leadership with our executive director, but my biggest responsibility is for everything that pretty much everything that happens on our stages, all of the programming, if you will, for our professional season, for our educational programming and also our outreach.
Speaker 2:Very nice, very nice. So let's back up your story a little bit. How did you get involved in all of this?
Speaker 3:Well, you know, I came to this from an actor's perspective. I was a professional actor for many years, lived in New York City and had been coming down to Florida and traveling other parts of the country working in what's called regional theater. And that's what Florida Repertory Theater is. It's a professional regional theater and I mean I can tell you how I got involved in the whole theater stuff. I could take you all the way back. Let's go back. Let's go back and do that. Yes, okay, fantastic. Honestly, jim, this is a question I've thought about before and have been asked.
Speaker 3:It really started when I was about four years old. My mother sat, my sister and I down in front of a puppet show at the local mall back up in Pennsylvania and I never forgot it. I was so mesmerized by it that I kind of carried that with me through my whole life into my adulthood. I spent most of my childhood in sports. My brothers and I were all active in several different sports and things like that, but I never lost that sort of twinkle in my eye for what it would be like to be on stage and how that can be mesmerizing to an audience member, because I was just mesmerized by it. So I came up to it through acting.
Speaker 3:I left the business for a while as a professional actor to run a business that my wife and I purchased from my father-in-law. We were in the television production business for several years and marketing business, and so I got a really strong business background working in that, owning, operating that, um, that business for many years. And then the position became available at florida rep and uh, where I had, you know, basically been an ensemble member and have still am an ensemble member, um, for many, many years and um, and it was a position was available and I decided to go for it. And uh, lo and behold, here I am six years later as the uh producing artistic director. But I started with the theater company back in 1998 when it first came to life, as it were.
Speaker 2:Incredible. That's an incredible journey there. So talk about that journey a little bit. As far as challenges, whether personally or professionally, there's something we all kind of go through that we can kind of look back at later and say you know what I made it through, that I'm in a better place now.
Speaker 3:You know, oh, jim, for sure you know I mean, in looking at this, you know this particular position and looking at Florida Repertory Theater, I can probably tell a similar story that many folks I'm sure you talk to is when the pandemic hit the, you know, venues around the country I mean everywhere, from concert arenas, sporting events, any type of event right where people gather in large groups that was pretty much was gone right for several, you know, almost two years actually. So riding that out and making it through that time, that was really trying, that was really trying. And I will say this you know we have an amazing team here at Florida Rep and you know no one does these things alone. There really is no, I me mine in this side of show business anyway. But you know, I'm so grateful that I had a lot of great people around me and we were able to make it through that.
Speaker 3:And then, as you probably know, you know, no, sooner after you know, the pandemic, we got slammed with a cat five hurricane which basically drenched and put downtown Fort Myers, where we, you know we're located underwater and our facilities were all underwater. So we had to clean up that mess and there again, you know, a great team came forward and we were able to make a lot of things happen, and we're still here, you know. We're still here. So you know, for the grace of God and the great people around us, I couldn't be more grateful.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, yeah, great, that's a wonderful community and the great people around us. Um, I couldn't be more grateful. Absolutely, yeah, great, that's a wonderful community, wonderful support and people around it as well. So let's talk about myths or misconceptions surrounding what you do that we can kind of maybe clear up for our listeners today.
Speaker 3:You know that's a great one too and there's one that comes up a lot. So you know, when we first started, when Florida Rep was first born in 1998, there weren't a lot of other professional theater companies or theater companies at all in the area, companies or theater companies at all in the area, and there still aren't very many professional theater companies. But there are a lot of what we call community theaters and some folks think that we're a community theater, just like you know the regular, you know community theater that you might see in your neighborhood. But the big difference is is that in community theaters and don't get me wrong you can see a lot of great. I've seen lots of great art and great theater in community theaters. But in a community theater those are folks who are doing it for fun. These are folks who, after work, rehearse, you know, in the evenings, and put on a play and whatnot. What we do is we're a professional regional theater. The people that we hire actually to perform on our stages, they're're pros, just like the people who direct our professionals. The people who design our plays uh, you know sets, costumes etc. And those that build those sets and those costumes. They're all professionals.
Speaker 3:And um, but back to you know, speaking about the talent on the stages, these are folks who do it for a living. They, they they've often have had years of training, uh, to be able to be a stage performer, stage actor, and many of them have Broadway credits. You know, we go to New York City twice a year to audition talent for our season. We're an ensemble-based organization, so we have folks that are within our ensemble both, you know, not just actors, but all artists, scenic designers, as I said, lighting designers, costume designers, et cetera, directors. But we go and look for talent in New York and we get some of the best talent in the country. These are folks who, you know, that's what they do for a living. So we want people to know that. Hey, you know, when you come to Florida Rep, you should expect to see, as it's been, as it's been Wall Street Journal Broadway quality, because these are the same folks that you would see on the stages in New York City.
Speaker 3:And then the other you know. So I wanted to, you know, make sure folks understood that that we're, you know, we're professional, we're a union theater company under the Actors' Equity Union, and those are important things when you have union actors and you have folks that are represented by talent agents and things like that. You're talking about a level of artistry and a level of artist that's a notch above, and everyone in the business understands that and they know that as well. So there's that. And then the other thing that even some of our wonderful patrons and subscribers might not even be aware of is that we're a producing organization, we're not a presenting organization, which means that when you come to see a show and you see the costumes and you see the sets and you see the lights, all of that, what has been done in-house, that's all been.
Speaker 3:You know, we built, we build those sets right. They're not touring shows that get put in and then lifted out. These are costumes that oftentimes are built from the bottom up, where we would fit someone the same way someone might fit a tailor might fit someone for a suit, we would do the same thing. And so there's a lot of care, a lot of love and great artistry that goes into what we do as a producing organization. So those are the two biggest things I think is that, hey, we're a professional theater. These are folks who do it for a living and do it well, and just about everything you see on stage was handmade here by our in-house artisans.
Speaker 2:I love it. I love it. It's that attention to, and just about everything you see on stage was handmade here by our in-house artisans. I love it. I love it. It's that attention to detail that takes it a step above. So do you notice anything changing? Obviously it's been what almost 25 years now. Is it changing in the industry? Have things evolved?
Speaker 3:Oh sure. Well, one thing I can tell you for sure, jim, is that things have become more expensive. It's funny because theater itself, in so many ways, hasn't really changed since the Greeks. We're still really telling stories. What has changed is the price to do it, to do it. So we've seen a little bit of that.
Speaker 3:You know, we see around, not just here at Florida Rep, in fact, probably less so here than at other places as I talk to my colleagues that run theaters around the country other regional theaters, professional theaters there's been a little bit of a decline in attendance because, you see, you know, since the pandemic, I think, a lot of folks got out of the habit of going to the theater and they forget, you know, what the joy is and really how powerful theater can be. The things that happen in a space, in a room, when you're seated next to you know your fellow man and fellow woman, is very different than what you experience, even in a movie theater. When you do that, and certainly at home, you know, when you're watching Netflix which, hey, I love Netflix, it's great, I get it, but theater is a different experience and I think, I think that that's the reason why it's going to continue to be around is because all you have to do is be touched the way your heart can be touched in a live presentation like that, so differently than if you're seeing something on a screen. And once that happens, I think people are bitten. You know, you're bitten by the bug.
Speaker 3:But certainly the changes that we've seen are you know, folks right now, I think, are more interested in escapist style pieces where they can. You know, I think generally right now just want to kind of escape from all that and sort of adhere to something a little bit higher order which can be completely just fun, you know, just escapist style fun. So yeah, those are the two things, those are the trends I'm seeing right now.
Speaker 2:And we need outlets like that to get away from what you had mentioned as well too. So, absolutely, you mentioned you're from the Northeast originally. What brought you down to Southwest Florida?
Speaker 3:So I came, I was living in New York City and my predecessor here, bob Cassioppo, brought me down to be in a season at the Pirate Playhouse over on Sanibel in 1997. And I so I came down that year and then I would come down subsequent years to perform in different plays and things like that, along with, you know, again traveling around the country to other theater companies and things like that. And really what happened is in 1999, I well, I met in 90, actually in 97, we met briefly but I started dating this, this woman in 99 named Liz Abbott, who lived here on Sanibel, and you know, we later became very serious and then we got married and two kids later and now a daughter who's getting ready to go to college. That's really what it is. My life really became more about being here with Liz and then, of course, with my family, than traveling around or being in New York City. So that's kind of how. That's sort of how it all started and it's kind of where we are right now.
Speaker 2:I love it. I love it. So when you do get a moment of free time, obviously you do a lot of theater, but when you get a moment of free time, what do you enjoy doing outside of?
Speaker 3:work. Jim, this is a great question. It's kind of a trick question because'm always working as producing artistic director, you know, and that's that's part of the joy too. I mean it is a job that you. It's more of a vocation, I would say, than an occupation. You really have to love what you do because it requires so much of your time. If you're planning to do it, to do it well. But no, I, when I do get time, I mean really my first order is to spend as much time as I can with my, my family, with my, you know, with my kids. I try to do that as much. My wife and my children, that's. That's first and foremost. So it's like really any free time is is hey, let's, let's do something as a family, even if it's just hanging out and watching a movie together or something like that. I try to do that. But I do have hobbies too. I mean I like I play guitar a little bit and I used to do a lot of guitar collecting.
Speaker 3:I don't have so much time for that now, but buying and selling and, you know, maintaining guitars and things. That was always a lot of fun for me, and I would also say that one of the other things I really love to do is is to fly fish for trout.
Speaker 2:Wow, interesting. Then you're in a perfect spot to do it down here in Florida we can do it year round. We love it. So is there one thing you wish our listeners knew about the theater that maybe they wouldn't be too familiar with?
Speaker 3:You know it's so funny to me, jim I will run into people all the time on the street or in the arcade. So we're right under the large neon arcade sign on First Street in downtown. That's where we're located and we're inside that hallway. A lot of folks don't even know we're here, or you're thinking of even just trying to check out a theater in the area. I don't think you'll be disappointed. In fact, I think you'll really love what we have to offer. For the reasons I mentioned earlier.
Speaker 3:We hire some of the greatest artists in the country to come down here and play with us in our different productions. Sometimes you'll see one or two in different productions, but we really do, really do, and I think we do a very good job of seeking out the greatest talent, not just the greatest actors although I think we do are very fortunate that we get some fantastic actors to come in but also, as I mentioned earlier, some of the greatest, some of the greatest scenic designers. These are artists too. Our sets, I mean we're known for the beautiful sets that we put up. In our two spaces we have a 393 seat proscenium house, which is like a regular picture frame theater, as it were, and then we have a black box theater just down the hall where we do some very intimate, really, really beautiful pieces, along with some musical reviews, and we do a wide variety of work. That's part of our mission. So you know, if you come to Florida Rep or if you subscribe to Florida Rep which is a great deal you get a great deal when you subscribe all kinds of perks and huge discounts up to almost 60 percent off the regular ticket price, which is really a great, great, great savings. You'll see great work, you'll see work of great value and you'll see great artists doing great work at Florida Rep on dramas, comedies, musicals, new works, new plays, classics we do it all here.
Speaker 3:And we also have a huge education program. We do a massive. You know our summer intensives for our students in the area are second to none. You know there are professionals involved in all of that and our conservatory programs. So you know we're really a great community and, I think, a really excellent addition to the community For an area, jim, this size, which obviously we're growing. We continue to grow. But to have a theater company of this quality in an area this small you would need to be in Chicago to go to, like the Goodman Theater or the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, the Walnut Street Theater in Philadelphia. You know, this is the type of theater, this is the quality of theater that we're talking about when we're talking about Florida Rep.
Speaker 2:Very good. How would our listeners go about finding you if they wanted to check out a show or learn more?
Speaker 3:Fantastic, yeah, so we're really easy to find. If you just go to wwwfloridarepreporg, that'll take you to our website, www. floridareprep. org, and we can also be reached through our box office, which we can answer questions there, and that's 239-332-4488. It's 239-332-4488. And we are into our season for subscribers. We've just opened up subscription packages Next season. We've got great shows running right now Great play called Boca, another called Bloomsday. We've got a great musical coming up called Shout the mod musical features some of the greatest female artists from the 60s. Then we end our season with a real I call it a scorcher. It's a sexy piece called Venus and the Moon. But next season we've got Always Patsy Cline, little Shop of Horrors, tuesdays with Maury, the Play that Goes Wrong. Great, great titles and just great. The Rat Pack Lounge next season. Wow yeah.
Speaker 3:Lots of great titles that are geared, really, really, jim. They're geared for this population, they're geared for our folks here in Southwest Florida. We build it all for the folks here in Southwest Florida.
Speaker 2:Very good, I'm going to have to come and check it out for sure. But, greg, it's been a pleasure getting to know you. Thank you for being such a good neighbor and we hope to see you out in the community here soon.
Speaker 3:Thanks for having me, jim, great to be with you.