This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Sean Chandler: Bone records, brilliant traces, and budget geography.

[0:03] Sean Chandler: Hi everyone, I'm your host, Sean Chandler, and you're listening to Your Program Is Your Ticket, a discussion of smaller theater works and the people and organizations that make it happen.

[0:12] Sean Chandler: Today's guest is Anne Mason, founder and producing artistic director of Relative Theatrics.

[0:18] Sean Chandler: And as part of my Theater is for Everyone series where I'm interviewing theater artists outside of the major locales and influences to give them a chance to be heard, discuss their work selection and production processes, while touching on their triumphs, challenges, and misconceptions.

[0:34] Sean Chandler: Risky, relevant, and real, Relative Theatrics is a Laramie-based theater company with a mission to bring thought-provoking, dynamic theater to Southeast Wyoming.

[0:44] Sean Chandler: Now please keep in mind that our interviews are recorded at different times to optimize schedules, just in case the audio sounds different.

[0:51] Sean Chandler: I'm super excited, so let's bring her on.

[0:53] Sean Chandler: Hi Ann, and welcome to Your Program Is Your Ticket.

[0:56] Anne Mason: Hello, thank you so much for having me.

[0:59] Anne Mason: I'm thrilled.

[1:00] Sean Chandler: I'm so glad we have somebody from Wyoming who's going to talk about theater there.

[1:03] Anne Mason: That's great.

[1:04] Anne Mason: I know it's pretty exciting.

[1:05] Anne Mason: A big, you know, big state with a very small population and pretty spread-out theater opportunities here.

[1:11] Sean Chandler: Wow, cool, cool.

[1:12] Sean Chandler: I can't wait to hear all about it.

[1:14] Sean Chandler: Um, let's start by having you introduce yourself to our listeners and telling us about Relative Theatrics.

[1:20] Anne Mason: Awesome.

[1:21] Anne Mason: Well, thank you so much for having me.

[1:23] Anne Mason: My name's Ann Mason.

[1:24] Anne Mason: Um, I am the founder and producing artistic director of Relative Theatrics, uh, which is a nonprofit theater company in Laramie, Wyoming.

[1:32] Anne Mason: Um, I'm born and raised here in Laramie.

[1:35] Anne Mason: This is also where the University of Wyoming is.

[1:38] Anne Mason: Uh, the University of Wyoming is the only state and four-year college in the state of Wyoming.

[1:43] Anne Mason: Um, and so we have capital on the students here in Laramie, um, but never really had a theater company outside of the university until nine years ago, which is when I moved back home and started Relative Theatrics.

[1:57] Sean Chandler: Wow.

[1:58] Sean Chandler: I had no idea.

[2:01] Sean Chandler: It's some interesting facts.

[2:03] Sean Chandler: Yeah.

[2:03] Sean Chandler: That's great.

[2:04] Sean Chandler: What did you do before you moved back home?

[2:07] Anne Mason: So I was only gone for two years.

[2:08] Anne Mason: I went to the university here, received a Bachelor's of Fine Arts uh theater and dance performance.

[2:14] Anne Mason: Um, and then I spent a year touring the country with Missoula Children's Theater, where once one week at a time putting up a show in any environment, whether it be a very small, tiny middle of nowhere town of 60 people or you know, a big massive city like Panama City Beach, Florida, um, really proving that theater can occur anywhere.

[2:34] Anne Mason: Um it was a great year.

[2:36] Anne Mason: It was a whirlwind of a year, lots of challenges, lots of rewards.

[2:39] Anne Mason: Uh, and then I moved to Sacramento, California, and I worked with California Musical Theater in their education program, and then did an acting and artistic director apprenticeship with Capital Stage Company.

[2:50] Anne Mason: Um, and while at Capital Stage, I really developed my own sense of artistic sensibility and um recognize that having a theater company that creates more intimate work but very impactful, edgy, bold contemporary plays that spark dialogue and really get the thought going, um, that that was a perfect fit for my hometown.

[3:15] Anne Mason: And I wanted to move home anyway.

[3:17] Anne Mason: So I returned to Laramie after two years away and started the company.

[3:22] Sean Chandler: Wow, very cool.

[3:23] Sean Chandler: Where along that uh pre pre timeline, if you will, did you learn uh the administrative side of running a theater company?

[3:33] Anne Mason: I would say definitely a lot of the administrative training occurred when I was working in the education department at uh Sacramento Music Circus, of writing grants and and sort of the more like budgeting and scheduling of the programmatic side of things.

[3:49] Anne Mason: And then definitely through my apprenticeship at Capital Stage Company.

[3:53] Anne Mason: At that point in time, the artistic director there was Stephanie Galart.

[3:57] Anne Mason: She's now at Florida, running another theater company down in Florida, doing amazing work there.

[4:06] Anne Mason: But she was such an amazing mentor and really just let me shadow her all the time.

[4:10] Anne Mason: So everything from season selection to planning a fundraising event, um, donor interaction, everything that you need to know to make it happen.

[4:20] Sean Chandler: Wow.

[4:21] Sean Chandler: Now we definitely will get into Relative Theatrics, but I have a question about working in Sacramento because I'm from Los Angeles.

[4:31] Anne Mason: Okay.

[4:31] Anne Mason: And my husband and I were both born in Los Angeles.

[4:35] Anne Mason: We moved out to New York about, I think it was like five, six years ago.

[4:39] Anne Mason: Um the last two years are lost.

[4:41] Anne Mason: So I know you can't you can't really have any timeline these days.

[4:45] Sean Chandler: Right, exactly.

[4:46] Sean Chandler: Um what was theater like in Sacramento?

[4:51] Anne Mason: Because it's I have a very definitive idea of what it was like in uh Los Angeles.

[4:56] Anne Mason: Sure.

[4:57] Anne Mason: I mean, I think what's the benefit is it was a little bit of trickle off of what you might have in in San Francisco.

[5:02] Anne Mason: And often we would be working with artists that lived in San Francisco and then would just come up for you know the eight-week period to do a show.

[5:11] Anne Mason: Um, but there were I think that at that point in time there were maybe four equity theaters in Sacramento, um, of various ranges of small professional theater, tier one or two or um some of the Lourdes houses.

[5:25] Anne Mason: Um, so there's a small community of professional theater artists there, and then also just a really strong sense of community members that that were creating work and getting involved.

[5:37] Sean Chandler: Right, right.

[5:38] Sean Chandler: Well, because when I when I was exposed to theater in Southern California, it was very much like the big houses like uh the Pantages and the Amundsen who would do mostly tours.

[5:53] Sean Chandler: Or if there was a big blockbuster show, they do a sit-down for a couple of years.

[5:58] Sean Chandler: The rest of it, there weren't a lot of um, I want to call them like mid-level theaters.

[6:04] Sean Chandler: It was either that or complexes with um black box theaters for the most part.

[6:09] Anne Mason: Was it like that in Sacramento?

[6:11] Anne Mason: I I mean I feel like there was a pretty good range at that point in time.

[6:18] Anne Mason: There was so Sacramento Music Circus is housed under California Musical Theater, and they're the big touring company, so they bring in the Victorian acts.

[6:28] Anne Mason: Um, but then music circus itself is it's a summer stock company that has an amazing reputation and a long-standing history of producing really high quality musicals in the round.

[6:39] Anne Mason: Um, it used to literally be in a seat in a circus tent, which is some pretty fun history there.

[6:44] Anne Mason: Um and then in that same complex, there's the Sacramento Theater Company, which probably is a little bit more of that mid level.

[6:53] Anne Mason: Um, there's also B Street Theater, uh, which had both big theaters and black boxes.

[6:59] Anne Mason: Um, and then Capitol Stage itself, uh I can't remember the exact capacity, might be around 250, um, but a but more intimate black box setting um with kind of a semi in the round thrust set setting where there you got the audience sitting on on three sides, uh, which is actually a setup that I snatched and brought back to Laramie with me because I really love that sort of forced intimacy of the audience being right there in the world of the play with the actors.

[7:28] Sean Chandler: So it's like uh a thrust type stage, correct?

[7:31] Anne Mason: Yeah, but just not really uh and not much depth beyond the actual thrust.

[7:39] Anne Mason: But you know, you're you're in a situation like that, and it um it really in my opinion forces creative genius when you have a situation like that because you don't, you know, sometimes it's better to not have a ton of money to throw at something and really have to use have your director and your team use their uh their training and their imaginations.

[8:05] Anne Mason: And when you do that, I think sometimes really awesome, cool things happen.

[8:09] Anne Mason: I think that that's something that Capital Stage really highlighted for me and what gave me at that point in my life permission to come back and and take a big risk and start something so novel in in the Laramie community.

[8:25] Sean Chandler: It's way cool that they um like sparked that in you and they got you excited for that.

[8:30] Anne Mason: Yeah.

[8:30] Anne Mason: Wow, wow.

[8:31] Anne Mason: What a nice um, what a nice experience and a nice uh I would assume is a training ground for you as well.

[8:39] Anne Mason: Oh, very much so.

[8:40] Anne Mason: Yes.

[8:41] Anne Mason: And I, you know, I'll work with a lot of college students here at the university in in Laramie, and I'll I'll encourage them when they're seniors, say, you know, check out the apprentice program in in Sacramento at Cap Stage.

[8:51] Anne Mason: It's it's good.

[8:53] Sean Chandler: Cool.

[8:53] Anne Mason: I did it.

[8:54] Sean Chandler: Very nice.

[8:55] Sean Chandler: Yeah.

[8:56] Sean Chandler: Look at you now.

[8:57] Anne Mason: Yeah, exactly.

[8:58] Sean Chandler: Okay, let's let's go back to Wyoming.

[9:02] Sean Chandler: Tell us about Relative Theatrics, please.

[9:05] Anne Mason: Okay, so Relative Theatrics, we present thought-provoking theater that examines the joining qualities of the human race.

[9:11] Anne Mason: Taking artistic risk, we provide a community gathering place where thoughts can be exchanged about society, culture, and the power of creativity.

[9:20] Anne Mason: We do a lot of contemporary works.

[9:23] Anne Mason: Um, and especially most recently, a lot of brand new works and uh developmental productions where we're directly working with the playwright, which has been such a joy and really um some artistic richness that has come out of that.

[9:39] Anne Mason: Um yeah, so we're in our ninth year.

[9:43] Anne Mason: Um we put on our um our shows at the Laramie Plains Civic Center Griffin Theater, which is this the civic center is the old high school.

[9:52] Anne Mason: It's a this giant building that was built in the 1800s, uh, you know, when we had the railroad coming through Laramie.

[9:57] Anne Mason: Um and and now it's a really wonderful hub for nonprofits, artists, um, and entrepreneurs and small business owners, all within the old classrooms of of this building.

[10:11] Anne Mason: And the theater itself is gorgeous, it's historic, it's got murals on the walls and chandeliers on the ceiling.

[10:18] Anne Mason: Um, it has probably a capacity of like 850.

[10:23] Anne Mason: Um, and it's way, way, way too big for the scope of the shows that we like to do at Relative Theatrics.

[10:31] Anne Mason: So we converted the space by seating the audience on the stage on three sides of the act of the actors, um, and creating a whole new theater-going experience.

[10:41] Anne Mason: Um, where, as I mentioned earlier, we sort of forced this intimacy um and communion between the viewers and the art itself.

[10:50] Sean Chandler: Wow.

[10:51] Sean Chandler: That's great.

[10:52] Sean Chandler: Can I take another detour?

[10:53] Anne Mason: Absolutely.

[10:54] Sean Chandler: Okay, cool.

[10:55] Sean Chandler: That reminds me so much of um I you're probably familiar with uh Carrie the Musical, right?

[11:02] Anne Mason: Yes.

[11:02] Anne Mason: Okay, I chased Carrie the Musical around forever.

[11:06] Anne Mason: I love the movie.

[11:08] Anne Mason: I I love the music from the uh the musical.

[11:10] Anne Mason: I love the story of the Broadway production and how that was a wreck.

[11:14] Anne Mason: But um they did a production of Carrie the Musical in there's a theater in La Habra or La Mirada, and it's run by Kathy Rigby and her um husband.

[11:26] Sean Chandler: Okay.

[11:27] Anne Mason: And they did this production of Carrie where we walked in and we're in the the lobby, and all of a sudden they took us back in groups.

[11:33] Anne Mason: They're taking us down this hallway that's got all of these like settings and scenes of you know stuff burning down in a gym and whatnot, and then they take us on the stage, and they sat us on the stage.

[11:46] Anne Mason: Like they had like um um uh what are they called?

[11:50] Anne Mason: Risers, bleachers on both sides, like we were in a gym, and uh and then like uh uh the cat walks towards the back, and it made this the situation way cool.

[12:02] Anne Mason: I I love that production.

[12:03] Anne Mason: I talk about it all the time.

[12:04] Sean Chandler: But anyways, you're right.

[12:06] Sean Chandler: I mean, it the audience like kind of feels like they're right there.

[12:09] Anne Mason: Yeah, there's there's a I mean, there's always magic, right, between an audience and the work that's being created in the theater.

[12:16] Anne Mason: That's that's part of why theater it has that alchemy.

[12:20] Anne Mason: Uh but there is something heightened when I think the audience gets this sense that they are literally being invited into the play.

[12:31] Anne Mason: Um, and and there's it's just a whole other level of engagement.

[12:36] Sean Chandler: Wow, that's cool.

[12:38] Sean Chandler: Did audiences are they surprised the first time they go in and they're sitting on the stage?

[12:42] Anne Mason: Oh yes.

[12:43] Anne Mason: Yes.

[12:44] Anne Mason: And for for the longest time, especially in the the earlier years uh of our productions, you know, people would come to the box office and and they would look into the theater and realize like, oh no, we have we have to sit on the stage.

[12:55] Anne Mason: Oh, I don't know if I can do that.

[12:56] Anne Mason: Like I'm thinking that there was maybe going to be like um audience participation, um, or or that they would have to be like called onto the stage, um, literally into the action of the play, not realizing that no, this is just a different setting.

[13:11] Anne Mason: Um, where we're we're just really eradicating that fourth wall um so that you can sort of be a fly on the wall um of the characters.

[13:21] Sean Chandler: Wow, that's that's a great decision.

[13:24] Anne Mason: It really is. I will tell you, you know, I know later in our conversation we'll get into COVID. We are not doing that right now. We're using the full theater. And it's a perfectly suitable band-aid, but I so miss that proximity. I cannot wait until we are able to resume that format.

[13:44] Sean Chandler: Wow. That's and what a great like substitution, like right at hand for you.

[13:51] Anne Mason: Right. Yeah. Wow, that's cool. And then your audiences are, um, I would I'm gonna say tailored towards account to where there can be plenty of space in between the seats, right?

[14:05] Sean Chandler: Oh wow. Well, hopefully those days are gonna be behind us really, really soon. Fingers crossed.

[14:12] Anne Mason: Indeed. Um, talk about your project selection process a little bit more. You said you do both original and previously produced work. Is that correct?

[14:24] Anne Mason: Yes. So in the early years, um, it was all previously produced work. Um, and a lot of, you know, my search for selection process would be going just Samuel French, which was Samuel French at the time, and Drama does play service, um, and following the other theater companies that I really admired and looked up to, and then playwrights that I appreciated. Um, and just, you know, sort of checking more than anything, first and foremost, just the stats on, you know, is this a single or flexible set and how many actors are in this? Um, and that would be sort of the first parameter of season selection in those early years.

[15:04] Anne Mason: Um, then as um, as I grew into um the artistic directorship position more um and started to have, uh, you know, a better sense of the types of works that our audiences were responding really well to, um, I was really able to move more towards um newer works or um things that maybe weren't published yet, uh, but that could directly speak to issues that are very relevant in our state. So, uh, for example, um, we have a very large Native American population in the state, and unfortunately, there um is a lot of racism that is seen towards indigenous peoples. Um, it's it's a travesty and it's not discussed enough. And a few years back, there was um, there's this really really sad and an awful shooting in um another town in Wyoming, targeting indigenous peoples.

[16:04] Anne Mason: And at that point in time, I said, oh, well, we absolutely need to be partnering with the Native American Studies program at the university and putting these voices on stage. And I reached out to Larissa Fasthorse, who has most recently gotten a lot of acclaim for her play, The Thanksgiving Play. And she sent me some of her work. And there was this really ballsy and challenging play called What Would Crazy Horse Do? that I read it, and I said, this is a relative theatrics play, and it scares me. It scares me so much in the best possible way. Like this is a play that is really going to challenge me. And in turn, it will really help my audiences grow as well, while being this really wonderful opportunity for community building within Laramie.

[17:00] Anne Mason: And that play was also on the Kilroy's list, which I think is when I learned about the Kilroy's list. And then started doing a lot of plays by women writers that were featured on the Kilroys to really increase gender parity on American stages as well.

[17:17] Sean Chandler: What is the Kilroy's list?

[17:19] Anne Mason: Oh, it's this amazing group of theater makers in LA that compile some of the best unproduced or minimally produced scripts by women and trans and non-binary um playwrights in an effort to really elevate their voices and um advocate for better parity um on our American stages because it still is something like 30% to 70% of women being produced versus men.

[17:50] Anne Mason: So then I have my own, yeah, desire to do a lot more um, uh, diverse voices and female voices on the stage. Um, so that's sort of the big evolution. And then we also have this new play festival every year called Playwright's Voiced, where we solicit uh submissions from playwrights all over the country um and then give those, uh, the three or four plays that are selected give them staged readings um to really advance the development process.

[18:21] Anne Mason: And we also have had many world premieres that have come out of that process as well. So that's been feeding a lot more of season selection recently.

[18:31] Sean Chandler: Wow. Um, I myself am a playwright, I'm a script writer as well. I, um, I by script writer I mean like I write film and TV scripts as well, but I write plays.

[18:42] Sean Chandler: And um, I have to tell you how much we playwrights appreciate that. That, uh, you we appreciate that you have times where you have open submissions and um that you're you're you're exhibiting new material.

[19:02] Anne Mason: Um, you just, uh, I hope you know the feeling that we get when somebody says, yes, yes, I would love to do a reading of your play or a production of your play. It is, uh, it's so overwhelming. And sometimes it's the break that you've been waiting for for like 25 years.

[19:22] Sean Chandler: Oh, I'm raising my hand right here when you know it happens. It happened to me about 10 years ago, and it was like, oh my gosh, that's, I, I am a decent writer. It's, I love it for those, uh, responses.

[19:35] Anne Mason: You know, I, I'll, I call the playwrights when we select their plays, you know. I'm like, I'm not gonna email them, I'm gonna call them directly and say, hey, we would, we would like to include your play. And those initial conversations are always so fulfilling, but they're really just the breeding ground for much richer, uh, relationships that are, that come out of that where playwrights will come to Laramie and they will visit Wyoming and they will interact with our artists and really dig into the development of their play, and it becomes just such a rich collaboration where really everyone is getting something out of it.

[20:11] Anne Mason: Um, our audiences are excited to see new plays. Our actors and artists are so excited to get that one-on-one interaction with the playwrights, and of course, the playwrights are getting their words, their worlds come to life. It's, it's so exciting. I, I just, I have such a deep love for new play development.

[20:33] Sean Chandler: Wow, that's again, that's really, really awesome because it's, it's something that I think is needed more and more. Um, I think that sometimes we have a tendency to work with the playwright that's successful for us.

[20:51] Sean Chandler: Um, I'm not, not mentioning any names here, and then theater companies will just do everything by that playwright. Um, and, and while it's usually all pretty good, um, it's, it's nice to have a variety of playwrights and, and voices because a good writer will have their own writer's voice, and it's something that, um, that, uh, is interesting to see and to observe and to find out.

[21:20] Sean Chandler: And if you're hearing the same voice all the time, what it could be great, it could be excellent. To me, it starts to sound a little bit like, well, Charlie Brown's teachers, right?

[21:35] Anne Mason: Wow. So, you know, that's, that is such a wonderful, wonderful thing that you're doing. It's, it's developing new artists, developing new work. It's, that's so cool.

[21:46] Sean Chandler: Now, is Bone Records, is that, uh, part of that program?

[21:52] Anne Mason: It is a world premiere, yes. We've been working with Heather Beasley, the playwright on Bone Records since the summer of 2019. She submitted the play for Playwrights Voiced.

[22:02] Anne Mason: Um, and we were doing something neat with Playwright's Voice that year. We were pairing the plays with local or with statewide musicians who were then writing songs um and music specifically for the plays. It was very neat.

[22:15] Anne Mason: Um, and ultimately, Bone Records didn't fit into the puzzle of what we were doing with Playwright's Voice that year, but I was so taken with the play, and we were at the same time planning, uh, a summer collaboration with the Laramie Public Art Coalition to do theater in the skate park um in one of our local parks.

[22:39] Sean Chandler: And um, like a skateboard park, yes, mm-hmm.

[22:43] Anne Mason: Yeah. So we ended up doing a developmental reading of Bone Records in the skate park where um the actors were up on top of one of the mounds that, you know, that the, those skateboarders and rollerbladers and all of those, those athletes that they do all their wicked blips and stuff. No, no, no. It was empty during the reading.

[23:05] Anne Mason: But it was really neat to um both, um, interact more with the skating community in Laramie, which is very robust, um, to provide this free public art, this free reading in the middle of a park, um, and to creatively use this space. A perfect Laramie anecdote, uh, is that we had scheduled the reading to happen on the first day of summer, which I think was June 20th that year.

[23:35] Anne Mason: Um, and we got snowed out. Uh, a huge blizzard came in first day of summer. The next day the sun was out, it all melted away. We did a matinee the following day, it was all fine. Uh, but that's one of the challenges of doing outdoor theater in Wyoming.

[23:52] Sean Chandler: Wow.

[23:53] Sean Chandler: June?

[23:54] Anne Mason: Yep. First day of summer.

[23:59] Sean Chandler: Jeez. That's, uh, boy, that's I'm learning so much with this interview.

[24:04] Sean Chandler: Right. Tell us about Bone Records, tell us about the storyline, the plot, what will people expect when they see your upcoming production?

[24:11] Anne Mason: It is such a beautiful story, and it also, um, for better or worse, is very timely and especially in the last week has even become more relevant. Uh, so the play is about three Soviet youth in uh Leningrad during the Cold War, and they, they know one another growing up, and as they sort of enter their young adult life, they for one navigate a little love triangle, but more so they team up um to have this little underground bootlegging ring where one of them is a doctor, and he um is he has to get rid of these x-rays um that the government has deemed undesirable.

[24:56] Anne Mason: The people they don't want to keep the records anymore. So he has to find a way to get rid of the x-rays. One of the characters is the nephew of a bootlegger, and so he takes those x-rays and cuts Western music onto circular cutouts of the X-rays. So they are bone records, uh, they are records that are literally on bones.

[25:17] Anne Mason: And then the third character, our sort of main protagonist, Tazia, she works for the Department of Ministry and Culture. Uh, and so she is able to help them navigate when raids will be happening, what music can or cannot be sold versus needs to be bootlegged? So it's all incredibly fascinating.

[25:35] Anne Mason: Uh, and it's all real, it's all true. Um, you know, these characters are fictionalized, but, but these underground bootlegging rings, these bone records, this is, this is history. Um, it's also really a beautiful story of the ways in which arts and culture can rise above any oppressive circumstance um to really bring hope to the people.

[26:05] Sean Chandler: Wow, that is like very topical.

[26:10] Sean Chandler: Yeah. Wow. That's, and how much of what's happening currently, are you drawing anything from it, or is it too fluid right now? Is it a, is it a different type of scenario?

[26:25] Anne Mason: Um, what's happening in relation to what's going on in the world right now with the show? I mean, it's really interesting, uh, to have the, you know, the break conversations, the, the, you know, when actors arrive or when they leave, and, and so those, those side conversations that are the on the periphery of where we're at in in the rehearsal schedule right now.

[26:48] Anne Mason: Um and it's also that weird thing of you know, the actors and the artists where we start tech on Thursday, and so everyone's kind of when they're on stage, they're like in that zone of like, I know I need my lines, I gotta figure out where this prop is tracking from. You know, they're doing the craft right now, but there definitely is this new sphere of the holding space is different. Um but I think ultimately what we have talked about is you know the positive optimistic side of this, that this is a play about characters that are really against all odds and are standing up to those forces that are trying to suppress them. Um and are in one way or another having successes. And yes, there are still losses, and yes, there is still grief, and yes, it is still absolutely terrible the circumstances that they are living within, but they are able to rise above and you know make lemonade from if we're gonna use a cliche.

Um, and I think that that's something that we're really drawing upon then in thinking about current politics and the social sphere that we are in right now, the world um situation that you know there is a lot of standing up for what is right and um coming together and so taking some bold risks to champion what matters.

[28:26] Anne Mason: Listeners, if you're listening to this podcast um a year down the line it's we just had Russia uh going into the Ukraine and trying to take it over so that's actually just literally just happened within the last seven days. Yeah so just just for a uh point of context there. It happened truly in the middle of our rehearsal.

[28:51] Sean Chandler: Really we had the second half of rehearsal, we get on our phones afterwards and Russia has invaded the Ukraine.

[29:00] Anne Mason: Wow. Did you have to stop rehearsal and kind of talk about it or did you just keep going?

[29:06] Sean Chandler: Well, you know, so this is I I guess I'm I'm grateful for the um uh dedication of the artist you know people didn't have their phones out during rehearsal they were all working so we didn't have to stop rehearsal but but it definitely you know we did for those that wanted to stay after and and have a deeper conversation we did.

[29:26] Sean Chandler: Wow that's that is uh commitment and dedication and total professionalism just so you know I mean I it wouldn't have been uh I I think out of line to actually have someone say, look, is it okay if we take 10 minutes to just discuss this. But then I think that you know had that had that been the case, we absolutely would have taken the time for it. Um you know, the way that I see it, it's that affects people and affects their psyche and it affects their mentality and their ability to do their best work. And so if there is a problem that needs to be discussed, or or even just a concern, then it's worth it to take the time to have that conversation and to really put everyone's mental well-being as a priority.

[30:16] Anne Mason: It's very, very smart because you don't know if you know somebody in your cast knows people in the Ukraine or has family in the Ukraine. So it's it's it's good that there is that uh that mentality with your theater company attached to that, that at least they're open and it's not someone saying, you know, I don't care. We have this, we have this room until you know for another hour, and we'll talk about this later. So that's uh it's smart and um sympathetic and and and in its way professional as well. It's thinking of your people first, and that's yeah, that's smart, it's very, very smart.

[30:53] Sean Chandler: Um what are some of the challenges facing Relative Theatrics versus the larger theater companies in Wyoming? Are they do you do they face things that you don't face? You know, vice versa.

[31:10] Anne Mason: You know, it's that's such a you know, I you've shared some of these questions and problems with me. And I I was thinking about this one in particular. Um, you know, I think about you know, what is a larger theater company in Wyoming? There, so Laramie is in more of the southeast corner of the state. Um in the northwest corner of the state in Jackson Hole, there's Off Square Theater Company. Um, and I just absolutely adore the work that they do, but they do have a little bit of a bigger budget. Um they are in one of the the richer counties in our state. So they have a bigger budget. They'll do some touring shows. They're able to really support more equity actors. So in that sense, I would say that they are bigger, but they're still creating work that's responding to the community and really engaging the community. And I commend them so much for that.

[32:17] Anne Mason: So that might be the idea of a bigger theater company in Wyoming, but they might not be doing as many plays that are really created by and by the community members. And then we see a lot of community theaters scattered across the state. Which is, you know, that's just a something to take back to, I guess, um, the state legislatures in this in the and say, how can we support our artists more so we can attract some more bigger theaters? Um, but that's another high horse for another time.

[33:33] Sean Chandler: No, no, it's it's great. I mean, I've I've been doing this series uh for about a month and a half now, and there are a lot of very, very different answers uh to that question. And I don't think I have heard that one thus far. Most most people talk about the financial aspect. Um, the bigger theaters, they'll get they'll get the money. Right. Or they get grants faster, and it's uh it's easier for them to do that. Um I think that that's that I wouldn't, and that's maybe what I what I could say with Off Square Theater, for example, but it's not really that they are a bigger theater and therefore they get it. It's their location and their positionality in a county in the state that gets more funding.

And same with the Wyo Theater in Sheridan, both both of the counties that these towns are situated in have much richer populations. And so there are more foundations there. The Wyoming Community Foundation, for example, has grants that are specific for those counties, whereas there's not that opportunity in Albany County here in Laramie. Um, we are a much poorer county in the state, uh, partially because of the student population, there's not a lot of roots being put down, there's less long-term investment. And so that's one of the bigger problems when it comes to funding, because the bigger funds and the matching grants are available in the richer counties. And so then those theater companies are able to go after larger grants and support bigger budgets because they have that uh financial fluency there.

[35:05] Sean Chandler: That is so interesting. Um, I would have never thought of that, that it being sort of a uh the geography limits the amount of funds, the amount of of uh programs that you can collect from. And and no thus far no one else has said that on the series as well. Is that is that something that like your peers talk about as well, maybe in other states or other areas of the world?

[35:36] Anne Mason: I have not had this conversation with uh uh uh with other with peers in the in the theater world. So um I as from my standpoint from the conversations that I have had, this is unique to Wyoming.

[35:51] Sean Chandler: Wow. Wow. Get it together, Wyoming. There's more than two or three counties in Wyoming, right?

[36:01] Anne Mason: Yes.

[36:03] Sean Chandler: Wow, that's I I'm I'm jotting down a note here. Talk amongst yourselves. So this is uh budget uh geography.

[36:13] Anne Mason: Yeah.

[36:14] Sean Chandler: Wow. That's that's that's crazy. That being said, you know, sort of going back to what we were talking about a while ago of that that a lot of creativity can come out of these challenges. Um while Albany County and Laramie and our theater community here at Relative Theatrics might be poor in in resources, and we are rich in creativity. Um and we have an incredibly strong community um of both artists and supporters. And that is really what has allowed us to uh create and grow and thrive for a decade.

[36:54] Anne Mason: Wow. In an in an environment where where it didn't exist before.

[36:58] Sean Chandler: Right. Exactly. And just so you know, I've had this, that particular conversation about the not as much money, but way more creativity with theaters all over the United States, in the world, and uh and in New York. We have a an award show here called the New York Innovative Theater Awards that uh does off off Broadway awards. And a couple of uh a couple of times I've done backstage interviews and I've had that conversation multiple times where they're like, yeah, we didn't really have any money. So we had to, I don't know, have like a giant sheet represents something, or or you know, we had to hang a light a different way, or or you know, it's it's I'm very proud of you guys for doing that. And just so you know, every a lot of other people are doing it as well, just so you don't think that you're just you know all possible.

[37:53] Anne Mason: Oh no, no, I fully recognize that. And I I champion that for you know, small theaters and and just artists in general for making it work.

[38:03] Sean Chandler: Wow. Good, good. Did you hear that, everyone? There you go. Smart, smart professional person here, creative. Um let's talk about your production process. We've we've talked about all of the the ways that you make things happen with productions with your seating and and thinking outside the box, if you will. Um, what is your production process like from you know, you talked about selection, but like casting, rehearsal, things like that. How does it normally go?

[38:35] Anne Mason: So it uh it will often depend on the show itself. Um, but we have a well, we've been for the most part operating on a sort of a pretty standard timeline of two shows in the fall, two shows in the spring, coinciding with the academic year for two reasons. One, we're a university town, so our population plummets in the summer, and also the summers here are aside from the blizzards on the first day of summer. But they're absolutely gorgeous, really beautiful weather, and we have such amazing access to outdoor recreation that people don't want to be inside the theater in the summer. So we do our shows uh two in the fall semester, two in the spring semester. Um, and and then as I'm planning, you know, we'll be thinking about are there any topical events?

Um, what is the university doing at this point in time or the university theater department? Um, whether that means that we can partner with them in some way, or for example, the show that we're doing in April has five characters and they're all 18-year-old women. So we're absolutely casting out of the university. But if they were doing a show for, you know, say they're doing men on boats, and you've got what, 10 young women, then there's a direct conflict there. So those are some things that come into play. Um, and then we have a small core of artists. Well, actually, it's not so small anymore. That's it's built up over the last 10 years, which is really exciting. Um, but some sort of regulars on our stage or in our design process or as directors.

[40:13] Anne Mason: Um, and so I'll have early conversations with them just to get a sense of like, hey, I read this play, and I think that it would be a really great fit for you. Let me share the script with you and let's talk dates and see if that plays in as well. Um, so as far as casting goes, it sometimes is an open audition or auditions with the University of Wyoming, and sometimes their direct asks, just depending on the needs of the show and the timing itself. From there, we generally will have about a four to five-week rehearsal process, rehearsing in the evenings and the weekends, because almost all of our artists have jobs or are students. And so we work around those schedules. And then have a pretty tight four-day tech dress process into our performances.

Currently, now that we're back in the theater, we are only we're doing uh limited runs, so just a one-week run, so we don't have to do that soft strike, which is kind of nice right now and something to think about in our planning for the future. But that kind of broad strokes covers our production period. Um and and through all of that, we're, you know, working hard, working as a team, really collaboratively pulling in from everyone, whether it be you know, sourcing in the community, it is important to me that when we are purchasing set pieces, props, costumes, etc., that we go to our local shops first and really support the local economy before we you know take that last ditch effort and get onto Amazon or whatever.

Right. Um that's really important to me. And um from the get-go, uh from the inception, this company has always been incredibly scrappy. Um, so we cut a lot of corners budget-wise uh by pulling things from our homes. Um, in fact, the very first production, we had a total production budget of $500 total. Um, and so that basically covered performance rights, printing for posters and and programs, um, and the teensiest amount of theater rental and the teensiest amount of of advert of yeah, of advertising. Um the set was all sourced from scrap wood from my parents' garage. Um, my costume, I was in the play, my costume came from my closet, my um my scene partner, my acting partner, his closet, his costume came from his closet.

Um just we just said, Oh, we need this, we need that, we'll we'll find it, or we'll do trades. And so, you know, we'll we'll go to the local thrift shop and say, Hey, can we use this kitchen sink in our set if we put advertisement space for you in our program? Um so we've done and that's sort of been our ethos from from the get-go. And even though we now have uh we've grown our budget, thankfully, we've grown our capacity and our sustainability, um, but there still is a lot of that um local sourcing and and just you know, making it work with what we have, which I think is also a you know a rather eco-friendly choice.

[44:11] Sean Chandler: Very, very much so. Can I take a guess on what I think that production was?

[44:16] Anne Mason: Sure.

[44:17] Sean Chandler: Okay, because I wrote down four productions, um, Venus and Fur, Speech and Debate, Red, and was it Brilliant Traces?

[44:25] Anne Mason: It was Brilliant Traces. Yep. That was the very first production that that I ever produced, and that we did at Relative Theatrics.

[44:32] Sean Chandler: That's great. Yeah, I have um I I interviewed a couple of people, three people actually, the director and two actors um from Brilliant Traces on on the show. And I very, very distinctly remember the set. It was like wood. I mean, they had they took one of these like like black box theaters here in New York and basically built a cabin inside of it. Um and it just I was like, this is sounding really, really familiar. So hi Blake Merriman, if you're out there. Hi Alyssa May Gold, who's who's gonna be in How I Learned to Drive with Mary Louise Parker, lucky her. Just a little uh prop for Alyssa there. But yeah, that's uh that's incredible that you're doing. I I love that you like used wood from your your did your parents tear their garage down, or was it just wood in the garage?

[45:23] Anne Mason: It was just scrap wood that they had in the garage. I think my mom actually really appreciated it because you know, she probably for decades has been telling my dad, you know, get this wood out of here. Um, I don't even cluttering up my garage. And so then, you know, she both gets her daughter moving home and her garage cleared out, like winds all around.

[45:44] Sean Chandler: Wow. That was that was mom's day right there.

[45:48] Anne Mason: Yeah. That was like another mother's just a second mother's day for the year for her.

[45:53] Sean Chandler: Wow. But great. That's that's outstanding. I love that. Um back to Wyoming theater in general. Uh, what are some of the misconceptions of theater overall in Wyoming, just in the state? Um, what are you constantly having to clarify or explain if at all? Is there one thing that comes up all the time?

[46:16] Anne Mason: Yes. Um, and I don't know if it's both because I am so young and well, I mean, not as young anymore, but I started the company when I was 24 years old. Um, and being a young woman um in Wyoming, um, I definitely, and and and I guess you know, having more bubbly exuberance just in general. I think when I would tell people, um, like, oh, well, I run a theater company, um, so often I would get the response of, oh, how fun, or oh cute. Um, you know, just really not taking it seriously. And and as I've grown older, I've um also like really maybe rehearsed more of how I tell people about it. Um, but I think that the big thing that I advocate is that this is real work. Um, that we treat this professionally, and our artists, the caliber of their work reflects that.

Um, that the operation is run like a business, that we are a nonprofit arts organization. Um, we run like a business. Uh, that my act of creating this was an act of entrepreneurship, which is something that particularly the state of Wyoming and the government is is really pushing for. You know, our state is facing some pretty uh large challenges budget wise. Uh, you know, we're we're a we're an energy state, and that's changing. And so there's there are lots of conversations on economic diversity and this idea that entrepreneurship is going to save us, well, then recognize the arts and particularly um the performing arts as not only a field of entrepreneurs, but a driver and a necessary cog in this entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Um, so then I get all of my facts where I'm like, you know there are statistics, particularly in in rural um areas of the country, that rural communities with performing arts organizations have a direct correlation to the number of patents that are put out in that community. Um so there's statistical proof that supporting the performing arts and creating a breeding ground for these theater artists does create that creative economy that that our state is saying we want, but now I think really needing to put the money where their mouth is.

[48:41] Sean Chandler: Say please say what you just said about the theory about patents.

[48:44] Anne Mason: I know it's not a theory, but the reality of it. Can we pause?

[48:50] Sean Chandler: Yes, of course.

[48:51] Anne Mason: I'm gonna I I'll be right back. I have the just on the other side of my computer, I have the actual statistics, so I can give you something more concrete. One second.

[49:00] Sean Chandler: Most definitely.

[49:04] Anne Mason: So the rural arts design and innovation in America study, uh, which was put out from the rural establishment in a innovation survey in I think 2016 possibly, um, they found that rural communities with performing arts organizations that there was a direct correlation to the number of patents or innovative design integrated businesses that were being created in those areas. Um that the more performing arts uh organizations in those communities, the more patents, even more so. So that one performing arts organization in a rural community might see a proportional amount of um of patents being being put out, but that two or more saw even greater uh correlations of innovative design occurring in that community.

[50:08] Sean Chandler: That is amazing.

[50:11] Anne Mason: Yeah.

[50:12] Sean Chandler: That is so fast. When you read that, were you like, oh, you know, the heavens open up? Did you just think, okay, yeah, I'm not crazy?

[50:22] Anne Mason: So I work with um uh I've been for five years now, I think, doing just some some business accountability coaching um with the well, they were the Wyoming Business, Wyoming Technology Business Center, um, and now they are uh impact 307. So they work with entrepreneurs in Wyoming, really working on um bringing them towards success. And they they brought in a few artists a while back, including Relative Theatrics. And so my my coach there actually brought this study to me. Um, and then now we just sort of tag team trying to share this information and as much and as widely as possible that's that is so smart that's like you know what we're gonna start putting our money where our mouth is and and kind of schooling everyone and good for you i mean um it's that that's so smart and i wanted to i wanted to swing back to what you had said about people when you tell them that you were in a theater company and they're like oh they kind of diminish it that happens a lot to writers as well i'm a I'm a writer oh for fun right yeah yeah so I will say that's that's one thing that I'm really hoping that that the pandemic has curbed a little bit because I mean especially during lockdown what did people do where did they turn to the arts so hopefully there is a greater appreciation as yeah oh yeah the arts uh after a while I was like the arts are totally gonna survive they are it's gonna suck yep really really hard and uh it's not gonna be what it was for a while but but it was the arts had a resilience and a love that um uh was maybe matched with sports yeah honestly like the it was it's it was all coming back and it is coming back now and I want to thank you very much for providing me with that segue into the COVID 19 absolutely the COVID 19 subject how was uh relative theatrics affected by COVID 19. Talk about that first day when you knew everything had to shut down.

[52:39] Anne Mason: It was an ugly day, I know but oh yeah, man. Gosh, you're taking me back a little bit. Um, I I think it's so interesting. Um, I would say that there was maybe a first day where things had to shut down in urban populations, blue states, um, more people that especially at that point in time did actually believe in the severity of the virus and the pandemic. And I wouldn't say that Wyoming in general, if I'm going to make a generalization, I don't think that the majority of this state was of that mindset. Um, and so it was softened a little bit, I suppose. My response was softened a little bit because um because I saw things canceling all over the country before it directly affected me and relative theatrics here in Laramie.

[53:42] Anne Mason: So there was a good amount of time, not ample time, but enough time for some good triage and research to see what other people were doing to find some semblance of a roadmap.

[53:58] Anne Mason: Um, so we, you know, we were in rehearsals for a show and decided, okay, well, we're gonna cancel our rehearsals and, you know, sort of wait it out and see what happens over the next two weeks.

[54:11] Anne Mason: Um, and at that point then we knew, like over those two weeks, we knew, okay, we're not going to be doing a live show, but I had in that in the meantime been doing all sorts of research on virtual programming.

[54:24] Anne Mason: Um, and you know, it was, I've always sort of likened it to that moment where, you know, that the mom is like lifting a car off of her child. It was just like, okay, I'm going into like crisis mode and we're gonna find a way out.

[54:39] Anne Mason: And so from April and May of 2020, we just ended up doing, you know, Zoom readings of plays. Our patrons were all incredibly supportive.

[54:52] Anne Mason: Um, then we decided that for the next year, for our next season, um, we would film our shows. So we would select smaller shows, film them using really small artistic teams that were sort of all in their own pods or even in families with one another.

[55:17] Anne Mason: Um, and then, you know, sort of sell streaming tickets for those while still providing free Zoom readings just for that arts access. So that really carried us all the way to vaccinations.

[55:33] Anne Mason: Um, and our artists were amazing. Our patrons and our donors were so supportive. And we really, we didn't see a major dip in our subscriptions.

[55:47] Anne Mason: Um, and our donors were all incredibly generous, saying we care about your health and you as an institution making it through this. Um, so that's just an incredibly rewarding feeling.

[56:02] Anne Mason: I will say, now that there are vaccinations and we are back to live theater, now we are starting to feel a little bit more of that struggle.

[56:11] Anne Mason: Um, where, you know, first of all, we just have to build in that flexibility. If an actor gets COVID, you know, we gotta put the brakes on.

[56:21] Anne Mason: Um, and that might mean that we are pushing a show or canceling a show or figuring out something. Um, but everyone seems to be very understanding and showing up with a lot of agility there, which is wonderful.

[56:37] Anne Mason: The thing is that, you know, we're not having as many people tune in to any of the virtual stuff because I think that there's a lot of burnout from just screen fatigue in general.

[56:48] Anne Mason: I mean, I'm one of them. Um, we're not having as many people come back to the theater yet because they might not be comfortable there either.

[56:58] Anne Mason: So while we pre-vaccinations carried pretty well throughout this change to COVID-19, it has been more taxing in the last year.

[57:09] Sean Chandler: Wow, that's interesting.

[57:12] Sean Chandler: That's really, and you know, I just, you know, applause for the audience because I have heard that same comment over and over again from smaller, more intimate theater companies that their patrons stuck with them, gave more money, donations went up, and they were like, we know this is coming back, and we need to just not leave them in the lurch.

[57:40] Sean Chandler: And so, you know, thank you, audience. Thank you to your audiences and your patrons as well. That's amazing.

[57:49] Anne Mason: And you know, I had always pre-pandemic used the phrase our family of supporters, but now that we have been through this, they are family.

[57:59] Anne Mason: Um, I'm so grateful for them.

[58:02] Sean Chandler: You have to put that in the program, our family of supporters now.

[58:05] Anne Mason: That would be great.

[58:08] Sean Chandler: You may have that idea, it's fine.

[58:10] Anne Mason: Yeah, it's already in there, but thank you.

[58:17] Sean Chandler: Everyone always needs my validation, at least that's what I think.

[58:23] Anne Mason: Um, and you know, that continuum of frustration that everybody had during COVID, I mean, that was just like nobody knew where to land.

[58:35] Anne Mason: I don't think our government didn't know where to land half the time.

[58:39] Anne Mason: Uh, and everybody, uh, people that I've interviewed, they've shut down on different days. They've reopened on different days, they reopen and then they shut down.

[58:53] Anne Mason: It's just, it must be maddening at times for someone in your position.

[58:59] Anne Mason: Yeah, I mean, I just, I think being able to acknowledge that we are just living, we have been and still are living in such a time of massive uncertainty that, you know, you can have your best laid plans, but if it doesn't go through, that's okay, and a solution will be made.

[59:19] Anne Mason: And so just I think for me, knowing that that is the case and making sure that the people have the most support throughout all of that.

[59:30] Sean Chandler: Right. And that that's a leadership quality that you have. That's you going, you know what, I've got drive and I might get knocked down, but I am going to get back up.

[59:43] Sean Chandler: I have to be here for this company and for these people. Um, and you're just saying, you know, what's next? Even when you don't necessarily know what is next, you're the one who is staying strong for your team and your community.

[59:58] Sean Chandler: And that is a tremendous leadership quality, in my opinion. So props to you.

[1:00:02] Anne Mason: Thank you.

[1:00:04] Sean Chandler: Ah, you're welcome. You're very, very welcome.

[1:00:07] Sean Chandler: Um, I do have to ask though. You said that like you kind of, um, uh, at first you like really bucked up and then said, I have to do this, I have to do this.

[1:00:17] Sean Chandler: I did the same thing with my podcast and my writing, but I found that like I got the depression like later on. Like, like last year or sometime I was like, okay, I was like so strong two years ago, or I'm sorry, last year, but then all of a sudden it just hit me.

[1:00:35] Sean Chandler: And I've had a couple of people that I've interviewed and friends tell me that they felt the same way. Did that occur with you?

[1:00:42] Anne Mason: Yeah, it probably hit me in September.

[1:00:46] Anne Mason: I mean, unfortunately, it hit me in September a long time the same time that I did come down with COVID.

[1:00:53] Anne Mason: So, you know, there might be a little bit of a double whammy there.

[1:00:57] Anne Mason: Um, you know, I'm, I'm unfortunately I'm immunocompromised. So despite being vaccinated and boosted to that point, I was both worn out by the state of the theater and worn down by literally battling through COVID.

[1:01:11] Anne Mason: So, you know, it's probably a little bit of one and a lot of bit of the other, but definitely the fall, um, mentally was rough.

[1:01:20] Anne Mason: Um, but I once again I'm just so grateful for our supporters and for our artists and just this really strong community that we have here at Relative Theatrics because there were days absolutely where I in the first time in my career was ready to throw my hands up and just like, you know, walk away and go be a receptionist or something.

[1:01:41] Anne Mason: What's a mindless task that I can do? Um, and their love and support and passion and commitment absolutely carried me through.

[1:01:53] Sean Chandler: Wow. That's outstanding.

[1:01:55] Sean Chandler: And I'm gonna say they were probably just feeding back to you what you gave to them originally, that it was reciprocal.

[1:02:01] Anne Mason: And that's, you know, again.

[1:02:04] Sean Chandler: There's my opinion. See?

[1:02:05] Anne Mason: I love it.

[1:02:06] Sean Chandler: Good.

[1:02:07] Sean Chandler: Thank you.

[1:02:08] Anne Mason: Thank you very much. I appreciate that.

[1:02:11] Sean Chandler: Um, all right, let's get out of COVID and let's get into dream dreaming, dreaming here. If you could have three wishes for the development of Relative Theatrics, what would they be?

[1:02:25] Anne Mason: Well, I feel like those are actually pretty simple dreams to say. I would love to pay the artists more.

[1:02:32] Anne Mason: Uh, I would love to compensate our staff more justly. And I would really love to, um, dig in deeper to the community relationships that we have been building, um, so that we can have more impactful partnerships.

[1:02:53] Anne Mason: Uh, we've been partnering with nonprofits, uh, so pairing a nonprofit in the community with each of our productions, ideally, so that folks will come to the show, be engrossed in the show, be moved by the show, and feel the call to do something in their own community.

[1:03:09] Anne Mason: And so then we can say, well, here is this wonderful nonprofit that thematically relates to what you just experienced. Go volunteer, go donate, get involved. Um, so really want to build more on that.

[1:03:22] Sean Chandler: Wow. Please tell me that that's in your handbook too.

[1:03:25] Anne Mason: Well, uh, we're really with a nonprofit. We're working with a lawyer on building the handbook, but yes.

[1:03:34] Sean Chandler: I'll be your first sale. I'll even buy hardcover.

[1:03:36] Sean Chandler: I'll even buy like textbook hardcover price.

[1:03:42] Anne Mason: All right, all right.

[1:03:45] Anne Mason: Um, this has been absolutely delightful. And before we go, uh, can you please give our audience your social media information so they can keep up with your company? If you have one location where everything else is, yeah, it's great to mention that.

[1:03:59] Anne Mason: Um, first and foremost, easiest way is to go to our website, relative theatrics.com. We're on Facebook at Relative Theatrics, and then on Instagram and Twitter at RTatrix.

[1:04:13] Sean Chandler: Okay. Very, very cool. You guys have a really nice website as well.

[1:04:17] Anne Mason: Thank you so much.

[1:04:18] Sean Chandler: You're welcome. I like your website. Very nice.

[1:04:20] Anne Mason: Um, you have been so, um, uh, uh, uh educational, you've been entertaining, um, you've been edifying me, you've really, uh, you are such an asset to the world of theater.

[1:04:41] Anne Mason: And I think that, um, Wyoming should really count you as one of their artistic treasures.

[1:04:49] Anne Mason: I mean, what you do is a lot of work, and it's a lot of, um, stress, it's a lot of hours, and, uh, the fact that you still get joy from that is great.

[1:05:01] Sean Chandler: Thank you.

[1:05:03] Anne Mason: I mean, because there are a lot of people who would get to that point to where they'd be saying, I don't know, I don't know if I could do this anymore. It's crazy.

[1:05:09] Anne Mason: And I could just tell that it's because you just have a tremendous love for theater.

[1:05:14] Anne Mason: And um, you've been incredible, and I want to thank you so much for being a part of this series.

[1:05:20] Anne Mason: You've been so informative, and, uh, I think everyone is really going to enjoy this episode.

[1:05:26] Sean Chandler: So, and thank you for being on your program is your ticket, and I wish you many broken legs in the future of your career and, um, and your theater.

[1:05:36] Anne Mason: Thank you so much. It's been a pleasure.

[1:05:38] Sean Chandler: Well, folks, the 11 o'clock number has been sung and the bows have been taken.

[1:05:42] Sean Chandler: So it's time to lower the curtain. Once again, a big thanks to Anne Mason of Relative Theatrics. She was awesome.

[1:05:47] Sean Chandler: You can find more episodes of your program is your ticket on the Broadway Podcast Network, who has honored me with the place on their incredible theater podcast platform.

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[1:06:52] Sean Chandler: As always, thanks for listening. We'll see you next time. And remember, theater is for everyone.