Creating transcendent moments

After five seasons and 112 “Broadway Under the Stars” performances at Jack London Park, Transcendence Theatre Company co-founders Amy Miller and Stephan Stubbins have had their share of standing ovations and critical acclaim. But they feel it’s their work offstage, performing for youth, at risk teens, adults with disabilities, and people suffering from dementia, among others, that defines the company’s success.

“It’s about creating those unique moments, wherever they may be,” Miller says. “It’s part of the reason we’re here, to make that deep connection.”

Find out about the indoor shows March 11-12 in Santa Rosa, March 18-19 in Marin.

With a core belief that art is service, and a commitment to be in and of the community, the company looks to create special moments, on stage and off.

One such instance was a performance for a group of Alzheimer patients. Pros no matter the setting, the handful of performers sang, danced, juggled… 100 percent effort. The physical reaction among the audience was minimal, but Miller, near tears herself, noticed some patients deeply moved by the memories triggered by the music. At the big finish, she recalls, a man who had been totally still, head bowed throughout, raised his arms and gave two thumbs up.

“There have been a thousand transcendent moments,” she says.

Stubbins recalls the funeral of Barbara Cullen, the beloved director of the WillMar Center. A few years earlier, his group performed for and with kids in the grief counseling program. At Cullen’s service, as the sun came out from behind rain clouds, he and one of the girls from that workshop, now a confident teenager, sang a moving duet.

Last year, during the holiday season, a group of performers visited a hospital to spread some seasonal cheer. The transcendent moment came in the maternity ward as parents and their swaddled newborns were drawn to a reverent chorus of “Silent Night.”

“It’s so simple to do,” Miller says. “Yet the power is enormous.”

As it fosters relationships in the community, the company is becoming well known nationally among actors as a coveted place to perform. Miller, a performer and the company’s artistic director, and staff will soon start screening referrals and interviewing for the some 100 slots to be cast for the summer season. Part of the commitment is a willingness to participate in the outreach programs and public appearances.

The incoming artists, who in other community theatre settings wouldn’t have much contact with the actual community, embrace the opportunity. “They are drawn to it,” said Stubbins, a performer and the co-executive director. “They like that energy.”

Stubbins says that even the pre-curtain mingle, a tradition that has the players greeting the audience, may be as important as the show itself. “It’s the essence of the actors connecting to the community,” he says. “The artists lives are changed as well.”

The give-back is impressive in more tangible ways as well. Shows have raised over $267,000 for Jack London State Historic Park through the first five seasons of

Broadway Under the Stars. More than $30,000 worth of tickets been donated to silent auctions in benefit of local nonprofits, with over $18,000 worth of tickets provided to local underprivileged youth and families that otherwise would not have been able to attend.

The rewards back to the performers may be harder to quantify but are just as fulfilling, Miller says. “Art is the recipe for the best life ever.”

Photo credits: homepage, Melania Mahoney; this page, from top: Ray Mabry; Mimi Carroll.