Santa Monica Rep is the newest addition to our theater line in Santa Monica. The newly formed theater company which aims to bring more quality theater to Santa Monica is the creation of three local residents: Eric Bloom, Jen Bloom and Sarah Gurfield. Voice of Santa Monica’s Marco Sandoval met with Eric Bloom, one of the founders of Santa Monica Rep recently to talk about the company, upcoming free stage readings, life in Santa Monica and more.

Voice of SM: How was Santa Monica Rep formed?

Eric Bloom(EB): My wife, Jen, and I had a former roommate who is a playwright and started the L.A. Playwrights Union, which is a group of approximately 35 successful playwrights. We hosted a festival of 10 minute plays in our backyard at our old home in North Hollywood. I built a stage in our backyard, and a few of the playwrights wrote original plays. Sarah Gurfield directed one of the plays in the festival and was someone that Jen knew through grad school back in Providence. We became good friends after that. When Jen and I came up with the idea to start this company and looked for another partner, Sarah’s name came up. We got together and talked about starting the company.

Voice of SM: What are the differences between stage readings and plays?

EB: Stage readings are generally just one performance with no sets or lights. Basically, the actors are with script in hand and are seated with minimal blocking (referring to the precise movement and positioning of actors on a stage in order to facilitate the performance of a play). However, our staged readings will be a little more involved. We will have a few set pieces for Proof, and we’re also adding technology as the Martin Luther King, Jr. Auditorium allows for projections, music, lighting, etc.

Full production plays have sets, costumes, lights, etc. They will run for several performances. Professional actors are required to be paid a certain amount. Ticket prices are also a factor.

Voice of SM: Tell us about the upcoming stage readings?

EB: Proof, The Night Thoreau Spent In Jail and The Adding Machine are all extremely well-written plays and deal with larger ideas about our relationships with the environment and with ourselves. How we chain ourselves to our jobs, ideas, and how easy it is to remove said chains if we took a step back.

Auditions were held for all 3 plays at once. About 50 actors were auditioned and 17 were cast; half of them live either in Santa Monica or on the Westside. Our goal is to have a Westside-based group of actors, mostly for practical and ideological purposes. We are building a theater company here in Santa Monica and we want as many people living in the community involved.

Voice of SM: How did you select Santa Monica?

EB: LA is too massive in scope, whereas Santa Monica is so much more contained. I got the feeling we could reach 80,000 people as there are only a handful of theater companies here. The Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Division felt it was a good time to start a theater company. A lot of people are highly encouraged and supportive of what we want to do. We gave up a lot of space in North Hollywood for a small apartment in Santa Monica, but we felt there would be more opportunities here.

Santa Monica is a nice city and it deserves a theater company that makes you feel like you’re having a nice night out. We’re doing this so that Santa Monica residents have somewhere to go after work for a really stimulating night without leaving town. For those that commute to Santa Monica for work, you can have a drink nearby, come see our show, and go home happy.

Voice of SM: Who is your target audience?

EB: Theater is great because it has no bounds. You can be poor, rich, come from any religion or political persuasion. Santa Monica is the best city in the world, and it’s such a diverse city. Economic and social lines are blurred. Every kind of person lives here, from the homeless to the super rich. Theater is the one thing that can connect all of those people.
Our audience is most likely to be a cross-section of people. We want to give them something they’re not quite expecting and give them a reason to return.

Voice of SM: Will Santa Monica Rep perform plays in the future?

EB: We want to do full production, but we are doing staged readings now because it is inexpensive and a way to build buzz about our company. We are looking to do 2-3 productions in 2011. Theater spaces are hard to come by here in Santa Monica as they are in high demand. We want to produce high-quality theater and are looking past the much smaller theater spaces. We will exchange less frequent productions for higher quality.

Schedule of Free Staged Readings at Santa Monica Library

All readings will take place at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Auditorium at the Santa Monica Public Library located at 601 Santa Monica Blvd. Seating is open and on a first-come basis. A brief Q&A will follow each reading.

Sunday, November 14, 2010 at 2pm
Proof by David Auburn
Directed by Sarah Gurfield

On the eve of her 25th birthday, a young woman is having dreams and speaking to her father, a math genius who died a year earlier. She wonders whether she has the same issues as her father, who went crazy before his death. She later meets a guy who was a student of her father’s, and who helps her out of her sorrows. This former student has been reviewing her father’s notes since his death and discovers one mathematical proof that could change mathematics completely. The question is who wrote it? Was it the father or daughter? A coming of age story, this Pulitzer prize winning play will touch your heart and soul. The Broadway performance had Mary Louise Parker of “Weeds” as the main lead.

Saturday, December 11, 2010 at 2:30pm
The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Lee
Directed by Jen Bloom

Thoreau didn’t want his tax money to support the war in Mexico. This results him in spending a night in the jail. While many of his friends come forward to pay the tax money on his behalf, Thoreau declines their offer. As he spends the night in the jail, Thoreau is seen recounting his experience to his cellmate, emerging in and out of flashbacks and his former life as a transcendentalist.

Saturday, January 8, 2011 at 2:30pm
The Adding Machine by Elmer Rice
Directed by Eric Bloom

Written in 1923 and set in New York, this expressionist play’s theme resonates with our internal struggle of accepting technology and the fear of being replaced. The play centers on the life of Mr. Zero who has worked in an accounting firm for 25 years. One day he is called into his boss’ office. As he beams excitedly at the thought of being given a raise, he stands heart-broken when he finds out that he is not only being fired but also being replaced by an adding machine.

Follow Westside’s newest theater company on Twitter: @Santa Monica Rep