For Megan Carmitchel, Michael Cusimano and Frankie Errington, their new Chalk Circle Collective theater production company began with a conversation — and a dilemma.
“Michael came to me with a two-person play that we wanted to do together,” recalled Carmitchel, who, like Cusimano, is a busy actor around town. “Then the three of us (including director Errington) were trying to find a way to do this play. We met with a couple of theater companies and we realized there really wasn’t a space for us to do the passion project that we were so excited about.”
It was Carmitchel’s husband, Patrick, who suggested that they create their own space. (Patrick is also a partner in Chalk Circle, on the business side of the company.)
“We literally used Google to answer a million questions about how to start a nonprofit,” remembered Carmitchel, recently seen in Backyard Renaissance’s “August: Osage County. “We did it ourselves. It became more and more clear that San Diego could benefit from this. Maybe if we created this for artists, we could empower them to produce what they’re passionate about and feed into the community from there.”
The company’s name was drawn from the idea that the company will focus on artists and their work, rather than any physical space it occupies.
“We chose the name because on our very first read-through for ‘Turn of the Screw,’ Frankie mentioned we would draw a chalk circle to set our playing space. When we decided to start a nonprofit, that image really resonated with us, the idea that it’s a space made with chalk that can be changed to grow and expand and fit other artists as we grow,” Carmitchel said.
According to Cusimano, Chalk Circle Collective began “really as a platform for us to self-produce. We’re seeing that major institutional theaters are failing right now. What’s been bubbling up are indie theater and indie production companies.”
Having worked in New York for the past year, Errington said she witnessed in its struggling theater scene “a completely different landscape than pre-pandemic.”
Like Carmitchel and Cusimano, Errington said she sees Chalk Circle not as a physical-space provider, but as a portal for giving actors opportunities.
“If you’re focusing on the individual artist rather than on maintaining a space, you’re able to throw those resources toward your project.
“If we didn’t want to use a theater and we wanted to maybe use a converted warehouse space we have the freedom to go out and find that.”
For its first production, Chalk Circle is taking over Diversionary Theatre’s Blackbox space in University Heights. Carmitchel and Cusimano are co-starring in Jeffrey Hatcher’s adaptation of Henry James’ ghost story “The Turn of the Screw,” with Errington directing.
In this two-person production of that same play that she and Cusimano first talked about doing, Carmitchel will play the unnamed governess hired to look after two children on an estate in Essex, England. Cumisano will portray multiple characters. Errington will direct.
Cusimano chose the play for Chalk Circle’s debut and said that having seen Carmitchel in Cygnet Theatre’s spooky “A Christmas Carol” she seemed the ideal choice to play the governess.
“I thought, ‘this is the person for this role, and this is the role for that person,’” he said.
As for his own onstage multiplicity, “I’ve done a lot of shows where I’ve played multiple characters,” he said, “but it’s usually in the context of comedy. Translating that into something dramatic was a thing I wanted to do.”
The conceit of James’ 1898 novella is the question of whether the governess is truly haunted by ghosts or if the apparitions reside in her tormented mind. This is part of the appeal of the story and the character, Carmitchel said.
“The beauty of this play is that you walk away wondering: Were those ghosts real? Was she crazy? Was she not?”
Errington as director is taking advantage of the Blackbox space’s logistics to keep theatergoers guessing. “We are placing it (the play) in the round, so we’ve got these different perspectives for audience members,” she said.
The Chalk Circle founders are committed to the collective’s artists-first mission.
“We looked at it with this analogy of a cake,” said Carmitchel. “You start with the ingredients and then you build from there. You start a project from the artists versus picking a project and then trying to fill in and fit in artists as you can.”
Cusimano hopes this new venture will benefit many actors and theater artists besides themselves.
“It’s not how can we be in competition with other theaters,” he said. “It’s how we can feed into these theaters and support this community that has given us our careers.”
‘The Turn of the Screw’
When: Preview at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Opens Saturdayand runs through Oct. 29. Showtimes, 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays; plus 8 p.m. Oct. 23
Where: Diversionary Theatre’s Blackbox Space, 4545 Park Blvd., University Heights
Tickets: $35 and up
Email: [email protected]
Online: chalkcirclecollective.com
Coddon is a freelance writer.