Those attending Venus in Fur—currently showing at the Goodman Theatre—will discover the biography of one Alden Vasquez in the program. It will say that this is his 21st season at the Goodman, that he is a member of Actors Equity, that his credits also include 23 productions of A Christmas Carol and that the tremendous roster of theaters he has been associated with include Ford's Theatre, American Theater Company, the Steppenwolf Theatre Company and the Royal George Theatre.
However, he's not on stage.
After the director of a piece of theater has given her/his opening night pep talk to the cast and retired to the auditorium to enjoy the show alongside the audience, her/his authority is passed to the glue who has held everything and everyone together throughout rehearsals and for the rest of the run: the production stage manager.
Vasquez started his career in theater by spending four years as a member of the Air Force in a high security position at the White House during the Carter administration."I had originally wanted a career in the military," he remembered."The first year that I was in the service I accepted the fact that I was gay. Back then there was no such thing as 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' so everyone was pretty closeted."
Vasquez said that leaving the military was a tough decision. "But I wanted to be free and be myself," he recalled. "So I went right to the West Village of New York City and did all that Studio 54 and Christopher Street craziness back then." Eventually, Vasquez ended up in what is now the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in Washington DC with every intention of becoming an actor."In the middle of it I decided I just wasn't cut out to be an actor," Vasquez smiled modestly. "But, since I was older, they had me stage manage their student productions and I fell right into it. I loved it."
It was the artistic director of the Totem Pole Playhouse in Fayetteville, Penn., who, by means of a scholarship, sent Vasquez to the Goodman as an intern stage manager. It has since been his trade for 30 years.
Vasquez believes an important part of his role is keeping everyone on schedule and ensuring that everything that comes out of the rehearsal room is communicated to the proper department. "I was brought up to support the actors," he said. "On the first day, I talk to them and set the tone. I try to impart the importance of being on time and that we are here to create but that we are also here to work."
However, he also wants his artists to feel safe to be vulnerable: "I try to make it comfortable and fun for them to tell a story."
Vasquez said that, while there have been other theaters he has worked with that have carried a pervasive anti-LGBT sentiment ( even in Chicago ), he always feels safe to be himself at the Goodman."I've always been comfortable being me," he said. "I do goofy things and I camp it up sometimes. We have dressing room decorating contests during Christmas Carol and people laugh and we have fun. I am so grateful that I am in this business. In the military I had to behave, wear a uniform and adhere to certain customs and protocols, but when I went into theater, I could just be me."
THE STATS
Age
57
Neighborhood
Edgewater
Job title
Production stage manager, Goodman Theatre
Relationship status
Single.
Regarding the theater and
LGBT culture
"We're out of the shadows. There should be more writing. More storytelling about our lives."
The worst thing an actor can do
"Be late. I have this thing about lateness."
Regarding the theater as a family
"We just lost our Resident Lighting Designer, Bob Christen. We all came together. We mourned him. We went to his wife's house and stayed with her."
Thing to be most proud of
"That I lasted 30 years. I am proud of the people I have worked with. That I have learned from my mistakes and that I made it."
Unforgettable theater story
Unforgettable theater story: Opening night of Glengarry Glen Ross at the old Goodman. Joe Mantegna forgot his lines. It was my first professional opening night. I was young and I was terrified but I went behind the scenery and gave him the line three times."
