Johnson is new artistic director

Yvonne A.K. Johnson has been preparing all of her life for … well, a job much like the one she started two weeks ago.

Johnson is the new artistic director of the Spokane Civic Theatre. She’ll be directing at least two shows a season, beginning with this season’s finale, “Hello, Dolly!” in May. She’ll also be overseeing all of the theater’s artistic operations, from the Main Stage to the Studio Theatre to the youth classes to the Reader’s Stage.

And she’s been training for it since her first show in sixth grade in her native Wisconsin, when she developed “a bug for doing theater.” By the time she graduated from high school, she had her sights set on directing.

“I went to college with the intention of being a director and artistic director some day,” said Johnson.

She certainly acquired the necessary academic training for the job. She went on to get a B.A. in speech communications and theater from Carthage College in Wisconsin, an M.A. in contemporary theater practice from the University of Essex in England and an M.F.A. in directing from Minnesota State University.

Yet that’s only part of her preparation.

“Every experience that I have – whether education, production or travel – it’s all to be able to be the best artistic director I can be, to be as well-rounded as possible,” said Johnson. “It’s a constant in my life.”

Her resume includes being artistic director of the Kassiopia Theatre Company in London (specializing in Irish contemporary theater); producer and company director of CLIMB Theatre in St. Paul, Minn., an educational theater company for youth audiences; and co-owner and producing director of JTR Productions, a Minnesota troupe which has produced original musicals.

She is also a playwright, having written for musical theater and children’s theater.

So when she heard about the Civic’s opening, she knew it would be the right fit.

“I like being able to do both the adult theater and the children’s theater, the artistic side and the business side,” said Johnson. “In my life’s preparation thus far, in the skills I have been working to acquire, it all came together.”

The Civic’s board agreed. She was hired last month from a field of 90 applicants after a national search.

Now she is busy putting her skills to work in what is clearly a critical time for the 58-year-old community institution. The theater is in a financial crunch, which forced a significant and controversial downsizing in staff last summer.

Johnson said one of her goals for the next year is “quite frankly, to get us out of the red.”

“And I have a commitment to doing that in the next fiscal year,” she said. “So through June 30, 2006, it is my hope and expectation that we will be out of the red by that date.”

While her job is focused on the artistic side (an interim director of operations and marketing handles the business end), she said she has some ideas which might help on the financial side. For instance, she would like to launch a legacy program, to encourage planned giving through donors’ wills.

On the artistic side, audience-building is the key, she said.

“Season selection is absolutely crucial,” said Johnson. “So we are looking at a blockbuster season (for 2005-2006), with, for the most part, very, very familiar titles. But not ones that have been done recently (in Spokane), or even done at all.”

She said that she and the play selection committee have been collaborating on putting together a “fresh, stimulating” group of shows, including the two big musicals which have traditionally opened and closed the Civic’s Main Stage season.

The season will also include other Civic staples – a mystery and a pair of comedies, one a “highbrow” comedy and the other a contemporary comedy.

“As far as drama, I have to admit I like Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller and Eugene O’Neill,” said Johnson. “It’s imperative to make sure it’s something that appeals very much to the audience, but there are some plays out there that have not been done yet in Spokane.”

She can’t yet say exactly what titles will be in the new season. Those will be announced during her Welcome Reception on Feb. 7 at the theater.

Johnson said she hopes that the Civic can also pursue new work development, which she calls her “greatest passion.” She hopes the theater can develop some original works by contemporary playwrights – maybe even her own musical theater works.

“I’m hoping there could be a possibility of doing one of my pieces for next year,” said Johnson. “That’s very exciting.”

Meanwhile, she said she has been more than pleased with the artistic atmosphere she has found in her new city so far.

“I had a little fun that first weekend, being incognito and being able to ask questions about theater and the Civic in particular,” she said. “I wanted to ask those questions before everyone could say, ‘Oh, that’s Yvonne Johnson of the Civic.’ “

And what did she find?

“Everyone is so supportive of the arts in general and of the Civic,” she said. “They want it to be successful. … And I have made it clear that I need as much help and support as I can get to rally around the theater.”