THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 19, 1995 TAG: 9511170043
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TERESA ANNAS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 126 lines
EVIDENTLY, ``The Swan'' will be Bob Nelson's swan song.
Nelson, artistic director of the Generic Theater, announced his resignation earlier this month, but said he still plans to direct shows and advise the Norfolk community theater.
Nelson, 48, who has led the theater since 1988, is currently directing Elizabeth Egloff's ``The Swan.'' He will continue in his position until the show closes on Dec. 3.
The main reason he's leaving, he said, is because ``I'm not making a living.'' In the spring, his salary was cut by 60 percent, to create a salary for Betty Xander, now the part-time managing director.
Also, the abundance of office work did not appeal to him. ``And I have a 2-year-old son who hasn't seen me at night. He thinks I'm strictly a morning phenomenon. (My wife) Sue and I think it would be good if he saw us together once in a while.''
``He has done so much for the Generic,'' said Elisabeth Burgess, board president. In 1993, when the Generic learned it would no longer be supported by city funds and would have to privatize to survive, ``I don't think we could have made it without Bob,'' she said.
``He put together the board. He started the process.''
Nelson said he plans to patch together a living as a free-lance actor, director and instructor. In the fall, he began teaching theater at the Governor's School for the Arts in Norfolk; he will direct a student show there in February.
``I love change in life,'' Nelson said. ``And I feel good about it. If you hold on to your job, the universe doesn't have a chance to send more opportunities your way.
Directing at the Generic was truly satisfying, he said, because he was given the freedom to choose the plays, and stage them in a personally meaningful way.
In his job, Nelson said, ``there have been hundreds of high points,'' including staging the world premiere of Ernest Thompson's ``Amazons in August'' a year ago. He also mounted three premieres of plays by Edward Morgan, formerly of Virginia Beach and now a budding national playwright.
Working with the award-winning set designer Woody Robinson, he said, was another highlight. ``I feel like I was a lucky dog to work with him for six years.''
He also led the theater through its major transition - from a city-run division of parks and recreation to a private, community-supported operation.
Nelson is hardly leaving in a huff. Besides serving on the advisory council, Nelson will return to direct the season's final show - Ann-Marie MacDonald's ``Goodnight Desdemona (good morning juliet),'' a comedy about a Shakespeare specialist whose imagination literally projects her into the Bard's tragedies. It opens May 17.
For the remainder of this season, guest directors already have committed to the scheduled shows:
Carl McKinney will direct Amlin Gray's ``How I Got That Story,'' about a Vietnam-era journalist, opening Jan. 5.
Betty Xander will direct Scott McPherson's ``Marvin's Room,'' a bittersweet play about a caretaking woman who suddenly becomes ill and in need of care herself. Opens Feb. 23.
Karen Turner Ward of Hampton University will direct Shay Youngblood's ``Shakin' the Mess Outta Misery,'' about a young black woman in the '60s rural South. Opens April 5.
Meanwhile, ``The Swan'' continues with shows at 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and at 2 p.m. Sunday through Dec. 3. (Call 441-2160 for reservations.)
``I call him Zen Bob,'' said Ethan Marten, who has the title role in ``The Swan.'' ``I think he has been a tremendous asset to the Generic.''
While at the Generic, Nelson has had a reputation as a strong actor and patient director. He produced seasons that were thought-provoking without being pretentious, Marten said.
In the best tradition of the Generic, he said, ``they did not settle for the tried and true.''
That tradition will be upheld, said president Burgess.
``We are dedicated to being the off-off-Broadway kind of theater for this region,'' Burgess said. ``We are committed to producing plays that have not been done in this area - the new, the unusual, and reinterpretations of the classics.
``I have no indications that there will be any changes in the mission statement.''
At the next board meeting, set for Tuesday, discussions will begin regarding the search for a new artistic director, she said. By January, ``we'll have a decision as to what we're going to do.'' SAY AGAIN
In two decades, the photography program of The Chrysler Museum of Art has developed a collection that is a point of pride to art lovers in this region.
In 1989, photography curator Brooks Johnson compiled the book ``Photography Speaks,'' pairing images from the collection with biographical information and statements from the artists. More than 60 top-name photographers were included, from Ansel Adams to Edward Weston.
This month, the similarly formatted ``Photography Speaks II: 70 Photographers on Their Art'' is being released, depicting more images from the museum's growing collection. Also organized by Brooks Johnson, the book has been published by Aperture in association with The Chrysler Museum.
At 1:30 p.m. today, Johnson will give a talk on the accompanying exhibit in the museum's theater. The exhibit features the original prints reproduced in the book, which represents about 150 years in the history of photography. Among the 70 major practitioners are Mathew Brady, Julia Margaret Cameron, Edward S. Curtis, Edward Steichen and Sally Mann.
The show is on view in the Alice and Sol B. Frank Photography Gallery. Sadly, Alice R. Frank died on Nov. 8. She was 87.
The family has requested that memorial contributions be made to the museum's photography department.
Her family's generosity to the museum resulted in the naming of the gallery in 1978 after her and her late husband. Johnson said Frank had planned to attend the exhibition preview for ``Photography Speaks II'' on Nov. 11.
Many of the works in the show were purchased with funds donated by Frank for the museum's collection.
``We could not have created this photography department without Alice Frank and her family,'' Johnson said. ``We'll truly miss her. She was a great person.''
A book signing will follow Johnson's lecture. ``Photography Speaks II'' sells for $19.95 in the museum's gift shop. For more information, call the museum at 664-6200. ILLUSTRATION: File photo
Bob Nelson plans to act, direct and teach.
A Mary Ellen Mark portrait included in the Chrysler's ``Photography
Speaks II.''
by CNB