‘Horton by the Stream’ theater company back for another season
The Daily Mail
Online Mar. 16, 2009

TANNERSVILLE - Horton by the Stream producer Frank Girardeau had no trouble getting permission from playwright Horton Foote to stage his plays in the company’s outdoor Elka Park theater.

Girardeau asked, and, he recalled, Foote’s reply was, “‘Sure, go ahead.’”

This summer, the company plans to return to Tannersville for another season featuring the performance “Valentine’s Day,” which, set in 1918, is part of a larger play cycle chronicling the life of a family and is loosely based on Foote’s parents.

Foote died March 4, at the age of 92.

His career as a writer and adapter of plays spanned six decades.

Foote won a Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1995 for his play “The Young Man From Atlanta.” He also received two Emmy Awards, one for an adaptation of Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird” for the 1962 film of the same name and another in 1985, for the screenplay “Tender Mercies.” He also won an Emmy in 1997 for his adaptation of “Old Man.”

Girardeau met Foote while performing in a play with the Ensemble Studio Theater company. A number of years later, Foote called Girardeau to see if the actor was available for another show.

He said Foote visited a theater company in Hunter that pre-dated Horton by the Stream, and once conducted a workshop there.

Later, Girardeau purchased the property where the company was located, built a new performance space and approached Foote about performing his plays.

“He was very supportive of the whole thing,” Girardeau said, “he gave us his blessing.”

He said that the outdoor theater offers his actors a nice creative space with which to work and Foote’s plays seem to fit well with the atmosphere.

He said that performing outdoors can be great for an audience who get to settle in for a picnic or family gathering while watching a show, but it can present challenges for the actors.

The stage in Elka Park is right next to a stream, and sometimes, even with microphones, performers have to compete with the babbling water.

And, Girardeau said, the weather does not always cooperate.

He recalled that last year he and his players and audience had to run to a nearby barn when a storm came up suddenly.

“We have to be ready in case that happens,” he said with a laugh.

Girardeau said the choice of play is sometimes dependent on who is available to perform in what role.

Horton by the Stream productions usually feature actors from New York City, with whom Girardeau is used to working. But sometimes, he said, a local actor will perform with the company.

Past performances, which have been also produced by Girardeau’s wife, Janet, and Greg Grove, have included “The Young Lady of Property,” “Blind Date” and “Spring Dance.”

Girardeau’s favorite play is “Trip to Bountiful,” which is about a woman with heart problems returning home. He said it is perhaps his favorite because he has performed it so many times.

The company may do something special as a tribute to Foote, but Girardeau said his friend’s passing was sudden, and he had yet to find time to start planning for one.