Texas contains multitudes when it comes to performing arts companies. Yet from the venerable city institutions to those one-then-done popup companies, many have similar origin stories. Those tales usually begin with a single artist or small group who have a true passion and vision for theater, dance or music and have the crazy idea to form that vision into a company. If they’re talented, not to mention lucky, they find a supportive audience. The work continues. The company grows. But no matter how successful the company becomes, eventually there comes a point when that founder can’t continue to lead. Many times the company ends. Occasionally, the company finds a way to live on through succession.
“We never thought this was just going to be the Kim and Philip theater. In our dreams it goes on.” So says actor/director Philip Lehl who, in 2011 co-founder 4th Wall Theatre Company with his actor/director wife Kim Tobin. For 4th Wall’s 24-25 season, Lehl stepped down as artistic director to become a resident artist in order to make that dream a reality.
Musing on the lifecycle of a passion project turned performing arts company, Kim Tobin says during those first few years of 4th Wall they didn’t know what was going to happen, just that they would produce plays they wanted to do with a focus on artistry and paying artists a fair wage. If it got too hard, they could always “just quit.”
“But we realized people kind of liked it. They’re coming out and we’re doing well.” And that’s when they began asking the question: “How is this going to outlive us? Then we started thinking, let’s sustain it and get a good board that believes in it. We immediately started to think that the aesthetic has to survive.”
For the company to survive and thrive, they would need a long term succession process. They began making plans about five years ago, first talking to their board. The next step was a step back for Tobin, who would continue with the company as a resident artist, instead of co-artistic director. Lehl would remain as AD while they looked to establish a succession team.
A big part of those plans was bringing in Jennifer Dean as managing director. Dean was no stranger to 4th Wall, having both acted and directed for the company. By their recollection, Dean has done more creative work at 4th Wall than anyone outside of Tobin and Lehl. They also already had Catherine Dunaway as part of the team in a development role.
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Luis Galindo and Jennifer Dean in PAVILION by Craig Wright. Photo by Gabriella Nissen.
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Jennifer Dean at rehearsal. Photo by Jeff McMorrough.
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Philip Lehl and Kim Tobin-Lehl from Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike by Christopher Durang. Photo by Gabriella Nissen.
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Kim Tobin-Lehl and Jennifer Dean at the 4th Wall Theatre Gala. Photo by Paul Carrizales.
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Catherine Dunaway and Philip Lehl at the 4th Wall Theatre Gala. Photo by Paul Carrizales.
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Philip Lehl and Kim Tobin-Lehl from Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike by Christopher Durang. Photo by Gabriella Nissen.
Lehl would join Tobin as a resident artist, an honorary, non-salaried title, and they would also take a place on the board of directors. The company would survive, change and grow while keeping a deep sense of continuity.
“Part of the reason 4th Wall is where they are is because of the work that Kim and Philip have done,” explains Dean. “So to be able to say that they’re still going to be around and they’re still going to be a part of this work, just in a different capacity, I think allows the audiences and artists who have invested in this company to feel like their investment has been well stewarded. What they have come to love and expect is going to continue.”
As resident artists, Lehl and Tobin will offer their expertise, experience and some advice while also likely contributing either as actors or directors for two shows each season. Lehl says that while this might be a recipe for tension if an AD had been selected outside of Houston, the four have previously worked so well together that there is a friendliness when discussing future projects and productions.
Perhaps a good example of this collaborative continuity is the company’s second show of the season running Nov. 22-Dec. 16, the Tony Award-winning Christopher Durang comedy, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. They all feel it’s not a holiday show that’s perfect for the holidays.
While chosen by Lehl while he was still AD, Dean and Tobin had input into that decision. Vanya will be something of a 4th Wall family affair, as Dean directs and Tobin and Lehl play adopted brother and sister, who bicker like an old married couple.
“It’s just fun and it’s festive and people are looking for a little more levity around that time of year,” describes Dean of the programming, but also notes that the show weaves some larger and still very relevant themes amid the laughs.
“Vanya has a whole tirade monologue about how disconnected we are. It’s funny because we just came off of Swing State, which also dealt with the sense of isolation. We unintentionally ended up with two plays back to back that hint on this theme of connecting and how we connect.”
For a 2024 that brought about Lehl’s dream for 4th Wall to live on, perhaps festive connections are the perfect way to ring in a new year and new beginning.
-TARRA GAINES
