Good Times - July 10, 2003

Showtime
A brand new equity actor, a seasoned pro and a gaggle of interns plan to ignite the summer stage. Meet the magic behind Cabrillo Stage, Shakespeare Santa Cruz and the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music.

Act One:
Cabrillo Stage Izetta Fang is jazzed to play Anita in “West Side Story,” but will this summer’s production be Cabrillo’s final curtain call?

by Christa Martin

Izetta Fang was a 25-year-old fresh college graduate when the airplane landed at JFK in New York. All alone, she slipped out of the terminal and her two suitcases were lobbed into a taxi trunk. “Take me to 38th, West 31st, Manhattan,” she told the cabbie. It was right about then that she started “freaking out.”

“He dropped me off in this dark area and I looked at 38th and it was dirty,” Fang says. “I [went] into this rickety elevator, up to the fifth floor and couldn’t wait to get to this safe haven. [I opened] the door and finally it’s a familiar face and I was so happy to see her.”

The familiar face was Amy Chang, really more of a college acquaintance than a friend of Fang’s. Chang had offered to let Fang stay with her for a while upon her arrival in New York. She accepted the offer, sold nearly all her possessions, packed minimal belongings and flew across the country from the West Coast with her dream to become a professional musical actress. This girl from Fremont had never been to the Big Apple and she was in for many surprises. The first—her living quarters.

“If you were six feet tall and could lie across, that’s how wide [the apartment] was,” Fang says. “… I cried big time because I didn’t know what the heck I was [getting] into. … We went outside and went up and down Broadway and I remember seeing the lights. All of a sudden it felt like the buildings were kind of falling in on me, and I was keeping my cool, thinking, ‘Oh my God, here I am, what did I do?’ And then I remember looking at all the Broadway shows and thinking, ‘I have to get in there. How am I going to get in there?’”

Fang was one of probably many who, in 2000, moved to the big city to make their dreams come true. But what was to set her apart from all the others? And how would this California girl manage life in intimidating New York, become a pro and eventually return home to the Bay Area as a member of the Actors Equity Association, and star in “West Side Story” at Cabrillo Stage this summer?

She had a small battle plan that consisted of three things: get a place to live, get a job, pick up a Back Stage (a theatrical trade magazine which lists auditions, among other things). Fang had the housing (albeit quite small). Next up was employment. But even before that she had to get a good look at New York City, in the daylight.

The morning after her arrival Fang awoke to an empty studio—her roommate had already left for the day. Fang headed outside and walked from 31st Street to 59th Street, the south tip of Central Park. Then she walked down Broadway and soaked it all in. She was alone and afraid. But a familiar face brought her a tiny bit of company—the face of Starbucks.

“I remember getting my coffee from the guy and my hand shaking and thinking, ‘Oh my God, they’re going to know I’m not from here.’ Two blocks later I called my mom from a pay phone. That’s when I started crying. … I told her, ‘I want to go home and be married and have babies.’ She said, ‘You can’t turn back now. You’ve got to go back and at least try.’”

Fang tried. And it worked. Now, four years later she sometimes walks by that same phone booth and chuckles to herself. Fortunately, her first break came soon after that phone call to her mom.

Within a week she had landed a job at a local pub waiting tables. She perused the Back Stage paper and started going on auditions. She immediately got four callbacks. Her first off-off Broadway job came about a month and a half later as an ensemble dancer/singer in the show, “Play On.”

“I was so excited that I didn’t have to wait tables,” Fang says.

She quit her job and existed on the $365 a week paycheck she received as a non-union performer in the show. Because this performance of “PlayOn” was an equity play, Fang gained points toward joining the Actors Equity Association. This was a big deal. To join AEA can be advantageous for any serious actor. Not only do paychecks come in larger sums, but also jobs are more accessible, and the union has a community building for its members. Additionally, according to Fang, the union offers such perks as health insurance, tax services for free, financial advisor services, mental health services and much more. It also means that upon joining the union she gets a thick rule book/contract to go with every show that she books, which details what she’s entitled to, often including transportation and room and board. Being a union eligible actress also quickly got her an
agent who sends Fang out on many auditions, including some on Broadway. (She has yet to book a Broadway show, but that’s her next goal.)

The unpretentious Fang eventually became “union” and is the only such member in Cabrillo Stage’s “West Side Story” which opens on Friday, July 11 and runs through Sunday, Aug. 17. She plays the supporting role of Anita in this favorite musical, based on the story of “Romeo and Juliet” and which takes place on the West Side of New York. It’s the tale of two Puerto Rican gangs—the American Jets, and the Sharks. Anita is Bernardo’s (the leader of the Sharks) lover. She’s a feisty, fun, women’s rights advocate. (Rita Moreno played Anita in the popular film version.)

“I think Cabrillo Stage is as good if not better than a lot of the regional theaters on the East Coast,” Fang says. “They pay attention to the sets, the costume design, the orchestra, the lighting, the sound. They hire really good actors. The directors and choreographers are really good at making everybody look good together.”

And it’s all at the hands of producing artistic director Lile Cruse, who just months ago didn’t know the future of the renowned Cabrillo Stage. Because of state budget cuts, the community college’s deletion task force was in talks about what to do with the professional theater company. Rumors were circling that “West Side Story” might be the last “story” for Cabrillo Stage. But for now, the show goes on, at least for a while. Twenty percent of its overall budget was cut, and Cabrillo College cut 50 percent of what it usually donates to the company, says Jana Marcus, marketing director for Cabrillo Stage. The bottom line is that Cabrillo Stage is operating on $30,000 less than normal—this in addition to the 50percent loss from the College’s funds.

“We are in dire straights in needing financial help in order to uphold the level of professionalism that past performances have set,” Marcus says. It mirrors the wording found on a poster situated in the theater lobby, which the public will see: “The future of Cabrillo Stage is unclear at this time and unless we raise additional funds we will not be able to produce at a professional level next season.”

Marcus says the company plans on having a major fundraiser, most likely around Christmastime.

Still, artistic director Cruse is not one to compromise quality. “West Side Story” is already getting positive pre-show buzz, and if it’s anything like its predecessors, we will be in for yet another Cabrillo Stage treat, especially when Fang belts it out as Anita.

And if you’re someone like the Fang of four years ago, possessing a dream to perform, but not sure what to do or where to go, this union actress offers some practical advice.

“Do your research, buy your CDs, listen to those voices, get online and know who’s on Broadway. Go see shows. Pay more money for your headshots. … Know that you’re going to have your own path and you don’t have to copy anybody else and allow yourself to change. Anybody that’s in the business here in your hometown, talk to them, pick [his or her] brains. My mistake was not auditioning for regional theaters in my own hometown. When you first start out, go in there, get your feet wet, see what it’s all about for you.”

“West Side Story” at Cabrillo Stage runs July 11 to August 17. Performances are 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays at Cabrillo College Theatre, 6500 Soquel Dr., Aptos. Tickets: Wednesdays and Thursdays $23/gen., $20/seniors, $18/children ages 6-12. ($2 service charge); Friday-Sunday $25/gen., $22/seniors, $20/children. Charge by phone: 479-6154. Call 479-6429 or visit www.cabrillostage.org.