By Hannah O’Neil, Summer Intern

We like to speak with clients about their businesses, what the ingredients are for success, and hopefully inspire more entrepreneurs to take the next step. The Weathervane is a resident theater company of professional actors in Whitefield, NH. It was founded in 1966, is known for its alternating repertory, and has won multiple New Hampshire Theater awards. CEDC interviewed Rien Schlecht (operations manager, resident designer, and costume shop supervisor) and Ethan Paulini (producing artistic director) from the Weathervane Theatre this week. 

CEDC: Thank you both of you for joining me today. I want to delve deeper into the impact that the arts have in economic development space and how this location affects the interest for live entertainment. My first question on this is about the number of jobs you provide to the community. How many actors and crew members work here during the summer vs. year? Do you have different levels of employment (interns, apprentices, and company members), and what does that look like with each role? 

Rein: For employees, it varies through the season. Some are here for one show and others are here for more. In the past 20 years that I have been here, there are between 40-60 technical staff and actors at any given part of the season. The acting company is a rotating group of people. For the actors, there are our company members who are under the Actor’s Equity Association (AEA). We also have apprentices (called the Patchwork Players) that are non-union workers who are still in college, so they are relatively young compared to the rest of the company. For technical staff, we are paired with an organization in Orlando (a theatrical school) ages 13-23 they get sent to theaters to work. Here this summer there are some from local high schools. The levels of experience here at the Weathervane range from high school to Broadway, and we even have others who are doing jobs that they have never done before (like actors learning how to be managers). There are community members who have never done theater and wanted to try it, or others that did it in high school and want to try it again. So, to answer your question, there is every level of experience that you can think of here working at the Weathervane.

Ethan: We only have 3 year round staff - myself, the development director, and the marketing director who fluctuate between part time and full time depending on the workload throughout the year. At the height of the season, we will hit about 65 employees and that fluctuates throughout the season. Right now we have about 35 people. When I first started as an actor here in 2012, everyone arrived in the last week of June and everyone left in the first week of September. Now the season scales up, where we start off with a few actors for the show and then we get bigger as the season goes on. We have our high level positions called “Department heads” that are the resident designers for props, sound, lights, etc. and who are our senior staff.

CEDC: Does having staff housing make The Weathervane unique and allow for more diversity in Coös country and what do the employees who come from other areas say about the area? Do you think that the Weathervane is unique for its type of business in this area and, if so, does it feel like there is a gap between this space and other types of entertainment? 

Rien: So a lot of summer theaters do this, but it’s usually not all together, for instance they have houses rented in various parts of a town/city. If there was no housing, we could not do what they do. The Weathervane is unique for this area because it is the only professional theater. It is also unique because there are very few theaters in the country that still do alternating repertory like us (meaning putting on a different show each night).There are arts and theater in this area though, so it is not too unique in this area regarding art. We feel so supported by the community, and it’s a great way to be an artist. It feels like a vacation for some people because it’s outside of the city. For others, it can be a culture shock because you have to drive far for a lot of things. There is definitely an initial shock. There is not a lot of time to explore the area because there is so much work put into getting these shows up. So even if this was a city where there were always things to do, there wouldn’t be much free time to do those things.

Ethan: We do cast our employment net very wide, and most professional theaters, especially if they are in a rural community like Whitefield, have to look outside of the confines of their community to be able to out on the shows. Our core company of actors are members of the actors’ union where one of the requirements is that we provide housing. Having the Spalding Inn provides us with the ability to draw the best people for the job regardless of where their home base is. By and large, everyone kind of adopts Whitefield as their home away from home. In most cases, a lot of the folks who come here, especially the actors, are based in large cities. For me, I think it’s the best of both worlds: I live in New York for 6 to 7 months out of the year, and I live up here for 5 months out of the year. Just as soon as I get bored here and need culture and energy, I go back to NYC. Just when I can’t take this big city life anymore, I get to come up to the mountains and have a little slower way of life. I think that’s the way that everyone finds their time here. I will especially say that one of the best parts about being up here is that it is very beautiful and relaxing and gives you that space to breathe. There doesn’t have to be a lot to do around here because the work is what we do.

CEDC: Do you know what kind of clientele the Weathervane brings in? Are they mainly people interested in theater (and even actors themselves), tourists, locals, or a combination of these types?

Rien: Our audience is pretty broad. We have our friends who we bring to the theater, avid theater goers, people who have grown up going with their family who then take their families, and others who go because it is something to do. We also do get a lot of locals, summer home people, as well as older and retired folks who have been coming for a while. Tourists come who are staying locally at the Mountain View Grand Hotel. We are trying to bring in a younger audience, because the majority of the audience is older and they are becoming nonexistent. Because of this, we are trying to promote the theater for younger people so that we keep our clientele up by bringing in different shows that they might find intriguing.

Ethan: I think it’s almost an even split between tourists and locals. I also think a lot of people who come to see a show are those who spend significant periods of time up here who come up from Boston. And then, of course, we try to engage as many tourists as possible. You come here to hike and kayak, but you want to do something at night, so that’s what we do. My favorite mission is making theater accessible and available for everyone. In my first year I was up here, I would go around to the local area and get a haircut. I said to the woman, “I am working at the Weathervane,” and she said, “I have never been there…but have lived here my entire life.” I think that this is a really special place, and a big goal of mine has been to make everyone feel like it is their theater. 

CEDC: Can you bring me up to speed on how the Weathervane Theatre operates as a financially stable organization as a nonprofit business in the performing arts field? 

Rien: We get a lot of help from donors and grants since we have to raise 60% of our operating costs. We would not be able to run as an organization if we did not receive this financial help. Professional theater like Broadway shows are expensive and typically actors can’t even afford the shows that they or their colleagues are in.

Ethan: Financially stable is very relative, and we have up and down times. Ticket sales only cover 40% of our operating costs no matter how well a show does, because that’s just the reality of what things cost. So now it's been about restructuring our program to have smaller shows that offset the bigger shows that cost a lot more money. We have done a good job at creating a donor base that supports and understands what our value is to the community. When I first came here, it was a two month operation, but the problem with that is you have bills that run all year. That is why we have expanded into early June and ending in late September/October to create some sustainability. 

CEDC: We are also very interested in youth development and the arts. I see that the Weathervane Theatre offers a few different youth programs. Does it play a role in giving young artists the opportunity to learn what professional theater might look like in a rural area and also in this type of profession in general?

Rien: Our “Patchwork” company is a group of college aged students where we have production and programs for kids. They perform at the Weathervane as well as tour around the county and perform for young kids. Our summer day camp is a 2 week camp for 8-18 yr olds where they learn about every aspect of theater that you can learn and put on production at the end of those two weeks. One of our missions is to make theater accessible (class wise and age wise), because we want to reach all kids but particularly those who haven’t found a place anywhere else. For instance, those who haven’t found an outlet in school or sports. A few of our workers here now used to be campers, so you can see how much of a life impact it was for them. 

Ethan: We have our “Windsock” camp, which happens for two weeks in August that gives kids in the community to come and do a camp show. I would describe it as low stakes because you get to be outside with your friends, and you don’t have to commit to doing theater or be a “theater person.” You might discover that you are a theater person, but, if nothing else, then you can gain skills in public speaking or confidence. Then we have our intern program which is early career professionals who compliment and supplement our professional company. Their shows [Patchwork Players] are designed for young audiences, but they are really good shows – so much so that one of the shows this year, The Old Man and the Old Moon, is being put on the mainstage. A new program that we started, that I am really proud of, is called “North Country Shakes,” which opens today. It is a free “Shakespeare in the park” show designed for folks to experience Shakespeare in a non-intimidating way. It’s about how Shakespeare plays have inspired certain Broadway musicals and it has 10 local actors and 4 professional actors. It gives both accessibility to the actors and the community because it builds the bridge between the local actors and professionals, and accessibility to our patrons because it is free for everyone. 

CEDC: What kind of advice can you give young artists who want to pursue performing arts careers in a small area like Coös? What about general advice about professional arts?

Rien: Look for opportunities and don’t be afraid to ask. It doesn’t always fall into their lap, and you have to be proactive for yourself. Don’t be afraid of liking something different, especially things that don’t seem “cool.” For example, one of the campers started her own theater company during COVID-19 because there were no camps happening at the Weathervane in 2020. It’s called “Backyard Broadway” in Lancaster where she took stuff that she learned here and brought it to others. 

Ethan: Just do it. Roll up for your sleeves and do, and don’t wait for an invitation. When you have downtime and you are interested in something, come and absorb it. Information is key to that. I definitely see a reluctance to work really hard. For me, I like to work really hard, and you have to find a balance obviously, but you have to put in the hours, especially with theater. It isn't something that just happens without work. A two hour show can take weeks and months of planning, and you can’t get good at it unless you apply the things that you are learning.

CEDC: Lastly, where do you see the Weathervane Theatre in the future and do you have future plans of expansion or change? 

Rien: We are always looking to grow, because you can't always do art successfully unless you let it grow. We hope that people don’t get stale and lose their passion [for theater], so we have to keep growing to keep people interested and coming. I have seen it grow in the past 20 years that I have been here. We continue to bring classics like Mamma Mia that we know our audiences will enjoy, but we try to bring new productions to our community that people have never heard of. We want to open their minds, and we hope that they will go to a show that they have never seen or heard about before and trust in us that it will still be a great show because of our choice of content and our execution of the performance. 

Ethan: My hope is that the Weathervane continues to be an arts destination. I am a part of a non-profit arts sector in New Hampshire that meets every two weeks to talk about how everyone knows New Hampshire for the beautiful mountains, but we want the arts to be as front and center as nature. Because, for a smaller state, there is a lot of opportunity. We have a few people who wait for our calendar to come out to plan a trip to come up here and see particular shows, and I want us to be a more nationally recognized organization for that. We have expanded one week later into October this year because we are doing a world premier comedy that we commissioned called Primary that is based around New Hampshire politics, but it is really about community and identity. We are also doing a Christmas show in Massachusetts that uses the resources of the Weathervane to try and expand into a new market of people. Right now, I would love to do Christmas programming here, but we don’t have heat in the place that we live [Spalding Inn]. Ideally we would go from April to December, but we have to build in increments. Our fall season’s have been getting more successful, and I have no doubt that our shows Mamma Mia and Guys and Dolls this fall will be our best.

CEDC: This has been insightful to hear about how a business like yours is putting in effort to encourage the next generation of actors and bring more accessible art to the area. I hope that other businesses can be inspired by what the Weathervane Theatre is creating. Thank you for this engaging interview and for sharing with us how the Weathervane Theatre is accomplishing its goals!

If you are in the area and are looking for some entertainment, the Weathervane Theatre offers performances almost every night of alternating repertory, so there is something different for everyone each evening! To learn more about getting tickets, shows, history, camps, jobs, and staff, you can visit https://weathervanenh.org/ or call the Box Office at (603) 837-9322. 

If you would like to have your business featured in our Small Business Spotlight, email us at execdirector@coosedc.org