Montclair’s newest theater company, Vanguard, set to open – NorthJersey.com

MONTCLAIR —The timing of the opening of Vanguard Theater Company has been both a blessing and a curse.

On March 1, 2020, founding director Janeece Freeman Clark inked a deal to lease the Old Mogul Theater, an old ballroom dancing club with a proscenium stage for the orchestra, on Bloomfield Avenue.

It was happy day for Clark, who lives in South Orange with her Broadway actor husband, Dwayne Clark, and their two children. Since founding the company in 2015, she’d been schlepping to New York City theaters to mount productions, along with other local actors and students, storing props and costumes at the Montclair Cooperative School.

It was good news for the Montclair arts community, too, which hasn’t had a theater company since Luna Stage decamped to West Orange in 2010. In 2005, 12 Miles West moved from the basement of the Claridge Theater to Bloomfield and is now in Rutherford.

But the high spirits were short-lived. Just 12 days after Clark plopped down a full year’s rent, COVID hit. All renovations and programs were put on indefinite hold.

“For months, we were just sitting in the empty space while bills accumulated,” said Clark. “It was terrifying. It was months of nothing. We were wondering if Vanguard could survive.”

Fortunately, state and private grants righted the ship. One was a $37,500 grant from the New Jersey Arts & Culture Recovery Fund. Another was an $18,500 grant from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Lin Manuel-Miranda’s family foundation, TeeRico, one of Vanguard’s biggest benefactors, provided a “very generous” donation, she said.

The timing of the funds, earmarked to make arts facilities COVID-safe and arriving just as renovations were underway, was fortuitous. The theater now has a state-of-the-art HVAC system, anti-bacterial fogging machine, self-flushing toilets, touchless faucets and soap dispensers, cleaning supplies, testing equipment and even a COVID compliance officer.

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Renovations are now complete, summer programs are scheduled, and a grand opening event planned for June 5 and 6.

“None of this was in our original plan or even on our minds on March 1, 2020,” Clark said. “The COVID pause allowed us to take a good look at the space and ask ourselves how to make it feel safe for audiences.”

Vanguard is at home in Montclair

It’s no accident that Vanguard, which Clark said she founded to address the “lack of true diversity in theater casting, training, producing, administration, creative teams and audiences,” has landed in the 4th Ward, Montclair’s historically most diverse neighborhood.

“Montclair is the perfect place to put down roots,” she said “It truly embraces arts and culture and the importance of diverse spaces.”

She said the theater could also provide much-needed affordable performance space for other nonprofits and community partners, such as the Montclair Orchestra and Jazz House Kids. With the closure of the Bellevue and Claridge movie theaters, she said the space could also be useful during the Montclair Film festival.

Mentoring program

Mentorship is at the core of Vanguard’s mission. Clark is a former voice teacher who worked for years directing youth in NJPAC’s musical theater program. Vanguard’s Buddy-to-Buddy program, for example, pairs high school and college performers with veteran Broadway artists, culminating in a cabaret where mentor and mentee perform side-by-side.

Clark’s husband, whom she met in the cast of “Urinetown” on Broadway and fell in love with as they toured together in “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” also serves as a mentor and occasionally stars in Vanguard performances to literally provide a role model for aspiring actors.

Another signature program is Dream VTC, which teaches theater skills to middle- and high school students, focusing on social issues.

Applications are now open for Vanguard’s summer camps. The first, for children ages 7-13, will put on “Willy Wonka,” practicing in the Vanguard space and in Montclair schoolyards. The second, for those 12 to 18, is a 21-day sleepaway camp in West Milford beginning in late July, which will mimic the summer stock experience.

Jessica Sporn, a Montclair resident and Vanguard’s managing director, said former Vanguard students are now attending top musical theater programs at the University of Michigan, Syracuse, New York University, UCLA and elsewhere.

“They get fabulous training, but what’s really great is that it focuses on breaking down walls and barriers between people,” Sporn said.

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Several Vanguard-trained actors have become Broadway actors and returned to mentor others, Clark said. Ayla Schwartz, for example, who starred as young Elsa in the original Broadway production of “Frozen,” was mentored at Vanguard during audition callbacks.

Vanguard’s offerings are not limited to youth. With funding from Montclair’s Institute for Lifelong Learning, the non-profit is now teaching a six-week class to seniors on theater dance.

Though Clark had to postpone the original April ribbon-cutting because of high COVID rates, she said plans are firm for the weekend of June 2. Capacity will be limited to 25% and Friday’s event will be duplicated on Saturday. For information, visit vanguardtheatercompany.org.

Clark is looking forward to producing live performances again and hopes the community will support Vanguard.

“We don’t want to go the way of 12 Miles West and Luna Stage,” she said. “We really hope Montclair will wrap us in their loving embrace.”

Julia Martin covers Montclair for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: jmartin@gannettnj.com

Twitter: @TheWriteJulia