As Mount Baker Theatre’s 120-seat Walton Theatre was undergoing a subtle transformation into the Berlin-based Kit Kat Klub this week, “Cabaret” director Olivia Theilemann was also preparing for a change of her own.
Soon after completion of the run of the 1930s-era musical taking place Aug. 18–27, Theilemann, 30, will be stepping down as artistic director of Bellingham Arts Academy for Youth (BAAY).
The production by BAAY’s State Street Theatre Company — a summer program featuring stimulating and thought-provoking work performed by students ages 15–18 — will be her swan song.
After two years at the helm and seven years of involvement with the longtime nonprofit focused on exposing as many area youth as possible to the arts, Theilemann is leaving to concentrate on her job as drama and leadership teacher at Blaine High School.
Emma-Jean Wydur, as Sally Bowles, dances during BAAY’s dress rehearsal of “Cabaret.” (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News) “BAAY is growing to a point where they need somebody full time and me being in my classroom in Blaine with my email inbox open, it’s not cutting it,” Theilemann said while on a lunch break during the tech rehearsal for “Cabaret.”
While Theilemann is sad to be bidding farewell to BAAY and her colleagues there, she believes her departure comes at a good time.
After struggling to keep the nonprofit financially afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic, she said the space at 1059 N. State St. is now busier than ever. To wit, rehearsals and performances for some of the older students have moved to the New Prospect Theatre on Prospect Street due to space constraints.
BAAY will offer full-time employment to her successor, and Theilemann said staff and instructors at the teaching and performance hub are waiting in the wings, ready to take on whatever challenges await. Additionally, the current board of directors is a solid one.
“We’ve built an incredible team,” Theilemann said. “We have an amazing community and amazing students … Theater kids are one of a kind. Every single one of them is one of a kind.”
Emma-Jean Wydur as Sally Bowles watches from the wings. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News) As the “Cabaret” cast began to trickle back into the theater after their break, students mirrored their admiration for the director.
Emma Wydur, 18, who’s playing British dancer Sally Bowles in what will be her final BAAY performance, said Theilemann pushes and challenges her, but not in a way that makes her feel uncomfortable.
“I never feel unsafe,” Wydur said. “She makes sure everybody’s part of the team.”
Cassie Waterhouse, a 15-year-old who’s been involved with BAAY for more than three years and is taking on the challenging role of the Emcee in “Cabaret,” said Theilemann is one of the best directors she’s ever worked with.
“She knows how to hype everyone up without getting over the top about it so they don’t feel like there’s any room for improvement,” Waterhouse said. “I feel very comfortable about expressing stuff I want to change.”
Cassie Waterhouse, center, plays the Emcee. The production by BAAY’s State Street Theatre Company opens Friday, Aug. 18 at the venue’s smaller Walton Theatre and shows on various dates through Aug. 27.
(Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)
This was evident after Waterhouse and a cluster of other cast members gathered around Theilemann to discuss the part in the original play where kick-line dancing turns into a goose-stepping Hitler march.
After prior discussions with the cast touching on World War II history and the Holocaust, it had been decided cast members would do a toned-down version of the goose-step, with only locked knees to clue the audience into the fact they were executing a Nazi salute.
But now, Waterhouse and fellow students were questioning if this was enough. They suggested having Waterhouse do the full salute.
“I understand if not everybody’s comfortable with it, but I think since I’m in the front if I alone did it, it would get across the same message without everybody having to do it,” Waterhouse said to Theilemann.
Cypress Hill, as Fraulein Schneider, sings to Finn Bowman, as Cliff Bradshaw, during rehearsal. (Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News) The director agreed to the change, but with a caveat that the students should be prepared to have her switch it back after seeing how it came across.
While acknowledging a “Cabaret” performed by teenagers will be different than seeing the play with an adult cast, Theilemann said it was a “delicate balance” between protecting her students while not simplifying plot lines too much for the audience’s comfort.
She chose “Cabaret” because she knew it wasn’t something students would encounter in their public school drama classes.
For her, it was a “bucket-list” show to direct. For the students, it was also a learning experience. Theilemann is excited to share the results with the public as she prepares to exit her role at BAAY.
“The group of kids that come to us in the summertime are especially dedicated, especially kind and collaborative,” she said.
“Cabaret” shows Aug 18–20 and 25–27 at the Mount Baker Theatre’s Walton Theatre, 104 N. Commercial St. Tickets are $16–$20. A Dinner Theatre Fundraiser on Aug. 26 is $45. Info: baay.org or mountbakertheatre.com.
