As a child, he learned to love all of the places a good book could take him. As a teen, he was drawn to create the magic himself. Now the Valley is invited to share a captivating evening as noted author, screenwriter and playwright Gerald DiPego brings dinner theater back to Solvang’s Terrace Theater. “In Reality,” is the debut of two one-act plays, set to open Nov. 4-5 at 6 p.m., and again on Nov. 11-12.
“The transition from doing mostly film to mostly stage is something the Valley has given me. It’s such a great thing,” DiPego says. DiPego, a Sana Ynez resident, has written 30 films for television, seven feature films and five novels. His feature film credits include Phenomenon, starring John Travolta, Message in a Bottle (Kevin Costner), Instinct (Anthony Hopkins) and the Forgotten (Julianne Moore).
DiPego has two scripts that have been optioned and have been “floating out there for about two years now,” he says. A lot has to happen before a project comes together, and there is never a point in getting your hopes up. “It’s a fickle business,” he says. DiPego hopes to have news on one of the scripts soon. But, for the moment, his total focus is on the Terrace Theater.
Dinner is hosted by Manny’s Restaurant, catered by Sherry Musgrove and is covered by the $35 cost of a ticket. There will be a no-host bar. A portion of the proceeds benefit Arts Outreach, with whom DiPego has a mutually supportive relationship.
He has taught writing classes for Arts Outreach and Sandie Mullin has been supportive and helpful in getting these new plays up and going, from finding volunteers to offering sage advice, says DiPego. With its large picture windows looking out on the town and walls covered with posters of DiPego films –some in their racier foreign versions – the lobby makes the perfect setting for the pre-entertainment meal.
The 100-seat facility was originally built for use as a dinner theater, and is located directly above Manny’s Restaurant on the corner of Alisal and Mission. The building has no elevator. The theater has largely gone unused for the last 15 years, but all of that is set to change.
Learning from the past, DiPego plans to separate the dinner aspect of the evening from the performance a bit, so neither distracts from the other – the main factor for the failure of earlier attempts, it is thought. But DiPego plans to watch and listen, and be open to change as what he hopes to be a series of theatrical events unfold.
DiPego is thrilled to be breathing new life into the theater. He suspects many Valley residents are unaware of the existence of the Terrace. He says that being able to support a local organization aimed at enhancing the arts, while also offering the Valley top notch entertainment – coupled with a meal – is nothing to sneeze at, either. He is excited about being able to do it at a cost that is affordable, even in a tough economy.
“If I had stayed in Santa Monica, where would I have put these on?” he asks of his many new one-act plays. Everyone in Los Angeles wants to put on their plays. This is because, he says, theater offers an immediacy that is lost in film – for the audience and playwright alike.
For authors of film, there is a long lag time from the time a script is written, to when pre-production, filming, editing and distribution is complete. Writers aren’t party to much of that, and when and if the film does come out, a good deal of the audience is in some dark room far afield. It’s hard to connect, to get a good feel for what works and what doesn’t, he says.
Theater is much more intimate, especially when you have the opportunity to perform a role in a play you wrote. He describes the two current one acts as an exercise in shifting realities. “Just when you feel you are comfortable and steady, I like to pull the rug out.” The two one-act plays are designed to appeal to a wide audience, one with a comedic tilt, one more suspense-based.
DiPego has developed a troupe of talented locals who have now performed several of his pieces. The cast for this show includes: Carey McKinnon, Robin Burrows, Ian Cummings, Jamie Baker, Lynda Kelly, K.C. Murphy Thompson and Gerald DiPego. Jeff McKinnon is directing.
“I used to be kind of shy and timid. I never thought I’d be on stage,” DiPego says. That’s the best part of aging, the 70-year-old says – feeling free, opening up and creating his magic in a whole new way. “The Valley has helped me. You make a lot of friends here,” he says. He was invited by Ron Colone to participate in his Tales of the Tavern series, “which has really been a part of my coming out,” says DiPego. His growing group of actors has been a big support as well. Through their help and enthusiasm, the short stories he has been writing are coming to life.
Someday, perhaps, he’ll go back and dust off the scripts still on his shelf and give them a good polish and update. And maybe further down the line, there in another novel in his future. “Of all my genres, novels are the most peaceful to write,” he says.
But for the moment, the plays he can write, produce, act in and share with his Valley neighbors is where his heart is. “I like my life to be as unscheduled as possible,” he says. This so he can fill up every moment of it creating and sharing his creations.
Tickets may be obtained by calling Arts Outreach at 688-9533 or purchased at Manny’s Restaurant, 1693 Mission Drive in Solvang.