Most ticket holders for concerts, plays, musicals, dance events, festivals and other live performances happily immerse themselves in what unfolds before them, often with little awareness of the behind-the-scenes individuals who support the artistry on stage. Since 1926, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 611 has provided essential, largely invisible support to countless performances, festivals, films and special events throughout our Central Coast communities, from the Monterey Peninsula to Santa Cruz.
Attending the centennial celebration of Local 611 last Saturday in Santa Cruz, I was reminded how often we overlook the artists who labor behind the scenes. Before a note is played or a line spoken, this dedicated community has already gone to work creating, troubleshooting and very often keeping long hours. They are the quiet architects of our cultural life, bringing skill, patience and deep institutional memory to every production, forming the invisible scaffolding that allows art to rise in performances we remember long after the curtain falls.
They are projectionists, stagehands, lighting and set designers, carpenters, stage construction experts, recording engineers and ingenious fixers when the unexpected happens. They take pride in their work and are consummate professionals.
This alliance of men and women who make the magic possible has been serving the region for 100 years as an affiliate of the larger international union founded in 1893 in the United States and Canada. Local organizations that rely on Theatrical Stage Employees include the Carmel Bach Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, Monterey and Santa Cruz Symphonies, Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, I Cantori di Carmel, Smuin Ballet and the California Roots Festival, to name just a few.
The Theatrical Stage Employees group first came to my attention 25 years ago, when Carmel Bach Festival technical director Ross Brown encouraged the organization to engage the union’s technical support. Delightfully, Brown traveled from his home in Seattle to join last weekend’s festivities and celebrate the milestone with former colleagues. It was a pleasure to see him again—and to be reminded that he once served as president of Local 611.
Local 611’s legendary Bobby Morgan, an exemplar of its highest work ethic, received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the event. He was described by fellow member Bob Williamson as “a mild-mannered problem solver, polite to a fault, as genuine as they come, who could do the work of three individuals and represents the best of us.”
IATSE president Douglas Mueller, a highly regarded member of the Peninsula’s performing arts community, inducted two new members into the Local 611 family. Recording secretary Steve Retsky read a proclamation from Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley honoring the Local’s rich history and present achievements, hailing a future of continued excellence in entertainment and service to the community.
If you look closely, toward the wings, the light and sound booths, the shadows around performances spaces, you may catch sight of those whose quiet mastery makes the magic possible.
Lysander Piano Trio
Members of the Lysander Piano Trio bring their polished and spirited interpretations to Chamber Music Monterey Bay’s 59th Season at Sunset Center on Saturday. Lysander has spent over a decade performing around the United States, with more than 100 highly acclaimed appearances at notable venues. Appearing for the first time in CMMB’s concert series, they are lauded for their passionate playing, articulate and imaginative ideas and a wide palette of colors.
Their program will include piano trios by Udi Perlman, a Lysander commission, along with those by Mieczysław Weinberg and Antonín Dvořák. The program begins at 7:30 p.m. Enjoy a 30-minute talk before the concert by Bay Area musicologist Ian Scarf at 6:30 p.m.. For tickets and more information see www.chambermusicmontereybay.org or call (831) 625-2212.
Madrigalia Renaissance Now!
Artistic director and composer Jefferson M. DeMarco and Madrigalia invite you to a program of music old and new on Saturday and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at All Saints Church in Carmel. The ensemble will present music based on Renaissance forms, both historical and modern.
DeMarco says, “Musicians in the Renaissance had a variety of repeating bass lines over which they would improvise or compose new works. This was the inspiration for my Mass on Renaissance Basses, which uses a different one of these for each movement. Our virtuosic instrumentalists will be playing period works that use these bass lines. We will also perform my choral arrangements of Christmas music both ancient and modern.”
Monterey County Pops!
Monterey County Pops! honors the enduring legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday Jan. 19 in Marina. The event takes place at Locke-Paddon Park at 190 Seaside Circle outside the Marina Library. The festivities begin 11:30 a.m. with a welcome and introductions. The Leon Joyce Trio, presented by the Just Jazz Foundation, and the Monterey Bay Live Allstars will perform. Monterey County Pops! Orchestra, led by music director Dr. Carl Christensen, presents a program highlighting the rich contributions of African American composers. This free live concert begins at 2:15 p.m. with sounds of jazz, blues, and more. For more information call (831) 238-1988.
Carmel Music Society
On Jan. 25 at 3 p.m. at Carmel’s Sunset Center, soprano and Carmel native Marielle Murphy and pianist Alden Gatt present a program of works by Mozart, Fanny Mendelssohn, Pauline Viardot, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Cécile Chaminade, Richard Strauss and Abraham Ellstein. Murphy debuted at New York’s Metropolitan Opera in the 2023/24 season and is establishing a career on opera and concert stages in the United States and Europe in traditional as well as innovative productions. She made her European debut at the Salzburg Festival in Massenet’s Thaïs with Plàcido Domingo and the Munich Radio Orchestra. For several years she has been based in Münster, Germany, where she is a leading soloist in the opera ensemble of the Theater Münster. Gatt is assistant conductor of the Frankfurt Opera and performer at major venues around the world. For tickets and more information call (831) 625.9938 or see www.carmelmusic.org.
