June 03, 2005

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Palo Alto Online

Former Palo Altan wins OBIE award

by Terry Tang

Like any actor, Gabriel Quinn Bauriedel can remember when the acting bug took a huge bite.

Shortly after joining the Palo Alto Children's Theatre, an 8-year-old Bauriedel was cast in a major role in Dickens' "A Christmas Carol."

"I played young Scrooge. For me, that was the moment that gave me the spark of 'Wow, performance is so great,'" said Bauriedel, on the phone from his home in Philadelphia. "I had a great costume. I was in video productions. I just got hooked. I did shows at my elementary school and summer programs."

Far from the boy who used to put on shows with his sister in the family living room, Bauriedel is a full-fledged working theater actor -- which is no easy feat. Few people can make a career on or behind the stage. Even fewer make it Off-Broadway and walk away with a Village Voice OBIE award.

Since 1997, the actor-playwright has been working in Philadelphia as one of three artistic directors of the Pig Iron Theatre Company. He and six college chums established the ensemble a decade ago to create "outside-the-box" shows integrating various art forms such as drama, music, puppetry and dance. So far, they have produced 17 original shows.

"We are really interested in the theater of the future and making original performances -- works that test ourselves and test our audience," he said. "There's a freshness to what we work on ... I think artists I admire are always working on their edge. They're doing things either too hard for them or they don't know the answer to."

Pig iron refers to the molten crude iron typically used backstage to counterbalance heavy scenery. The troupe felt the idea of light and heavy material working together upheld their perception of what can happen dramatically on stage. But in the case of Pig Iron Theater, a stage isn't always an auditorium. They have put on original works off-the-beaten path -- from a warehouse to a castle -- in countries as far away as England and Lithuania.

Last November, Bauriedel (who goes by his middle name professionally) and company brought their original work, "Hell Meets Henry Halfway," to a theater in New York's Soho neighborhood. Adapted from a gothic mystery by Polish novelist Witold Gombrowicz, the story centers on a band of narcissistic characters stuck in a bleak castle.

Describing the novel as "'Scooby-Doo' from a Polish perspective," Bauriedel and his Pig Iron co-stars focused less on the supernatural elements and brought out the humor and verbal sparring from the characters' love-hate relationships.

The group's artistic revisions agreed well with New York critics and theater patrons. Besides warm reviews and sold-out shows for almost their entire three-week run, judges for the OBIEs lauded Pig Iron with a "Special Citation."

Started by The Village Voice in 1956, the OBIE Awards annually honor the best performances in the Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway community. Unlike the Tony Awards, there are no nominees. Instead, the committee simply gives out as many prizes as they see fit.

For Pig Iron's members, the prize was like gaining an exclusive club membership. All the recipients were feted May 16 at a ceremony co-hosted by actress Stockard Channing. Movie actors and full-time theater thespians were in attendance -- affirming the clout associated with an OBIE. They were especially flattered when playwright John Guare, a lifetime achievement recipient, cited their company as one of several that would ensure the future of theater remained in good hands.

"We really value that our work is being considered and is part of this ongoing dialogue about performance," Bauriedel said. "I think the OBIE is recognition that we're part of that conversation. And it's great to win an award that our heroes have won."

Even without accolades, Bauriedel's family would stand behind his career choices. After graduating from Gunn High School in 1990, Bauriedel enrolled as a pre-med student at Swarthmore College. Both his father, Bill -- a senior information-systems specialist at Stanford -- and mother, Marilyn -- a lawyer -- supported his decision to pursue an industry not known for security and salary growth.

"It was clear to us from a very early age that this was an important part of his life," Bill said. "We knew he'd find a way to make it work for him. It was really important for him to find his passion."

His quest to learn dramatic and physical techniques in theater led Bauriedel on a journey of global size. After college, he studied body movements behind a mask (as a clown and a pantomime) at the International Theatre School Jacques Lecoq in Paris. He also taught university-level courses on Western theater for a year in Bali.

Right now, he and the rest of the Pig Iron crew are busy strategizing their 10th anniversary season. Besides a retrospective of their past plays, they will mount a unique installation in Philadelphia this summer. In "Pay Up," the audience will get to roam in a carnival atmosphere, dropping anywhere from 50 cents to a dollar to watch their choice of brief skits. In another layer of irony, each "scene-let" will be about buying or selling.

A goal close to Bauriedel's heart is to bring Pig Iron shows back to Stanford or San Francisco sometime next year. Although he's tied to the East Coast, Bauriedel manages a few visits to Palo Alto each year. Besides visiting family, he likes catching up with Children's Theatre pals, such as director Patricia Briggs.

"Every couple years, I go back and say hi. And now my niece is really hoping to start theater. It's great to see their longevity and how significant that is in Palo Alto. Having lived in other places, I haven't seen anything like it as far as I know -- an attitude of inclusion and the power of theater to get at all these skills people are trying to teach."

For more information visit www.pigiron.org.

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