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August 7, 2002
Willow Glen, California Since 1992 |
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SJ honors Dianna Shuster for her contribution to
local arts scene
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I-chun Che
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Willow Glen resident Dianna Shuster, former
artistic director of the American Musical Theatre of San Jose, received a
commendation from the San Jose City Council
on August 6 for her contributions to the
city's cultural life.
"San Jose's national reputation for
excellence in community theater is due in
large part to the tremendous work that Dianna
Shuster has done at the American Musical
Theatre of San Jose," said District 6
Councilman Ken Yeager.
He will be representing the city of San Jose
in honoring Shuster's significant
contributions to the local theater arts
scene.
Shuster, 53, worked as the artistic director
of the American Musical Theatre of San Jose
(AMTSJ), the Bay Area's largest subscription
theater, for 20 years. She left her position
in June, when the AMTSJ's board of directors
decided to change its business model and
eliminated her position.
Stewart Slater, president and executive
producer of the AMTSJ, who promoted Shuster
from stage manager to the company's artistic
director in 1982, praised Shuster's talents
and energy.
"She has all the attributes that are
necessary to be an outstanding director," he
said.
She helped the AMTSJ grow from a community
theater to a big-production musical theater,
he added, but Slater eliminated Shuster's
position because the AMTSJ decided to bring
more shows produced by individual theater
companies instead of creating every show by
itself.
"We've seen a great need for the company to
have long-term financial stability by
bringing in more road shows," Slater said.
"And the audience has requested to see more
recent Broadway shows."
As a result, Slater said, the AMTSJ will not
keep the position of artistic director. A
position of production director will be
created to take charge of the company's
administrative functions.
It's a change that frustrates Shuster, and
she said, "I feel sad to leave the AMTSJ, but
I definitely will not leave theater."
Her former co-workers are also saddened by
her departure and express appreciation for
Shuster's devotion to the theater.
Sharon Ridge, a freelance wig and makeup
designer who has worked with Shuster for 16
years, complimented Shuster for being "the
creative center of the AMTSJ."
"She always challenges us and pushes us to do
the best work we can," said Ridge, who worked
as Shuster's assistant for five years. "But
she is not the stereotypical nervous,
screaming director."
Ridge said she especially appreciated
Shuster's interest in wanting to nurture and
help local young talents.
"She gave us a lot of opportunities," Ridge
said. "She gave me a start when I received my
bachelor's degree in creative arts from San
Jose State University."
Cathleen Edwards, a freelance costume
designer, said working with Shuster was an
invigorating experience.
"Dianna is a very conceptual director,"
Edwards said. "She gets you to think out of
the box and always asks you bigger
questions."
Edwards said Shuster's charisma has created
an excellent team of sound, makeup, costume,
light and set designers.
"It was very exciting when people came
together as collaborators," Edwards said. "It
charged my battery as a designer because we
supported each other."
During her career with the AMTSJ, Shuster
created 106 productions, and her work was
nominated for more than 150 awards.
She won more than 60 professional
recognitions, including the San Francisco Bay
Area Critic's Circle, Ovation, Dean Goodman
Choice and Drama-Logue and Drammy awards.
She also served on the boards of various
professional theater associations and was the
board director of the National Alliance of
Musical Theaters. She was a vice president of
the Actors' Equity Association's Bay Area
Advisory Committee for two years and an
on-site evaluator for the National Endowment
for the Arts.
Shuster became interested in theater at age
17, when she watched the stage production of
The King and I starring Bill Chapman
in Los Angeles. She decided to make theater
her lifelong career when she saw Who's
Afraid of Virginia Woolf? the very next
day.
"I was knocked out," Shuster recalled. "At
that moment, I knew for sure I had to do that
for the rest of my life."
Shuster received a master's degree in acting
and directing from San Francisco State
University in 1973 and joined the AMTSJ in
1979.
Among the 34 plays she's directed for the
AMTSJ, Shuster said her most memorable piece
was Chess, which played between 1991
and 1992. The stage was designed as a giant
chessboard, and Russian and American actors
played the pieces.
"It was the time of the Cold War," Shuster
said. "We did the play right after the Berlin
Wall came down. We felt we were tied into
world history."
Shuster said Chess was also one of the
most memorable examples of team cooperation
in her career.
"For me, theater is the moment when the
spirits meet," Shuster said. "The moment of
creation is where humanity comes from. That's
why I enjoy doing plays and care about doing
plays."
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