Dan Clark and Dyanne Vojvoda BOTTGs Biggest Fans

Although Dan Clark has lived in Benicia since 1953, Dyanne Vojvda hadn't come 'over the bridge' until 1981. As Vojvda likes to say "Everything is better in Benicia," and that includes their long running love affair with (BOTTG) as well. In fact, BOTTG is where they first met. Dan recalls that "Dyanne was new to town and a mutual friend suggested she get involved in the group to meet people.

Vojvda chimes in, "I literally met Dan 'on the stage and we have been together ever since.   Dan jokes that the character he was playing in "Mousetrap" was a lecherous Italian, and that is who I fell for."

Clark laughs, shrugs, and offers a "Well" in agreement.  They were married in October of 1981. 

"I first got involved with the theatre group in 1972, working back stage," said Clark. "I was cast in my first show here, "See How They Run," the following year. I have been involved continuously since that time. I am the current President of the group."

"I estimate I’ve been on the Board for 20-25 years," Clark continued.   "I have directed here once and appeared in over 25 plays over the last 38 years. The longest period when I was not heavily involved was the 4 years when I was working days and attending law school  at nights. I  still helped bartend, house manage, and with set construction though. Dyanne has also been President of the Board about 4 times, and she has held many other positions as well."

"I enjoy the offstage participation (not onstage). I love costumes, set dressing, publicity," Vojvda offered. "Also, the various committees interest me. I especially enjoy the play selection committee and the ongoing special event collaborations with other local groups (Arts Benicia, , , , etc.). It involves lots of organizing and meetings, but I love it"!

Clark and Vojvda are now retired, but before that Clark was a lawyer, a Public Defender in Contra Costa County, for 21 years. Prior to that he was an investigator, first in the Public Defender’s office and then a private investigator for 18 years. 

"Partnering up with the theatre group helped me balance my day after work as a deputy probation officer for Contra Costa County, said Vojvda. "I retired after 32 years with the county. In the theatre group, we demand creative energy and  we work as a strong team to produce quality productions season after season. I am so proud of what we are able to accomplish for our patrons on our little rented stage."

Clark and Vojvoda  love their retirement as well. Clark acknowledged "As many other people have said, I don’t know where I found the time to work before! Having said that, though, it’s really a time management issue. When I was working, I really did schedule my time more tightly because I had to. I went to work as a lawyer for the Public Defender in April, 1989. I started my job on Monday, had my first trial  on Tuesday, and opened a show ("Matchmaker") on Friday, and  somehow I lived through that week!"

Clark and Vojvda share the dream of someday having their own theater. The BDES, the owners of the hall at 140 West J Street is where BOTTG has performed for the last 47 years.  The theatre  has been in existence since 1964. BOTTG was originally an outgrowth of a civic group called the Benicia Old Town Group, who prided themselves in cleaning up the city, painting storefronts, etc. The first plays were used as money makers for that group, then a faction who wanted to continue doing theater broke away.

"The BDES  have been magnificent landlords and BOTTG would not exist but for their willingness to have us as tenants," said Clark.  "In fact, for many years, they didn’t even charge us rent! The problem, however, is that we have to move in and out twice a year, and we can only mount two shows a year because of BDES' needs. In our own theater, we could mount a season of 4-5 shows, giving us greater flexibility and range. And of course, there are the stairs." 

Clark went on, "I'd also hope to return to the days when we had several dozen committed members. For many years we could count on 20+ people to show up for meetings and work parties, but that number has dwindled. 'Many hands make light work' is nowhere more true than in the theater group. We’re constantly looking for people to become involved. No special skills are required, just a willingness to participate; and we are happy to train. We currently have 8 people on our Board of Directors. Some are actors. many others are not. Our regular monthly meeting, open to the public, is on the second Tuesday of the month.  Check out our website. We try to keep it current and it will let folks know about volunteering, etc. Now is a good time to get involved as we are beginning the process of mounting the Spring show, "The Nerd." It will open on April 22 for four weekends, and we always need volunteers to help build, paint, assist with costumes, props, bartend, etc."

" We do two productions a year," Vojvda said. "There is no set formula for the type of shows we do, but we take seriously our mission statement to bring a wide variety of live theater to our audiences. For many people, our shows are the only live theater they see, so we like to mix it up. Theater doesn’t consist of only comedies or musicals but provides a whole world of experience. We were thrilled to present the acclaimed drama "Fences" as our last show, and we had very positive audience and critical response. Our next show, "The Nerd," is about as far from Fences as a show can get, and  I think expresses the range we try to give our audiences," Vojvoda concluded.

 "We have a play selection committee consisting of five theatre members who meet regularly to read and discuss plays. In seriously deciding on a play we must consider the physical limitations of our small stage (no "wings" or "fly space"), the financial burden of musicals (the musical score, royalties, musicians, a choreographer, a musical director to pay, etc), what may be challenging but meaningful for the group to produce along with what our patrons might want to see. We feel we have a responsibility to not only educate our audiences but also keep the shows interesting yet entertaining. We offer musicals every other year if there is one we love. Next spring (April 2012) we will be producing one fantastic musical (the general membership will be voting on the show at the next monthly meeting). For Fall 2011 (Oct), we voted to produce John Olive's "Voice of the Prairie"-a drama about the age of radio and story-telling" Vojvoda explained.

 Clark added, "The joys of theatre are many. There is always the anticipation of a new show, the hopes that it will be a hit, and the challenges of once again creating some magic on the stage. I have met many wonderful, generous people through theater: people who give  unselfishly of their  time and artistry for no other reason than the shared joy of creating a reality for a roomful of fellow citizens to enjoy. Some of my best and most  admired friends I have met through a mutual love of live theater. There is little that compares with showing up on opening night, after months of shared effort and chaos, to find the set and  hall magically transformed, the cast ready, and the audience enthralled by the production. If folks can’t be rewarded by their contribution to this whole process, then theater isn’t for them."

 "It’s also a lot of damn hard work," said Clark.  "Just as soon as we have finished one production, we are starting on the next. It’s a constant process of tearing down one show, only to begin the next.  There’s always concern about our budgets, whether we will make enough money on the current production to mount the next show, and what we can do to attract an audience base."

 Both Clark and Vojvda agreed, "It seems like we’re always planning our vacations around the needs of the group." Dan offered, "I don’t think I have missed an opening or closing night in 25-30 years.  And, of course, Dyanne and I see a lot of theater. We go to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival every season, and have for over 25 years. We see a lot of shows at Aurora Theater Company in Berkeley and other theaters.around the Bay Area. We love to rip off ideas from other companies"!

Vojvda loves the comradery of every person involved in working on a production, and each person is valued. "Yes, some volunteers can only help a little and some of us spend 24/7. But, whatever someone can give is appreciated.   It's painful to lose even one valuable helper, but, being in a small town, the efforts of a few people can impact many and hopefully in a positive way.  Benicia is small enough that one can get involved in an organization like the BOTTG and make a difference."