East Haddam Stage Company's Kandie Carle

On this beautiful late June day I interviewed Kandie Carle owner/director of the East Haddam Stage Company (EHSCo). 

We are sitting in the gardens of the East Haddam Historical Society, which is a fitting place for this woman who hires only Connecticut talent and features East Haddam residents in her staff. 

I have worked with her as an actor and stage assistant, her present Stage Manager, Christie Benson, is a resident and in the past she has had another townie, Jamie McKenzie as her stage manager. 

This is a down-home girl who sees Connecticut talent as an asset. She opened EHSCo as a step up from Communtiy Theater and go between from NYC. But that is not where she started.Originally from Kansas, she had big dreams of being a ballerina. She trained for many years starting at age 12. She worked at this seven days a week, but was told that musical theater was her future.

As soon as she graduated fom high school her mother wanted to move her to NYC to get into the theater scene and become a star!   But she felt that would be a mistake. She wasn't diversified enough. She refused this and is so glad she did. Many people choose that route and then struggle. She chose college instead. So in college at Kansas State and Witcheta State she chose musical theater and immersed herself in tap, jazz modern, voice and theater. 

If she could develop herself into a triple threat- which is an actor that can sing and dance she would have a better chance of success. Post college, for 15 years, she traveled around a lot, doing different theatrical gigs. During this time she sent a resume to Ringling Brothers. They immediately flew her down to Florida where she spent a year rent free dancing and doing the first ever elephant stunts. 

This is where she met her husband, who was a clown. They completed the year at Ringling Bros. then ran away from the circus together. They traveled around working for other theater companies and finally landed in Connecticut.  

Kandie has a life-long love of history and in 2002 created her own vintage dance and Victorian Lady gigs that she moved around with.  She did some stuff with Ivoryton Playhouse and did two years with the National Theater for the Deaf. Her Victorian Lady led her to a fictitional character creation named Elizabeth Keckley. 

She found this character in an American Girl doll book called Welcome to Addy's World.  In 2006 she launched Elizabeth Keckley, an African American who was Mary Todd Linclon's confidant and stylist during the Civil War.   

Kandie researched how an African American in this type of household may have lived.  Kandie's  multidimensional abilities include sewing so she created her own period costumes.   

Elizabeth Keckley led Kandie directly to the foundation of the East Haddam Stage Company.  She says there are many theater companies in Connecticut, but they all go to NYC to cast their shows. 

They don't see Connecticut talent as serious. A Connecticut artist needs to go to NYC to audition for a Connecticut show for someplace like the Goodspeed. There are also many community theaters, and the definition of a community theater is using the talent in the commnunity-which may be mismatched or at differing levels of abilites. This is a great place for first timers and usually doesn't involve pay. 

So, given these two widely differing arenas of opportunity she felt there needed to be something in the middle.  A place where experienced Connecticut talent could perform in a setting where eveyone is into the craft and developing characters. 

The EHSCo doesn't perform musical theater since there is so much of that around.  Kandie calls the EHSCo  The Little Theater Company That Could.  Her philosophy is minimal set, maximum connection.  There are no bells or whistles.  She hires only Connecticut talent, writers, actors and poets.  She works by the KISS system-Keep It Simple Stupid.  But simple is hardly the word for her mind and how it runs. 

She has so much in the works at the same time.  As we speak she is in the midst of the 3rd annual performance at Gillette Castle State Park- All the Comforts of Home. This is an abridged piece of William Gillette's play by the same name.  She has another show happening in August at the Historical Society about how the character we know of as Sherlock Holmes was quintessentially developed by William Gillette. 

She is still performing her Elizabeth Keckley and Victorian Lady pieces which she offers to Historical Societies and Living History Museums.  She hopes that the Friends of Gillette Castle will let her offer a Christmas performance this year.  She is developing a show for March of 2012 for Women's History Month, about 5-7 Connecticut women from about 1600 to the 2nd World War 1940's.  

Kandie plans another Plays and Poetry for the fall of 2012.   Kandie says she is in awe right now of the acting superintendent at Gillette Castle-Phil Yuris.  In this third year she is being overwhelmingly received and assisted by the Park and the Friends of Gillette Castle.  Phil has built her a stage and seating and is giving her open use of the building she is using.  Kandie is hoping that this will lead to future performances at the Castle.  She has a holiday performance brewing. She is getting ample volunteer help from the Friends of Gillette Castle.  Kandie is also using interns for this performance so she is contributing to education as well as the arts.  She sees all of this as a way to bring more live performance to the State Park.  This is a park developed around an actor she says, it should involve live performances.Kandie was reluctant but proud to share the fact that she has been in theater now for 32 years. 

She says that 50 percent of a show's success is in the casting.  Having the vision to recognise the talent and then cast that talent to the appropriate place in the show comes with experience.  She has this keen sense after all these years.  I asked her about this because she cast me in Plays and Poetry and it was the first time I had ever done any theater.  But her keen sense told her there was something she could use and saw potential she could harvest.  

To find out more information about upcoming performances you can contact Kandie at

EAST HADDAM STAGE COMPANY (EHSCO)
PO Box 176 East Haddam, CT 06423
860.873.3521
Email

info@ehsco.org