FAIRHAVEN – The theater scene in Fairhaven is about to get more exciting with the arrival of Watermelon Alligator, an innovative and inclusive theater company that has traveled around the United States for over 15 years.
Founded by Garrett Olson and Jess Wilson, the company has set up a new residency at The Shepherd Center.
“Someone who was on the board at The Shepherd Center came and saw a performance we did in Little Compton and was really excited,” Wilson said.
The initial plan is for Watermelon Alligator to do what they do best, offer classes, outreach, performances and more all under The Shepherd Center’s roof.
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“They said, we’ve been looking for a theater department, and you come all in one package, and we would love to do that,” she added.
Already the company has two classes scheduled, a production of “110 Stories” in the works and a “A Christmas Carol” set for the winter.
“We’re looking at bringing some full productions as well,” she said.
Watermelon Alligator Theatre Company co-founders Garrett Olson and Jess Wilson.
Educating companies around the United States
The company’s journey began back in 2008 as a passion project.
“We’ve been in 27 states in the last three years, we speak at conferences, we work with other performing arts organizations to help them learn how to be more inclusive,” she said.
Their classes teach production companies how to rethink their processes and to be more accessible from the performing side.
“Many Performing Arts places are accessible as an audience member, but not so much for performers,” she said.
Watermelon Alligator mission is about putting inclusion and accessibility at the forefront.
“We really try and make the performing arts as accessible as possible, because so many people are interested in learning,” Olson said.
According to Olson, The Shepherd Center offers something Watermelon Alligator rarely gets: a true home base. “The wonderful thing about The Shepherd Center is where we can actually call it a home,” Olson said.
Watermelon Alligator moves into The Shepherd Center in Fairhaven.
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Olson said when traveling around the area, rehearsal space can become a challenge, as well as technical equipment, technical space. He said one of the reasons they named it The Shepherd Center was because they’re hoping to shepherd people into the arts, not just exposing them to performances.
“It’s about shepherding all of those people who have a passion to want to be in the arts, be it behind the scenes, be it a performer, an usher,” Olson said.
The story behind the name Watermelon Alligator
For a company with roots across southern New England as well as the Marion Art Center and the Zeiterion, establishing a residency in Fairhaven is part of a broader strategy.
The quirky name, Watermelon Alligator, also has a story all its own.
“It definitely is the number one question that we get asked,” Wilson said. “We saw a lot of really talented people getting left behind because they didn’t fit the traditional Hollywood mold.”
She said they took the phrase “watermelon alligator,” which is a silent mouthing exercise for extras in the background of a scene and turned it into their mission.
“We took this phrase that was never meant to be said out loud, made it the name of the company, so that we’re always reminded why we’re doing what we’re doing,” she said.
The cast of ‘A Christmas Carol’ performs their radio play at The Shepherd Center.
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Although Watermelon Alligator is a closed repertory company, with 22 to 26 active members, there are plans to open up more opportunities.
“Our ultimate goal is to find all of those people who are passionate, get them in, do some training, get them familiar with the space and ultimately have auditions for the community to come in and act with the Gators,’ Olson said.
“That’ll allow all those people coming in to take classes, to be able to really decide what it is they want to do in the theater.”
Empowering their audience to be involved
However, for both Olson and Wilson, it’s more than just putting on a show; it’s how they choose to tell the story, and how it shouldn’t be limited by anybody else’s perceptions of what a storyteller should be.
“We hope people leave our shows learning something, but also having a good time and feeling fully included,” said Wilson.
WatermelonAlligator Theatre Company co-founders Garrett Olson and Jess Wilson.
“For most of our theater productions, we hope that they’re still thinking about a show the next day, a week later and processing it and talking about it with other people.”
Olson said that he wants anybody interested in the arts to want to get involved such as with classes or even being on stage.
“We’ve had the privilege of working with people that have said to us they’ve never had a shot, or never felt confident enough to want to audition, to want to be involved,” he added.
“I want people to leave our shows with a sense of personal empowerment.”
Standard-Times staff writer Seth Chitwood can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Instagram: @Official_Seth_Chitwood. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Standard-Times today
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Watermelon Alligator: Shepherd Center’s newest acting company
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