Latest / WashCo Insider / Patrick Cannon
Transcript
- speaker-0: If you didn't know, we have a thriving theater scene right here in Washington County. You better lock in, turn the volume up, because this is the episode for you. Today we're talking with Patrick Cannon, the artistic director at Little Lake Theater, and you're not gonna miss this one when we come back. Well, Patrick, thank you so much for being here today. I'm so excited to learn all about Little Lake. Yeah. Well, for our listeners who have no idea what Little Lake is, can you give us some quick context about the theater, some history? And I hear there's a Disney connection. speaker-1: Thanks for having me. There there is. We were founded in a barn, born in a barn in 1949. Will Disney, ⁓ a young theater maker in Pittsburgh, ⁓ popped in the car with his mother, Edith, and they drove around Washington County looking for any location that they might be able to talk someone into letting them use to put on a play. They stumbled upon Farmer McDowell's Farm ⁓ in Canonsburg, North Strabane, ⁓ right by the lake, and they pulled on his property and asked if he'd be willing to let them do a show in the barn. And sure enough, he said yes. And the rest was kind of history. Little Lake started in the barn. A couple years after that, think they, to fire code, were booted out of the barn. And my understanding is they then laid a cement pad, surrounded it with folding chairs, and kept doing shows outside, right there on McDowell Road there. As the space went on, they built a block, a fence around the whole cement square. And as time went on, then they built a roof and walls. I continued to add onto the building. I joke that our theater's like playing The Sims. It's like they built a room and then they just kept building more rooms as time went on. So 79 years later, we've got this really fun, fascinating space. And yeah. speaker-0: 79 years is a long time. It is. speaker-1: It's a long time. it's a testament to Washington County and the support we get from our communities and their love of the arts and love of theater. Yeah, that's what we're trying to do is just assure 78 more. speaker-0: That's awesome. Well, it is a beautiful property. I drive past all the time and see pictures and I'm just like always impressed by how stunning it is right on the lake too. speaker-1: Yeah, it's really lovely. It's nice to take a break from rehearsal when you're outside and the birds are chirping and the wind's blowing and there's deer standing in the woods nearby. Yeah, and it's really kind of very different than a lot of theater companies which tend to be in more urban areas and when you step outside you're next to the dumpsters in the alley. So this is, there's a kind of a very unique feel and speaker-0: You're right in the nature. speaker-1: where you can leave the theater and see the stars and smell nature and you don't have to navigate all of the hustle and bustle. speaker-0: Yeah, well it's not it's also not just any theater for a couple other reasons. Can you tell me what theater in the round is and about kind of the intimate setting that Little Lake has that I know it's so famous for? speaker-1: Yeah, certainly. ⁓ In the Round is something ⁓ that happens all over the country, but in Pittsburgh in particular, there's really not many spaces that are in the Round. There's definitely some spaces that you can adapt, but ours is pretty firmly an immersive space with four entrances that really put you right in the heart of the action. you're never, even if the actor's on the farthest end of the stage, you're never more than 40 feet or so from an actor. speaker-0: That's incredible. And is it like a typical stage or is it kind of like you're all around the stage? speaker-1: ⁓ It's both or I'd say it's not a very typical stage and you're all the way around the stage Yeah, but most in the round spaces have entrances on the corners ⁓ Ours ⁓ you enter it square to the space which creates a really unique ⁓ environment. So then the seating banks are really in those corners and yeah speaker-0: That's so unique. It's such a, I can't imagine what that experience is like to be up close to the actors and be able to appreciate the costume design and everything. That must be so awesome for people. speaker-1: Yeah, it's a little bit, you know, there's a disconnect sometimes between a proscenium production where you're almost watching, you know, that rectangle at a distance versus at the lake. It really feels immersive. It feels like you're a part of the action and within the show. And, you know, you really could reach out and touch an actor. Don't please don't. But you could if you, you know, you're that close. speaker-0: Yeah, and your like actors and performers, like do they come to perform there like to experience that or just to get that different like signature little like experience? speaker-1: That's a great question. I think it's different across the board. think that what makes Little Lake unique is we have a lot of early career artists who are on a path to professional careers who are working with us as a stepping stone to that next level. We have people who Little Lake is their Broadway. It is their end game. They love it. There's nothing. degree of wanting to pursue the career beyond working in a community theater setting. And we're not the only community theater in the area, certainly not in Western PA. So there's a really vibrant scene, and we're just honored to be a small part of that. speaker-0: That's awesome. I want to turn towards you for a sec, because on our call yesterday, I noticed you had some really interesting history. You have worked in, what was it, Chicago and New York? speaker-1: Yeah, so I'm myself a union stage actor and a playwright as well and a writer. so I went to undergrad in Chicago, spent a lot of years in New York and lived in, I don't know, 14 states or so doing theater regionally at different houses across the country, which was really lovely. I got to learn a lot, meet a lot of great artists and pick up some of the skill sets that have really helped me out here at the lake. speaker-0: So like how did you get started? This has been like a lifelong thing for you. Did you always have a passion for theater? speaker-1: I think I always had a passion for theater. I didn't know that I you know, saw a place for myself in it until I was a little later than most. Probably about junior high school is when I really, really got the bug, which is a little later than most. But, ⁓ you know, the lake is a great example of it really never being too late to come back in. And it's not like football or something where you have this short window to do it, you know. So we, for instance, the production we just closed, The Wizard of Oz, we had people who were in their 50th production and people who were in their first. speaker-0: That's so nice, because that's what strikes me about theater. Every time I go see a performance, you do seem to see a lot of people coming from all different walks of life, people who are just starting out, people who are seasoned, and it just seems like such a nice melting pot all on stage of all these different people. And guess the community aspect of your theater can really emphasize that. speaker-1: Certainly, it's, ⁓ you know, we, our artists are our, they're our children's teachers, they're our nurses, they're our community members and neighbors, and you know, our art is made by our community. You know, we say for our community, by our community, and ⁓ I think that, ⁓ yeah, the lake just provides an outlet for us to kind of have a third place, and it's always really fascinating early on. ⁓ at rehearsals, I noticed that people are sitting kind of spread out and they're always polite, but it's funny as time goes on that they start to sit closer and closer and hang out more and more. And by the end of the production, it's tough to get them to stop hanging out with each other. So it's in a world where I think we hesitate to admit that it's difficult in 2026 to make friends. Maybe it feels silly to say that out loud. I'm proud of our community because there's a lot of people who choose to come and make art with us because they want a third place, they want to build community and it really is a unique place where you can do that and meet a bunch of people that, who you're gonna really love and who are gonna stay in your life. speaker-0: Yeah, you just hit exactly, we talk about third spaces actually in another episode with another guest, ⁓ but people are craving connection. You just have to put yourself out there, right? Yeah. I guess that kind of segues into my next question is like, what was the biggest thing that you brought back from your experiences in Chicago and New York? What have you brought to Little Lake from those kind of big experiences, I would say? speaker-1: That's a great question. I don't know. I don't know how to answer that really briefly, but I guess, you know, I've been really fortunate to be in the Union and experience what it's like to work at professional houses across the country and to see how they operate and run and their processes. I've been able to really... I haven't had much experience in community theater as an actor. ⁓ which at first may have been a ⁓ bit of a ⁓ negative thing, but I think actually has ultimately been a positive thing because I don't know any better. So there's a lot of the professional rules and regulations that we have implemented at the lake that has made it a more professional process. So I don't know if that really answers your question. you did. I mean, I think a lot, all of my experiences, you know, every play that you do, whether you're helping out backstage or being in it, just kind of culminates ⁓ in these lessons that you are able to kind of just pay them forward, you know? speaker-0: because you've been in literally five seasons. So you have time to keep building on that and you have a community to fall back onto. feel like maybe that's one of the best things about a theater that's or a theater that's expanding, right? We'll get into that in a second. yesterday, I also love what you said about pitting Canonsburg versus some of the other theaters in Pittsburgh. speaker-1: Yes, I'm now in season five. speaker-0: That kind of like really resonated with, guess, what we do here because I don't know if it's so much like pitting so much as it is, you know, those two experiences, Canonsburg versus some other experiences down in Pittsburgh, like they're almost not comparable, right? But maybe that's why people are coming here to Canonsburg. And maybe you can speak on that a little bit because they are looking for something different. They're looking, you know, for a more rural experience, for something a little more intimate. They're looking to... go out of the theater and look over the lake and look at the stars. Do you think people are coming specifically for the little lake experience that you guys are offering? speaker-1: Yeah, I sure would like to think so. firmly believe that a rising tide lifts all ships. while, and I think you're right, pitting might not be the best word, but I think it's, we know our value, we know our worth, and we're proud of the art that we're able to do, and we're not gonna shy away from that. So I think that there's some... just local pride and knowing that we can make really great art here in Washington County with our local actors and really go toe to toe in terms of ⁓ passion and care for the craft with these other companies. Now we're not, again, it's not a competition thing. I think that the more each company raises the bar, it just lifts the entire industry and the entire community. I live in Allegheny County, but I work here in Washington County. I have a great love of both counties. But yeah, I think sometimes out here in Washington County, we get treated like the little brother of Allegheny County. And I don't think that's entirely fair. I think it's a vibrant scene. I think it's a beautiful county. I mean, it's a stunning place to live and not to be disparaging towards our friends downtown and those theater companies, but If you, you know, to go to one of those shows, sometimes it feels like you're going through TSA at the airport. You know, by the time you get into that building and at the lake, it's a lot more laid back. it's, like you said, you know, you're not entering on, you're not leaving the theater onto Penn Avenue and dealing with the hustle and bustle of the cars and get into the parking garage and 400 cars leaving at the same time. It's an easier kind of in and out and, you know, your home. your home at a reasonable hour and don't have to drive all the way back out from downtown. you know, again, it's not a competition thing, but we really do offer a very uniquely different experience out here. speaker-0: Yeah, I mean, especially in the arts, you no matter what Timothee Chalamet says, any furthering of the arts is meaningful, right? And we do, and we'll get into it a little bit later, like we do have a really thriving theater scene here in Washington County. I mean, we have Little Lake, we have the Washington Community Theater, we have the all new basement players in Canonsburg. What else am I missing? ⁓ old school house players out in Hickory who are awesome. But speaking of furthering, you have a very exciting thing happening. Tell me a little bit about, and I want to make sure I'm saying this right, the Canonsburg Educational and Cultural Institute. speaker-1: Kinnensburg, yeah, educational and cultural institute, yes. And they have ⁓ the Cannon Theater, which they just officially released. That's what they're going to be calling it. Some of you may have gone to middle school ⁓ on this property. The old Kinnensburg Middle School in downtown Pittsburgh, or downtown Kinnensburg, is being turned into a cultural hub by an incredible group of local community members. We saw what they were doing over there and called them up, to know what they were doing, if we could be a part of it. And we found that we were reaching capacity in our space. And we were in an interesting place where we could look into expanding our programming and expanding our footprint on the area. And reached out to them and we really found that we were like-minded. We had a very similar mission. So we've created this partnership now where Little Lake will be the resident theater company over at CECI. And ⁓ we'll do ⁓ more shows as time goes on. This year we're doing one production, our Christmas show of White Christmas. Next year we'll do at least two productions. And as time goes on, we'll continue to do more in downtown Canonsburg while not doing any less performances in our home lakeside space. Yeah, yeah. speaker-0: Okay, so it's gonna be like kind of split. speaker-1: Down the line, we'll do dual programming where we're doing shows at the same time, but not anytime soon. That's awesome. So more of the family musicals, the big proscenium shows will be down there and we'll continue to do the similar type of programming at the Lake. And the next level of that partnership is an academy where we'll be, Little Lake has had a long history of education and camps, but we're going to formalize it into the Little Lake Theater Academy. We will have classroom space. speaker-0: Okay. speaker-1: in downtown Canonsburg at the cultural center and it's just going to be a really exciting time for us to expand and grow and really dig our heels into education and take that a step further as well as just open up our doors to more folks in the area. speaker-0: I'm so excited about this project. We went down there for a little preview the other day and it is going to be beautiful. It's all Art Deco, it looks original. Like it really looks like very careful, like paying attention to the past while still, you know, trying to pay attention to the future generation. So what are you hoping that project becomes for, you know, the next generation of theater student, maybe in the academy? speaker-1: Yeah, we're really ⁓ interested in creating pipelines ⁓ so that kids and community members who want to gain ⁓ skill sets in theater making become better actors and vocalists and designers and technicians will have an opportunity to do that. ⁓ And it will also provide a lot of our artists opportunities for teaching opportunities. It's ⁓ a... Yeah, I mean, the sky's the limit, really. think it ⁓ the future is education and it's kids and the more we can take care of our youth here in Washington County and provide them a place where they can learn to be better people and better artists, but also provide them with the skills of the craft is it's really, it's really exciting. And I think that we can, it gives us a chance to really increase our footprint in in the area, not just in Washington County, but Green County, Allegheny County, beyond, really showing people that Washington County is a cultural hub. Just as you mentioned, all of our friends that you mentioned, all those theater companies, you know, I think there's a little bit of a cultural renaissance going on in Kennesburg that people were, I think you guys are noticing maybe more than most people, but I think at some point people are gonna look around and wonder what happened ⁓ in the best way. ⁓ because it's been and it's been incredible to just be a small part of helping that percolate. speaker-0: Yeah, what you just said is going in like the Washington tourism quote book, actually. I absolutely love what you just said because Cannonsburg is having a really big revitalization effort right now. And it's been so exciting to just watch that happen and watch people reinvesting in our communities. And that's really what I hope that people that go through the theater academy, those kids, hope then in turn of their, you know, in addition to the theater skills, I hope they learn to reinvest in their community. And it seems like you guys are going to be a really big part. of teaching those skills too. speaker-1: We sure hope so. Teaching kids is something to take very seriously and something we are taking very seriously. So in planning this academy, ⁓ there's a lot of beautiful opportunities ahead and I can't wait to see what comes of it. speaker-0: Me neither. Well, you have some other partnerships happening this year beyond the Kittensburg Theater. Can you talk a little bit about, I heard you have a show down at Riverhounds? speaker-1: We do, we do. Our dear friends at the Pittsburgh River Hounds and Riveters, the professional soccer teams in the area, have kindly allowed us to come to their space twice this season. We're going to do our Broadway at the ballpark event, which we did at the Wild Things Stadium a couple years back and went incredibly well. It's a cabaret live on the field. It's a real celebration of kind of our shows that, you know, from that have been playing throughout the season, shows that are coming up and in the Broadway music style. you know, live musicians and live vocalists. And so we'll do our one of those, our Broadway at the Ballpark this year will take place there, August 7th. And then we also in November are going to be producing, I'll talk more about it in a little, but The Wolves. It's a Pulitzer Prize winning play about a girl's soccer team. And that play takes place on the sidelines of a soccer field. So we will be doing one performance down on Highmark Stadium on the field. But most of the performances will be here in Canonsburg. But it's a really cool kind of immersive experience. And back to hearken back to what we were talking about in terms of taking Washington County and taking our art to Allegheny County and showing them that. You know, we have a lot of grit and heart out here too. speaker-0: Yeah, we're not here to compete, you should come down and experience the whole thing, right? Exactly. I mean, it is really important to show other counties, you know, what we've got and come on down. You have the whole experience. That is so exciting. That seems like a kind of must-go thing. ⁓ But you also have, in addition to those partnerships, you have some apprenticeship programs and other opportunities, summer camps, things like that. You want to talk about that a little bit? speaker-1: Absolutely, we've got an apprentice, our apprenticeship program has really changed over the years. Now we're really trying to focus on getting our young artists in the room with designers, with artists, getting to learn from them hands on. ⁓ And that's been a really lovely kind of transition for us. you know, it's a... anyone interested, it's a year-round submission, email me, patrick at littlelake.org. We are always happy to bring more people into the fold in the apprentices and really we just ask the kids, are you interested in learning? What you interested in? What skill sets are you trying to pick up and try to craft the apprenticeship around their needs and their desires. speaker-0: What are the like typical age ranges for that? Like what kind of kids do you see? speaker-1: Really like 12 to 18. Okay. Yeah. speaker-0: And are these kids like, they're taking these skills back to high school or maybe even to college usually or to Little Lake themselves? speaker-1: Certainly, yeah. mean, a great example is Dylan Bleszek, who was an apprentice at Little Lake. He's 23 years old, and he's working on Broadway and national tours already. And he just did the costuming for a production of Wizard of Oz. And so it's a kind of perfect example of someone who's come through our system, learned about costuming at Little Lake, has gone on and had a really impressive young career. but is still returning the favor to us. And ⁓ I think that's a kind of a perfect example of what we're doing out here at the lake. speaker-0: That is so heartening to see that people are taking those skills and then returning because I mean just on the tourism side like that's what we want to see people doing we want to see people coming back over and over and over again whether it's in a volunteer capacity or you know a visiting capacity any sort of way we can get people in the county learning re-engaging reinvesting is that's a big one right Speaking of opportunities, so there are opportunities for people to get involved with the theater But there are also other opportunities for audiences. And this is like a subject that's like kind of near and dear to my heart is your sensory and accessible performances. Can you talk a little bit about those opportunities for people? speaker-1: Yeah, certainly. One of the first projects that was being produced at the lake when I first came here was a beautiful project that Jenna Oberg, the former artistic director, and Patty Knapp, our managing director, built. And it was with the Western PA School for the Deaf. And it was such an inspiring project. Patty, when we first started working together, accessibility is such important thing to her. And she does such brilliant stuff with it that we wanted to find a way to to have our programming echo those opportunities more. So we have the audio visual description ⁓ for our visually impaired audience members. We tried to do at least one production a year where we work with a professional ⁓ who builds basically an entire soundscape that is able to kind of articulate what is happening visually within all the dialogue. It's pretty brilliant. And we also have a sound loop for any speaker-0: This so cool. speaker-1: folks who want to tie into our sound system if they're having any hearing issues in our space. ⁓ And we'll also do sensory friendly for ⁓ children with different sensory needs, ⁓ where we'll do a kind of relaxed performances where the music isn't quite as loud, the lights aren't quite as much, any kind of explosive or popping. We try to change the sensory environment for at least one of the performances to make sure everyone feels. like there's a space for them to come see. Yeah, yeah. And then we'll, you know, we're also hopeful to have ASL and some of our productions in the back end of the season, but we don't have any of that set yet. speaker-0: Yeah, because theater's for everyone, right? Okay, so the sensory performances, is that like one with every production or? speaker-1: Mainly we try with the kids shows. ⁓ Really to ⁓ do at least one of the performances. ⁓ I think it's important not only for our audience, but for our artists, especially our young artists to know what it is to create art empathetically and what it is to create art for everyone. Even if it means adjusting to do so. speaker-0: Well, let's get into your schedule then, because I'm so excited to see what else you have for the rest of the year. So you want to run us through a couple shows that you have or maybe some of favorites. speaker-1: Absolutely. We just closed Wizard of Oz and we are about to, we were just closing Dial ⁓ for Murder right now. So the next show opening is Pickleball. Pickleball opens May 28th and runs through June 14th. It is a hilarious play about the fastest growing sport in America. If you love Pickleball or hate Pickleball, you're going to love it. ⁓ It's written by Jeff Daniels. Yes, that Jeff Daniels. ⁓ that's awesome. it's hilarious. ⁓ Every time I walk by that rehearsal room, they are just howling, and I'm really, really excited for that one. We're actually sponsored by Franklin Pickleball, so we're all suited and booted with our proper paddles and pickleball balls for that. That will open May 28th. After that, we're doing A Few Good Men, the classic courtroom drama, which runs June 25th through ⁓ July 12th. Then Frozen Junior this summer. yeah, folks are really excited We are we announced auditions recently and there's quite quite a lot of interest ⁓ Then we're bringing a really fun play miss Holmes miss Watson admittedly I've been trying to get this play to the lake for years and we finally got the rights this year It's a hilarious take on the cloud the hilarious take on the classic Sherlock tale from a feminist lens and it's ⁓ a really modern lens to its set set in speaker-0: So we get one. speaker-1: Modern Times and it's a really a great romp. Followed by Big Fish the musical. You may know the Tim Burton film. Love that movie. The musical is equally as beautiful. Music is stunning. It's gonna be a really fun one for our space. After that we're doing Dracula a Comedy of Terror. If you're a Bram Stoker purist maybe avoid this one altogether. Also if you tend to maybe perhaps get offended easily. This is also maybe one to avoid as well. It's a hilarious take on Dracula, like you've never seen it, ⁓ in October right in time for Halloween. And then The Wolves, as we mentioned before, the Pulitzer Prize winning drama about a high school girl soccer team that will run in November. And then we will head downtown Canonsburg ⁓ for White Christmas at the Cannon Theater as part of the Canonsburg Cultural an educational institute and that will be in their new 580 seat renovated space. speaker-0: That is so exciting. I cannot wait for that facility to open. Do you want to tell people where they can keep updated with all things Little Lake, where they can buy tickets, all these things? speaker-1: Absolutely. ⁓ You can go to littlelake.org is the easiest way to access all of that stuff. We've got some summer camp slots open for those of you with little ones. ⁓ single tickets are on sale for the remaining eight shows in our season. ⁓ you can also follow us on Instagram at littlelaketheatre. ⁓ And then on Facebook, it's littlelaketheatre or backslash littlelaketheatre. But we post quite a lot and we try to keep our community in the know as to what's going on. So be sure to follow us there. speaker-0: Absolutely. Well Patrick, are there any closing thoughts you want people to know about Little Lake Theatre? Maybe some previews for the next season or anything like that? speaker-1: Well, maybe next season is season 79. It's a pretty big deal. Right? And we've got two wonderful theater spaces that sit right on either side of interstate 79. So we're thinking maybe season 79 is really going to lean into, you know, where the road leads us and maybe leaning into that season 79, route 79. So maybe that's about as much as I can tell you. speaker-0: Okay, well we'll just have to stay tuned, right? Well, Patrick, thank you so much for being here today. It's been so fun to learn about all things Little Lake and you know, people need to come down here and experience the arts here in Washington County. It sure is, it's so important. Okay, well that is all for this episode. To get into previews, we have a crazy weekend here in Washington County. Tomorrow, May 15th, the Washington Wild Things are opening their 24th season at EQT Park. speaker-1: Tonya cultureberg speaker-0: They're facing off against the Schomburg Boomers and you won't want to miss the fireworks after the game. The National Pike Steam Gas and Horse Association show is happening this weekend in Brownsville and you won't want to miss the National Road Pike Days Festival, which is also this weekend. If that is not enough weekend activity for you, the Washington Symphony Orchestra is having its red, white, and blue performance. That's at the Olin Fine Arts Center in downtown Washington. So safe to say we have a lot going on for everybody right here in Washington County. Thank you so much for tuning into this episode and we'll see you next week with episode five with the Washington wild things.