Professional theater in Fresno? Jacqueline Antaramian embraces the possibilities of Chanticleer’s inaugural production of ‘Richard III’

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“She is a majestic woman,” she says of the 1928 building, originally built as a Pantages movie house.

It’s Wednesday afternoon before opening night of “Richard III,” and we’re sitting in the expansive lobby area at the Warnors leading up to the balcony, smack in the middle of a marathon technical rehearsal known as a “10 out of 12.” That’s union-theater lingo for a grueling day in which actors can be asked to rehearse up to 10 hours out of a 12-hour block. These rules impact members of Actors Equity Association, the union representing performers on Broadway and at most professional theaters across the country. As the rehearsal lurches forward, scenes stop and start repeatedly as light cues are set and other technical matters attended to.

Related story: THEATER REVIEW: The Chanticleer crows with inaugural production of “Richard III”

Those union rules point to one reason why Antaramian has performed so seldomly in her hometown after graduating from Fresno State with a degree in theater. There just aren’t many opportunities for professional actors to perform in Fresno. Once you leave, it’s very hard to return.

“I take my profession seriously. I’ve worked very hard, and I respect my union, and I will only want to do, you know, union work, and I want to make a living off of something I think I do well.”

That sentiment fits in with the philosophy of Blake Ellis, who plays the title role and also serves as Chanticleer’s artistic director; and his founding partner, Brandon Weis, the company’s executive director.

“We’re thrilled to have Jacquie join us because she perfectly embodies what our company is all about,” Ellis says. “She’s not only a nationally recognized, classically trained actor with a deep resume in Shakespearean theater — she’s also from Fresno. One of our core missions is to create a space where exceptional local talent doesn’t have to leave the Central Valley to work at the highest professional level.”

Antaramian was at a retirement party for Fresno State theater professor Brad Myers in December when she connected with Ellis, a fellow alum. He pitched her the project. How could she refuse?

“When I heard their mission statement, I absolutely could get behind it, because it’s exactly what Fresno can have and should have,” she says, glancing up at the majestic lobby ceiling. “You know, it’s a big city.”

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While at Hoover High School, Antaramian – a native of Armenia – landed in a summer youth theater program connected to the California Shakespeare Festival in Visalia. It was an opportunity for her to serve in an apprenticeship capacity to professional actors, many from Los Angeles and San Francisco. Part of the program was putting on a youth production: “Two Gentleman of Verona” her first summer, and “Twelfth Night” the second (as Olivia). Her love of Shakespeare was born. The best part was observing the pros at work.

“I watched their’ Hamlet’ that second year they did it, like about 20 times. Not that it was perfect, but there was something that was perfection within it. I will never forget that Ophelia. I will never forget that Gertrude. I will never forget the staging. There were so many things from that ‘Hamlet’ that I remember very specifically and saying, I love this. I need to be a part of this kind of language whenever possible.”

Fresno State’s theater department came next, along with another “Twelfth Night,” this one directed by Terry Miller. (Antaramian has played Olivia four times – after Fresno State would come the Denver Center for the Performing Arts and the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego.) At Fresno State, she made an impression on a newly hired acting professor, Myers, who cast her in several leading roles and remained a steadfast friend.

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Now Myers gets the opportunity to direct Antaramian in “Richard III.” At the first table reading a few weeks ago, she once again experienced the Myers directorial sparkle that entranced her so many years ago.

“It reminded me of when he first came to Fresno State, how we all were so enamored of him and so excited for him to be there,” she says. ”It was wonderful to have that come full circle.”

After graduating from college, Antaramian set her sights on making a living as an actor. In a tough business, she got some good breaks. She did an apprenticeship at the Old Globe Theatre, the equivalent of the third year of an MFA program. Her first union job was with the Los Angeles Shakespeare Festival in a production of “Comedy of Errors.” She played the Courtesan.

Joining the actors union was a big decision because it can both open up your employment possibilities at the top (such as Broadway) but also limit your ability to appear in non-union productions, which are often found in regional theaters.

This production of “Richard III” is a hybrid. Depending on the budget and size of the venue, different tiers of Equity contracts allow non-union members the opportunity to perform, including community members. Thanks to a $45,000 Measure P grant, Chanticleer was able to boost its budget to a higher level.

In leading roles, the cast includes Kathleen McCall (with a decades-long career spanning Broadway, Off-Broadway, and national tours), George Mount (former artistic director of Seattle Shakespeare Co.) and Cameron Varner (“Dante’s Inferno” for Open Window Theatre).

Community actors round out many of the smaller roles, with such familiar names as Darren Tharp, Marikah Christine Leal and R.L. Preheim.

One of the company’s goals, Ellis says, is “to make sure our impressive local talent has a seat at the table, working shoulder to shoulder with seasoned professionals.”

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Good Shakespeare can be sublime. Not-so-good Shakespeare can be – well, the opposite.

On one hand, beginning and amateur theater is a great way to hook actors on Shakespeare. (Antaramian is a prime example.) On the other hand, attending a poorly conceived and hastily acted production can turn off a newbie audience member.

Unless they’ve traveled out of the area, I’d guess that most people in the central San Joaquin Valley have never attended a professional Shakespeare production. While there’s no guarantee that paying people to perform the words of the Bard will guarantee an elevated experience, I’d say the chances are greatly enhanced considering the training that professionals go through in terms of understanding, speaking and living the text, so to speak.

“The Valley has a long history of successful community theaters, which laid the foundation upon which Chanticleer is built,” Weis says. “We want to honor that rich history, as well as to embrace the future of what theater can be in Fresno.”

In “Richard III,” Antaramian gets her first chance to play Queen Elizabeth, a key figure in the War of the Roses. (She isn’t the famous Queen Elizabeth you might be thinking of; she comes about 100 years earlier.) This Elizabeth didn’t come from nobility but married into it, and she had to be tough about it. Boiled down, the play is essentially about family conflict, power and greed, which in earlier times tended to be resolved with the slice of a sword. (Present day: Think of the Murdochs, Antaramian says with a smile.)

“I love this character,” she says. “She’s fantastic in the way that she fights. She’s not a wallflower. A lot of her things are thrown at her, and she does a lot of grieving and lamenting and trying to solve things really fast.”

She shares the stage with one of Shakespeare’s most famous villains. The play is probably best known for three things: Richard’s hunchback; the line “Now is the winter of our discontent”; and the line “My kingdom for a horse.”

Ellis adapted the script with a goal of accessibility and a “white-knuckle” ride for the audience.

For Antaramian, she hopes people will take a chance.

“I want to encourage everyone who is afraid they won’t understand Shakespeare – and also, because it’s a history, to not be deterred by that. And if you can get a little bit of it, which I think you can, you will really come away surprised. You will say, ‘I understood it more than I thought I would.’ And it will just give you joy just to say you did it.”

One of the best things for Antaramian? Her family doesn’t have to travel to New York, Denver or Los Angeles to see her in a professional production.

They can stay in Fresno.