In today’s theater world, it is not unusual — and in fact, it may be a necessity — for an actor to be multitalented. Some become triple threats (actors/singers/dancers). Others are actors/directors/set designers/costumers. But hidden away near the intersection of Tatum and Cactus Road is Theatre Artists Studio, a small theater with rare talent indeed: actors who are not only gifted on stage, but whose visual art work decorates the lobby walls as well.
Debra Rich Gettleman
Debra Rich Gettleman knew she wanted to be an actor from the moment she saw Ginger on Gilligan’s Island. “She was my idol — and then Farah Fawcett! I used to love putting on shows for anyone who would sit long enough to watch me.”
Gettleman’s parents introduced her to the arts at a very young age, but looking to the arts for a career was “not a practical option for a conservative Jewish girl from Chicago’s North Shore,” she says. So she acquiesced and attended the University of Michigan. While she made money and connections in her early professional work, she felt she was “losing [her] soul,” and came back to acting. Gettleman studied with inspiring teachers and directors in Chicago and rebuilt her career with attention to her passion for the arts.
The would-be-actress’ involvement with visual arts began later. As a child she received reprimands rather than praise for her “color outside the lines” approach to art — she just didn’t see things the way others did. But it wasn’t until she moved to Arizona and was married that she garnered the courage to try visual art. Some of her early pieces were created out of a kind of necessity; the couple didn’t have much money and Gettleman had exciting, funky taste.
As she describes her artistic journey: “One day my husband left for work and I managed to move our enormous pine table into the backyard. I collected broken slabs of marble and granite and proceeded to recreate our dining room table. My husband came home and noticed, of course, that the table was missing. I quickly took him outside and unveiled my masterpiece. Fortunately, he loved it, which gave me extra confidence to start repurposing pretty much everything in our home.” Gettleman currently has several pieces of her art at the Hob Nob Café in downtown Phoenix and at the gallery Ecocentricity, which features repurposed art.
As an additional talent, Gettleman is a writer, with plays being one of her favorite genres. Theatre Artists Studio provides her a home where she can act and write. The Studio will be producing Gettleman’s newest play, Twist of the Magi, Nov. 30 through Dec. 16. She believes that Judaism informs all her work and notes, “Even my version of this Christmas Classic manages to have a Yiddishe matriarch and a heaping plate of latkes.”
Mark Gluckman
Growing up in New York, Mark Gluckman had an early introduction to the performing arts. His father was a singer for NBC radio in the 1940s and took his son to rehearsals with him in the early ’50s. Gluckman remembers well his own debut singing “At the Hop” for his fifth-grade class.
Gluckman was fortunate to be surrounded by a family of talented artists, so his pursuit of the arts was not considered unusual. His maternal grandfather was in vaudeville; his paternal grandfather was with the Moscow Circus (or at least, he admits, that’s the story he’s heard). His uncle played with Tommy Dorsey and he had another cousin who was a producer. He studied with Stella Adler while in New York and then traveled across the country to Northridge, Calif., where he received his Bachelor of Arts in drama from California State University. His mother’s favorite mantra was, “As long as you’re happy.”
While studying at Pasadena Playhouse in 1974, Gluckman lost his uncle. “I had been staying with him and have to admit we didn’t get along very well. He owned a camera store, and when he passed away I went in and bought my first camera — I think to show him I cared.” He then took a variety of classes in technical camera work and within a few months had sold his first piece, thus launching his career as a photographer. Gluckman can be seen at many of the major Jewish events around town with his camera in hand, and he’s become the official stage photographer at Theatre Artists Studio as well.
Judy Lebeau
Judy Lebeau, a Phoenix native, thought she was a fabulous dancer at the age of 8, and remembers having a poem published in the newspaper when she was 10. She also remembers staring into the mirror on the back of her bedroom door and wishing she were pretty enough to be an actress.
Though her parents were open and supportive, Lebeau dismissed her fantasy of stardom, and took the “more accepted” route of earning a degree in secondary education. She taught English, speech and debate and communications at the high school and college levels. She married young and lived the role of a good, political wife while raising two children. And life happened. She recorded some radio commercials for her husband’s campaign and immediately started receiving calls from ad agencies and production companies. Since that time she has done hundreds of commercials, appeared on television and in feature films, and has been able, through theatrical productions, to inhabit the lives of some most endearing characters. Among her favorite plays are the Jewish-themed A Shayna Maidel for Actors Theatre and The Twilight of the Golds for Arizona Jewish Theatre Company.
She is a founding member of Theatre Artists Studio and cherishes her time and work there. “The Studio is like a gym for theater artists, a place where writers, directors, actors and technical staff can all ‘work out’ on projects near and dear to them. Plus, we have a summer camp for homeless children and it is so wonderful to see them soak up confidence and skills. It makes me very proud to belong to such a wonderful organization.”
Just a few years ago, Lebeau decided to try painting as another creative outlet — and it worked too! She currently has a commissioned piece of art hanging at The Urban Barn at Secret Gardens.
Janet Arnold is the former producing director of the Arizona Jewish Theatre Company. She has been an active member of the local Jewish community since arriving in Phoenix in 1957.
