There’s a quaint little town just north of us down the I-95 corridor that often gets overlooked by us Philadelphians. It’s a historic community situated on the Delaware River with quaint little shops and restaurants lining the main streets.
And no, it’s not New Hope. As lovely as that is, we’re talking about the town of Bristol.
Though it’s famous for The Dovells song “Bristol Stomp,” the town has had quite a history. Did you know that Bristol was first famous as a resort, a “watering place” called the Bath Springs? Wealthy visitors arrived by boat and stagecoach to partake in the mineral springs, and the town’s reputation as a vacation destination quickly blossomed. There’s great information to be found at www.bristolhistory.org, including stories of the original inhabitants, the Lenape Indians, who, in the days before noise pollution, used the Delaware River to carry messages. Legend has it that one tribesman could kneel far up stream and speak into the water and it could be heard all the way down in Bristol.
This week’s profile, Jamie Gilpatrick, is responsible for another type of communication. As managing drector of Bristol Riverside Theatre, Gilpatrick makes sure the company’s message is heard loud and clear. BRT is a professional regional theater located in a renovated movie house (I understand that at one point it was used to show X-rated films before BRT took over in 1986). A beautiful space with state-of-the-art lighting and sound technology, BRT combines the excitement of a large stage with the intimacy of a 300-seat theater.
PGN: How did you end up in Bristol?
JG: I’m from Connecticut and I was working as the general manager at Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, and I was looking for an opportunity to step up. I was a little hesitant at first about applying but said, “Let’s just see what happens. You never know where life is going to take you.” I met with everyone here at BRT — the trustees, the founder, Susan, etc. — and we all clicked.
PGN: When you first saw the posting, did you say, “Where in the heck is Bristol?”
JG: Yes! But for me that was kind of exciting. I liked that it was close to a major metropolitan area, Philadelphia, but I got to live in scenic Bucks County. Bristol is very unique in that it’s very small — the borough is only about a square mile — but it has a population of 9,000. So it has the feel of small-town America but also has a very urban feel in many ways. I really like it here and there’s a lot of stuff going on.
PGN: Such as?
JG: The borough recently got federal funding to build public boat docks, so people will be able to come for the day, dock your boat and go to the theater or a restaurant and enjoy the town. There’s a new development going up right next to the theater, which will have condos and a restaurant, and the theater itself is doing really well. We’ve had more people attend our mainstage productions this year than in any other season in our history. We’re very proud of that.
PGN: Were you always a behind-the-scenes guy or have you done some acting as well?
JG: I did some acting in high school but not since, and I do have a degree in theater from the University of Connecticut. But I focused more on backstage things and took a lot of business courses. I knew I had more talent and skill in those areas than on the stage!
PGN: What was the last play you were in?
JG: Oh my, it was called “The Rise and Rise of Daniel Rocket.” My character’s name was Roger.
PGN: And you haven’t put that on at Bristol yet?
JG: We have not [laughs], and probably won’t!
PGN: Do you come from a theatrical family?
JG: No, not at all. My mom was the manager of a bank and my dad was a mechanic, but we did take advantage of the shows offered at UConn. We’d go to see plays and so on and so forth.
PGN: Your dad was a mechanic. Can you change your own oil?
JG: No! I’m not exactly a mechanical person. But I am a perfectionist, so if I can’t get something right the first time, it deters me.
PGN: What was your first car?
JG: I had a 1981 Plymouth Reliant. It was my mother’s old car that they kept for me. We grew up in a small town and the high school was about a half-hour from my home. It was a boon for my parents to not have to drive me everywhere once I turned 16.
PGN: Best vacation or a fun family tradition?
JG: My grandparents owned a farm with about 35 acres. They gave land to my mom and my aunt as wedding presents, so my older sister and I grew up close to our extended family. There was a lot of family time, sledding parties in the winter and lots of holidays spent together. As far as vacations, we grew up close to Riverside Amusement Park, which of course now is a Six Flags, but back then it was a small local amusement park and we’d go to the beach a lot over on Long Island Sound. My dad’s from Maine, so we’d go up there every summer and visit family and it was always something we looked forward to.
PGN: Were you the kind of kid who put on shows?
JG: No. Since we lived in such a rural area, there weren’t many other kids around. My sister was five years older and I was the bratty little brother so we bickered more than played together. So I spent a lot of time playing by myself, which I think really helped develop my imagination. We spent a lot of time outside where we had large trees and big boulders, and I would climb them and pretend they were forts or whatever.
PGN: What was your favorite toy?
JG: I had a little Mickey Mouse toy. Unfortunately, one year when we went to the beach, I took it with me. We went out on a friend’s boat and when we came back we had a little cookout. I put it down for a second to grab something to eat and it got swept out to sea! A sad story, but I still have my stuffed teddy bear.
PGN: Love it. Going back, what was your first job after college?
JG: Conn had a professional equity theater at the university and I got a job there right after college. It was kind of like a teaching-hospital model; it gave the students a chance to work alongside professionals as part of their studies.
PGN: What was one of the craziest mishaps you’ve had during a show?
JG: It’s always fun when the power goes off. There are always some people who want to plow on in that “The show must go on” mentality, but in a professional theater, there are so many elements that go into making the show, including the lighting design, that you’re really doing a disservice to both the audience and the lighting designer if you try to do the show without it. Not to mention, it’s not terribly safe. So when we lost power at the Westport Country Playhouse, I had to pull the plug instead of trying to do the show with flashlights.
PGN: Explain your role at Bristol.
JG: I’m the managing director so I oversee all the administrative functions. I negotiate all the contracts, finances, marketing, fundraising, human resources, operations, all of that. I don’t choose any of the plays or direct or cast them; that’s the artistic director. I just have to make sure we have the money to produce all of that.
PGN: Most fun fundraiser?
JG: When I worked at the Westport Country Playhouse our artistic director was Joanne Woodward and we had a tremendous amount of support from Newman’s Own, which was Paul’s foundation. I was there when we did a $30-million campaign to renovate the building and take it from a summer theater to a year-round theater. We did two gala fundraisers to raise the funds and we were fortunate enough to have a lot of Hollywood celebrities participate, and that of course was a lot of fun. We also have a program here called ArtRageous, which is a comprehensive five-week summer-theater program designed to give young people the tools to express themselves in a positive way through theater and to help them build confidence and self-esteem. We have a poetry class and the kids learn to write their own poetry. At the end of the summer they have to perform it out loud to an audience. Last summer there was one young girl who was really struggling. She had a hard time when it came to the performance but she got through it and when it was over, she had such a big smile on her face it was heartwarming. She conquered her fears and was able to share her own words with over 200 people. Those are the kind of stories we love.
PGN: Speaking of stories we love, I understand you found more than just a job here in Bristol?
JG: Ha, yes. I met my partner, Jimmy Bason, here. He owns Bird of Paradise Flowers right here on Mill Street. He’s the president of the business association and as such has a seat on the economic-development committee. On my very first day here, I went to the borough council meeting with my predecessor and they invited me to the economic-development committee meeting. I went that Wednesday and that’s where Jimmy and I met. It was absolutely one of those “across a crowded room” moments.
PGN: Do you get a lot of flowers or is that the last thing he wants to do?
JG: I do get a lot, but it’s the notes that go with the flowers that I love. He really takes time to think about what he wants to say.
PGN: Why should Philly people come to Bristol Riverside Theatre?
JG: A few reasons. First, the quality of our work is terrific. We just closed a production of the musical “Ragtime” and it got great reviews and sold really well. It was an enormous undertaking. It was a huge show with a cast of 33 actors and 11 musicians and we found a unique way to tell the story. We’re really proud of it. The second reason is that it’s a beautiful location. We’re right on the riverfront and there’s a beautiful view right from our lobby where we have an all-glass atrium facing the river. And the town itself has some great restaurants to check out. The King George is believed to be the oldest inn in continuous service in the United States. There are also a lot of great events here; we just had a fantastic antique car show and there are concerts on the waterfront all summer long so it’s a nice little getaway. It’s a wonderful little town.
PGN: What’s one of the funniest things that’s happened on a job?
JG: I will not name the company names, but it was when I was doing a grant application and part of it included the standard licensing agreement for a play. I sent it in and got a letter rejecting our proposal. That was weird because we’d received this particular grant every year. In a separate letter explaining why we were declined, it had a few things that made me scratch my head, but the biggest one that made me realize something was wrong was when they wrote, “We find it bizarre that your agreement requires the playwright to provide pastries … ” What? [Laughs] OK, no, no, no. I know that I did not send in anything about pastries! It turns out they had us mixed up with a very similarly named theater and put their agreement with our name. That was funny.
PGN: Tell me about getting to work with Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman.
JG: They were both wonderful, very generous, giving people. He was obviously talented but I don’t think people realize what a very, very smart businessman he was. But I mostly worked with Joanne.
PGN: What was a favorite moment with her?
JG: After the renovation was complete but before we opened, I was with her the first time she saw the theater after all the construction workers had left. She was so overjoyed she gave me a big hug and said, “We did it!” It was a lovely moment.
PGN: OK, random questions. If you were a farm animal, which one would you be?
JG: [Laughs] A farm animal? Probably a plough horse, steady and always moving ahead.
PGN: Most interesting course in school?
JG: It was a directing class where the professor taught us that, in a perfect world, the director has all the “power” — it’s their vision and they call the shots — but that, in actuality, that’s not always the case. You may have a producer who’s overly involved and wants to exercise control or maybe a star who is dictating things. He said to always understand who has the power and how to make it work and, in addition to the mechanics of directing that he taught us, I’ve found that to be a valuable lesson.
PGN: Have you had to deal with temperamental stars?
JG: Of course! It’s the nature of our work. But our job at the end of the day is to make an environment where they can be successful and creative. The challenge is that that is different for each person and you need to figure out what works best for everyone.
PGN: Other than pastries, what’s the craziest contract rider you’ve encountered? Any removing brown M&Ms ala Van Halen?
JG: There was a contract that called for all sorts of crazy foods and another one where they requested a steam bath. It was like, Um sorry, there’s no steam bath at the theater! Some of the other things that the artists require are things that have come from bad situations, like you’ll get someone who wants to be paid in cash and you know that they’ve probably been burned somewhere along the way. But no, I can’t have $10,000 in cash waiting for you.
PGN: Three favorite sounds.
JG: I’d say a really heavy rain in the middle of summer, the kind with loud thunder. The peepers — those little frogs in the spring. And that moment of silence in a really good play when the actors have an audience in the palm of their hands. I’ve been lucky enough to experience it a few times and look forward to having it happen again. It’s magical.
Bristol Riverside Theatre presents “An Enemy of the People” through May 31 and Rober Dubac’s “Book of Moron” June 12-14. Tickets are also now on sale for BRT’s Summer Musicale Fest. For more information, visit brtstage.org or call 215-785-0100.
To suggest a community member for Family Portrait, email [email protected].