The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WALLA WALLA - Before William Shakespeare became a wellknown playwright, he was an actor with Pembroke's Men about a decade before the end of the 16th century.

Perhaps more than anyone, the English bard knew that actors feed off their audience. A silent, immovable crowd can kill a good play. A responsive one can inspire actors and lift their performance.

So, when it came time to design their own theater in the heart of Elizabethan London, Shakespeare and his friends from the world of drama knew they wanted a venue that brought the audience close, very close.

Thus, the second Blackfriars Playhouse was born: the first of its kind to be covered by a roof; built with seating for about 600 people on, behind and above the stage; equipped with indoor lighting and with plenty of trap doors, belts and pulleys for special effects.

Spectators could see the drama from all angles. Needless to say it was a huge success. The theater ran for three decades until the start of the English Civil War.

After that, the intimate theater design faded from the scene as performances were delivered amidst growing sets and focused lighting, separating the audiences and isolating the actors,

But thanks to the new Powerhouse

Theater in Walla Walla, local theatergoers can have what wealthy Elizabethans had: interaction.

The theater at Rose and Sixth is a modern version of the original Blackfriars, where the spotlight is on the acting. It was set up inside the old powerhouse steam plant dating from before 1900, the walls and roof structure left intact, allowing just enough room for the near-exact floor plan of Blackfriars, Powerhouse managing director Harry Hosey said.

"It's within a foot," he said.

If audiences have feeling they've never seen the likes of such a theater before, there's a reason.

There's only one other replica of Blackfriars, the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Virginia, said Hosey, who studied that building's construction before starting the Powerhouse remodel.

Shakespeare Walla Walla is hosting its first indoor performance at the Powerhouse as part of its summer festival this month. An inaugural production of Shakespeare Walla Walla, three actors from the Seattle Shakespeare Company - Aaron Blakely, Gregg Loughridge and Brandon Whitehead perform in Swansong, written by Patrick Page, a Whitman College graduate.

The 2: 20- minute play explores the literary rivalry between Shakespeare and Ben Johnson, an English Renaissance dramatist, poet, actor and contemporary of Shakespeare.

Swansong, directed by former Seattle Shakespeare Company artistic director Stephanie Shine, runs concurrent with "Macbeth" and "Comedy Of Errors" performed at the Fort Walla Ampitheater.

So far, the indoor Powerhouse venue has gotten rave reviews from the actors.

"They love it," Hosey said. "The acoustics are perfect. It brings in audiences from all sides. The play was rehearsed (in Seattle) for that particular setting."

A recent performance of Swansong showed off the venue's capacity to envelope audiences with the actors' performance. Even way in the back, their voices carried well and their acting seemed visually close.

Hosey, formerly the board chair of the Seattle Shakespeare Company, recalls how the use of the building and the choice of the Blackfriars Playhouse model came about.

Theatergoers file into their seats at the Powerhouse for a performance of Swansong Saturday, the venue's first local production. Right: A drawing of the original Blackfriars Playhouse

A few years ago, when Shine told him she had a very successful run of Hamlet that could not be extended in the Seattle area, she asked if Hosey could find a venue in Walla Walla to host the play. He found the theaters he tried were either booked or unsuitable for the play, until she suggested Hosey try to find a "warehouse."

He did. It was the old powerhouse building that had been abandoned for four decades. And although it was too late to use it that particular season, Shine came to Walla Walla to check out the building.

" Her mouth dropped when we walked in," Hosey said. "She was speechless. After a silence, the first thing she said was: 'This is Blackfriars.'"

Swansong: Aug. 11 - 13 at 7:30 pm & Aug. 13 - 14 at 2 pm At Powerhouse Theater Comedy Of Errors: Aug. 11 - 14 at 8 pm At Fort Walla Walla Ampitheater www.shakespearewallawalla.org