Who’s the new guy at the Athens?

BEACON PHOTO/JEN HORTON
Meet Ed — Ed Kirkland stands outside the Athens Theatre, which reopened in January. Kirkland is the general manager of the Athens while the board of directors seeks a replacement for Jeffrey Ault.

And what happened to Jeff Ault?

By Jen Horton
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Jul 2, 2009 - 11:11:27am

Ed Kirkland may not have sat in every seat in the Athens Theatre, but it’s close. He points at seats with the best views, and he knows exactly where a corner of railing obstructs the stage.

“I can’t say I’ve sat in every seat, but I have sat all over this theater,” Kirkland said.

Kirkland is the guy keeping the Athens going since the departure of Jeffrey Ault, former executive director of Sands Theater Center.

He credits Ault with bringing the historic theater’s renovation to a successful completion, and with reopening the Athens in January.

“Jeffrey Ault is the guy who brought the Athens back,” Kirkland said.

And, Ault brought Kirkland to the Sands organization.

“He liked me; he kept me,” Kirkland said.

Kirkland said Ault was determined to get him involved at the newly reopened theater.

“I developed a love for the building,” Kirkland said.

Now, Kirkland is the general manager of the Athens, while the board of directors looks for a new executive director.

Ault has moved on, for now.

“Jeffrey’s OK,” Kirkland said. “He’s consulting in New England right now.”

Ault recently sent Kirkland a photo of a sunset over a lake in Maine, and reported the weather was great.

“He was sad to go,” Kirkland said.

Successfully operating the Athens Theatre — which is currently offering classic films, community performances, and shows by guest artists — is an opportunity Kirkland has no intention of letting slip by.

“I’m psyched. I’ll keep this job until the new guy gets here,” he said.

A search is under way for a new director to head both the historic theater and the Sands Theater operation at the Cultural Arts Center.

In the meantime, longtime community volunteer Steve Blais is serving as interim executive director and business director of Sands Theater, which also owns the Athens.

Blais is working as a volunteer. He picked up the reins after Ault’s resignation took effect at the end of February.

Ault had shifted his attention from Sands Theater to the Athens during the final, big push to get the historic theater reopened. He has offered to return as producing manager for the Athens, Blais said.

Decisions about how to staff the two theaters will be left up to the new executive director, with the help of the board, Blais said.

Candidates for the executive-director job are being interviewed now, and Blais hopes to have a new chief on board within the next two months or so.

“Things are pretty organized,” Blais said.

Neither Blais nor Kirkland is an applicant for the executive-director job.

Kirkland, however, has been involved in theater — either on stage or backstage — since 1988.

He blames his family. His mother, Mina Kirkland, was active in community theater. Kirkland acted across from her in Opal, and that was that.

“Theater is a life, not a job,” he said.

With 30 years of construction experience, it didn’t take long to discover his talent behind the scenes, as a set-builder.

Kirkland works in DeLand, and lives in Eustis with his wife of 18 years, Nancy, and their 14-year-old son, Ted.

Kirkland’s father was a Navy man who moved his family, including six children, around the world. Ed Kirkland was born in Naples, Italy. After moving to Virginia Beach, the family settled in Central Florida when Kirkland was in the seventh grade.

Kirkland himself served eight years in the U.S. Navy, and then spent 30 years in the construction field.

In 2008, he graduated at long last from Lake-Sumter Community College, with a general associate degree.

“It took me 30 years to graduate,” Kirkland said. “I started in 1978.”

At least one classmate took longer, he quipped. “There was a lady there who started in 1976.”

Kirkland is now devoting his perseverance to helping make a success of DeLand’s newly reopened theater.

“Athens is supposed to be a cornerstone of the community,” Kirkland said.

He is rolling out idea, after idea, after idea, to bring the community and its theater together.

“It’s our community,” he said. “The sheer joy of coming to a house like this ... this isn’t the high-school gym; this is a real theater.”

Kirkland hinted there may be a showing of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, and maybe even the cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show, at the Athens.

Rocky Horror, especially, is known to draw messy fans.

“If I could fund a cleaning crew, I would bring it in before Halloween, but I don’t have the staff to clean up after,” he said.

Common audience participation by Rocky Horror fans includes the throwing of toast on cue. Kirkland is up for it.

“I don’t mind toast,” he said. “I would prefer non-buttered.”

Kirkland knows his job and life may change again once the new executive director is hired. He’s not sure who the new guy will be, and right now, that doesn’t matter. Kirkland has the wheel of DeLand’s cornerstone, and he’s ready to drive.

“I’m not stopping for anything,” he said.

For more information about the Athens, including schedules, visit www.athenstheatre.org or check The Beacon’s calendars.

— jen@beacononlinenews.com

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