THEATER: Paul Harris remembered for life’s work

In today's print Theater Chat column, I talk about Paul Harris, the namesake for a small theater on the University of Nevada campus. Harris' death at the age of 90 earlier this month took much of the community by surprise. Here, Paul Thornton, a prominent local director and producer, offers some remembrances:

"As president of Las Vegas Little Theatre, in 1986, I was required to check in with production teams to make sure they had everything they needed. There were two lone buildings on the campus then, the Frazier and Grant halls, and they housed the staff and classrooms for the entire curriculum.

"As I approached the Grant Hall Little Theater on the UNLV campus, I heard someone screaming in pain. Bursting through the double doors in a panic, I saw a young girl laying on a hospital gurney. At her feet, positioned between her legs, a man bent at the waist pounded his fist, yelling, 'Push! Push, dammit, push!'

"This was my first exposure to Paul Harris, who was directing a piece called 'Dragons,' about a young, unwed girl giving birth to a deformed child.

"Harris had already completed a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Colorado at Boulder and his master's degree in drama at Stanford University when UNLV hired him in 1959. The opportunity to establish a theater department and put his stamp on it was a powerful enticement to relocate his family to the middle of the desert.

"There was no real performance venue yet, just an empty room where they mounted productions. Harris' directorial debut was the Greek drama 'Antigone,' which, to people's surprise, filled the seats, albeit mostly due to nuns from the local Catholic parish.

"After completing his doctorate in speech and drama at Stanford, Harris began prodding continual exponential growth. Fred Olson as technical director and Jerry Crawford, as a drama professor, joined the staff. They presented four productions a year — including plays by Brecht, Shaw, Shakespeare, Euripides — playwrights a community theater wouldn’t touch.

"Today his efforts are quite visible, with the famous flashlight sculpture, the 500-seat Judy Bayley Theatre, the 1,000-seat (Artemus W.) Ham Concert Hall and the 250-seat Black Box Theatre, all doing brisk business.

"Harris called me one day when I was on the board of the Allied Arts Council. He was directing a production of 'Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You.' The play is not a favorite of the Catholic Church, to say the least, and the local parish had asked him to cancel, or they would pronounce an official ban. Bear in mind the local nuns had been faithful patrons and Harris was in a quandary. I don’t know how many other people he called prior to his decision, but the show went on — and sold out before opening.

"At his retirement reception in 1989, the university announced the commissioning of a new 99-seat theater, incorporated within the new Beam Fine Arts Center. When it was completed in 1996 it was named the Paul C. Harris Theatre, a fitting tribute to the man who built the theater program from the ground up.

"After Harris retired, he continued directing around town and served on several theater boards. He directed a wide variety of comedies and dramas, spreading his knowledge and spirit among theater companies.

"Two of his children, Paul Jr. and Amy, inherited the theater gene from their dad. I asked him what advice he had given them over the years.

" 'I told my son, when he moved to New York to become a professional actor, to audition as much as he could and listen and learn. And when I directed Amy in "Blithe Spirit," I told her what I told every member of the cast: Ask yourself, what does the character want and under what circumstances? That is the basic question every actor must answer.'

"It appears Harris asked himself that question 50 years ago. The answer became his life’s work in Las Vegas."