Gloria Loring Finds Herself in Familiar Territory

Gloria Loring dips into familiar waters for Nan and Ivan Lyons’ new comedy, “Queen of the Soaps,” which opened Friday under Shashin Desai’s direction at International City Theatre in Long Beach.

“I understand the arena,” acknowledged the actress-singer, a veteran of TV’s “Days of Our Lives.” Loring’s character here is soap diva Monica McKay, who finds herself in an on- and off-camera love triangle, torn between her ex-husband (the soap’s producer-creator-writer) and her current boyfriend (who-- naturally --also plays her onscreen amour), who wants to marry her, chuck the show-biz life and retire with her to a cabin in the woods.

“People do bring their crises of real life to the set--and sometimes it mirrors what’s going on there,” Loring noted. “At one point, Monica and Harry’s characters are getting married onstage; offstage, he’s just walked out on her. Monica is really at a crossroads in her life. After 20 years of playing this character, she doesn’t know who she is. So it’s about the need to be an authentic person, separate the two lives.”

Sometimes, the line gets a little blurry for Loring, too.

“I’m starting to have dreams about Monica and (her character) Janet,” joked Loring, who’s juggling rehearsals, a book in the works and a new nightclub act, which she broke in recently in Las Vegas. “It’s very easy to identify with. Monica’s a star, bigger than life; she owns that set. After 20 years, she’s a part of the walls. She’s not really a bitch, but she’s very powerful. ‘Don’t mess with me.’ But there’s also a vulnerability under all the star crap.”

MONEY, PLEASE: The call is out for funds at the Groundlings Theatre, where the 16-year-old comedy troupe has found itself in a major cash-flow crunch. Escalating expenses, particularly a rent increase (50% from 1989) are to blame, says the company’s new executive director, Andrea Ladik.

As of August, however, things are changing. With a year-end goal of $30,000, a “fundometer” was installed in the lobby--initially at “Laura Palmer” status, an $8,000 infusion has upgraded its condition to “Sickly”--and the search for grants and corporate sponsorship is under way. “We’ve recognized that there’s a problem,” Ladik noted. “Now we have to get through this crisis and start planning for ongoing funding.”

She stresses that business continues strong, with often sold-out shows and a healthy enrollment at the Groundlings School. Yet Ladik is determined not to make up the shortfall at the box office; after a small price increase for Friday and Sunday shows, she’s hoping to hold the line on ticket prices--and go in-house for help.

In that spirit, longtime Groundling George McGrath has donated the proceeds from his “Your Very Own TV Show” (Thursdays at the Groundlings Theatre), and a benefit starring company