Co-Producers of New Plays Get Behind ‘The Wheel’

Before “The Wheel” was a play, it was a wedding present.

“Two and a half years ago, when my friends Bryan Cranston and Robin Dearden got married, I gave it to them,” explained playwright Barbara Bishop. “At the time, it was just five pages of synopsis.” With the encouragement of L.A. Theatre Artists co-producers Lise Middleton and Alice Platt, the piece has since been developed into a full-length work and is now playing at the Carpet Company Stage on Pico Boulevard--with Cranston and Dearden in the cast.

The play’s title refers to the American Indian medicine wheel that is composed of four directions: mental, physical, emotional and spiritual. “I thought it would be interesting to look at that from a male/female point of view,” said Bishop, whose first play, “Siblings,” ran at the Gnu Theatre in 1989. “I work with a counselor who has a lot of Native American influences, and he does a course of basic principles behind the wheel.”

The story, said Middleton, “is about these spirits, Anima and Animus, who have come together to find if life in the ‘90s is worth living. Anima and Animus represent the spiritual arena, and they look in on three couples: lawyers, the mental arena; a one-night stand, the physical arena, and a high school geek and a prom queen who haven’t seen each other in 20 years--the emotional arena.

“It’s about relationships,” she said, “though we don’t like to use that word. It’s kind of taboo.”

Since moving into the storefront space six years ago, Middleton, 31, and Platt, 29, have played host to a number of new works, including the recent “Delicacies,” “Mission to the Philistines” and “Elvis, Lies and Videotape.” Their most successful shows have been the waitressing comedy “Waiting” (1987) and the AIDS-themed “seven sundays” (1988). For “Wheel,” they hired set designer Douglas D. Smith (of the late Los Angeles Theatre Center) and director Gale Salus.

“When we get involved, we put in our artistic input,” said Middleton, who has occasionally used the space as a rental facility. Added Platt, “There’s no reason to do a show unless we totally love it and believe in it. With this play, about one-fourth was written, the rest was laid out conceptually; it was really just an idea. What’s exciting is when we can work with the playwright and make it happen.”

The two women met at UCLA in 1983. Middleton was getting a master of fine arts degree in theater, Platt was finishing her undergraduate work, and soon they were friends. In 1985, they joined forces to produce a show for a group of fellow UCLA students; in 1986, they took over the lease at the Carpet Company. “We prefer to call it intimate,” Middleton said of the 35-seat space. “It sounds better than small or tiny.”

The partnership itself is “completely equal,” Platt said. “We discuss everything. When it comes to the work, Lise does more of the press things, and I have more of the technical background. But what’s really amazing is how close our tastes are. And since we’re also good friends, we can always get ahold of each other. Last weekend, we were on our way to a party and spent the time in the car talking about business.”

Since both have full-time day jobs--Middleton is in foreign distribution at 20th Century-Fox, Platt is marketing manager for UCLA’s Campus Activities Service office--they juggle theater duties at lunch, at nights and on weekends. “We’ve got readings, going to see other people’s work, lots of time on the phone,” Middleton said. “The reason we can do it is that neither of us is married or has kids--which is fine at this time in my life.”

Born in Buffalo, N.Y., Middleton moved to Montreal at age 2 when her parents divorced, then relocated to Chicago when her mother remarried 10 years later. She returned to Canada for a business degree at McGill University before heading for graduate studies at UCLA. Platt was raised locally and came to theater via acting. She and Middleton shared Women in Theatre’s Outstanding Achievement Award in 1990.

It was a welcome boost. “When we first opened the theater, we thought donations would just be pouring in,” Middleton said. “There have been lean times; it’s not as easy as we imagined. But we learned the ropes, built a reputation, became known as a place for new material.” Platt echoes her satisfaction: “I love what we’re doing. We can find a play, find a director, find the actors. We can do exactly what we want to do.”