European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 7, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                At right scene from a Belt production. Below Peter Claussen. Bottom from left John Epstein Leslie a Aussen Jim Pearcy and Connie Edwards. The Cit needed a by Deedee Arrington Dok staff writer 7/7e scene the airy living room of a West Berlin apartment. A casual blend of evening get together and brainstorming session to plan Berlin English language theater s 1988-89 season is under Way. Several glasses of Beer a Basket of Popcorn and a couple ashtrays Perch on the Coffee table. The cast Jim Pearcy the group s co founder and the evening s Host is bearded and hawaiian shirted. Seated around the Coffee table Are Connie Edwards an intense actress homemaker Peter Claussen cultural attache to the . Embassy in East Berlin Claussen s wife Leslie the embassy s Community Liaison officer and John Epstein a poet teacher who carries a 100-Page poem with him. Like most fledgling theater troupes in major cities Berlin English language theater has t a Home of its own. Rehearsals for the 1987-88 season its first took place in the Park and participants apartments. Performances were staged in bars or in rented space a commodity difficult to come by in West Berlin. Is there room enough in a Mecca for the arts such As West Berlin for one More offbeat troupe of players As far As Jim Pearcy s concerned there s not Only room for his English language group and the contemporary thought provoking plays the members want to perform there s a need. The first show was done out of anger and indignation and a thought that let s try to set some standards beyond the student deck " said Pearcy who previously worked As the theater director for the . Army s entertainment Branch in Berlin. Last season the group performed plays generally associated with off Broadway Kennedy s children a drama by Robert Patrick Robert Athayde s one woman satire miss Margarida s Way and beyond therapy a Christopher Durang comedy. Not exactly Avant Garde offerings but productions clearly marking a theatrical direction that precludes Neil Simon retrospectives or the umpteenth rendition of the Man who came to dinner. The Choice of plays for Belt s initial season grew out of an interest in exposing International audiences to a broader Field of american playwrights Many of whom Are Little known outside theatrical circles. Modern playwrights such As Durang and Patrick often rely less on plot and More on individual characters responses to life in contemporary american society. Pearcy said Many germans of his acquaintance thought the mainstays of the Broadway stage the commercially successful plays and spectacular musicals represented All american theater. And we were saying no it s not but we can t Tell you about it. We have to do it " he added. This was an Opportunity to say Here s what s happening in the states and provide some kind of cultural  by the group s estimate audiences for Belt s shows consist of 60 percent americans and 40 percent germans. Students represent probably our biggest potential audience Pearcy said but English speaking tourists also Are expected to comprise a Large segment of viewers eventually. A lot of us have connections of one kind or another with the american Community and that was another Way of getting an audience said Connie Edwards a former librarian for the . Community and the wife of a former Soldier. Edwards husband Bob now is a musical director in West Berlin s professional theater Community. Pearcy earns a living by dubbing and acting in films and directing theater workshops but he continues a peripheral relationship with the military through such projects As directing the 1987 Talent showcase of the . Air Force in Europe. Before Belt was formed Pearcy and Edwards knew each other through Berlin s . Community theater group for which Leslie Claussen had directed a play after she and her husband arrived at their Post in East Berlin. One disadvantage of limiting dramatic involvement to strictly the . Community theater group however was the difficulty for non americans and those without . Military identification cards to attend or participate in shows produced on base. But the new troupe s non profit status without a sponsoring Agency forces it squarely in the position of having to come up with Money to finance its projects. Actors Are not paid but other costs of mounting a production such As theater rental materials and publicity Are considerable. Corporate donations and Volunteer Effort kept the theater group afloat financially in its first year and Belt itself played the role of Benefactor to a needy cause by doing a Benefit performance of Kennedy s children last year for Berliner aids Hilife. We re seeking corporate funding but everyone s been bled dry Pearcy said. However West Berlin s Senate could emerge As the group s financial Angel if the government organization bestows upon Belt one of its much sought after Grants for arts organi actions. Between 50 and 70 applications typically Are filed for the annual Cash awards Pearcy said which sometimes have amounted to As much As 300,000 Marks. Next season s lineup tentatively includes Tennessee Williams Small Craft warnings old time by British playwright Harold Pinter and a piece still in the formative stage that Pearcy describes As something experimental a performance work hell collaborate on with poet John Epstein. Also in what Belt member Peter Claussen called the talking and dreaming stage is the possibility of taking one production next year to last Berlin. It that happens the play is Apt to be old times which h Claussen is to direct. For Claussen who gets a daily dose of Cuk a through his Job As cultural attache at the . Embassy one payoff for crossing the fast Berlin Border frequently with his Wile to participate is the Chance to do something professional directors rarely get to do usually doing what he wants to  Pearcy s ultimate goal Tor the troupe is simply for it to go Forth and Prosper. I d like to have1 an existing theater in Berlin that presents English language theater he said. It just takes time. It might be Nice to leave something behind. I think it s  july 7, 1988 stripes Magazine