Q&A; -- Acting out for artistic causes

Last year, South Coast Repertory announced that its Next Stage program

to build a new 336-seat theater and expand its offerings got off to a

grand start totaling $22.6 million. Part of that amount was $5 million

from anonymous donors.

On April 13, George and Judie Argyros of Harbor Island stepped into

the spotlight. Well-known in local circles, the Argyros have been

longtime supporters of SCR and the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

Judie Argyros, for whom the new theater will be named, serves on the

board for both groups.

She sat down with Features Editor Jennifer K Mahal to talk about the

donation, her commitment to theater and what she’d like to see performed

on the new stage when it opens in 2002.

How do you decide what organizations you’re going to support?

First off, before we start with that, I would just like to say that my

husband and I just feel fortunate to be able to be connected with SCR.

It’s a theater above and beyond any other one that we’ll ever have and

it’s a real opportunity for us to do whatever we can do to help them.

As far as how do I go about choosing grants, generally it has to be

something that touches my heart, that I feel kindred to, that has a

special meaning for me because we do receive a lot of grant requests. But

the ones that I have a special interest in are the ones that I gravitate

to, most generally. And I’ve found that if I’m really interested in them,

then I’m totally interested in them and I give it my all. It makes the

whole process more complete, rather than just giving money without having

any in depth feeling for it.

So for me -- I can’t speak for my husband, George, because we both

give within the foundation, but independently -- but for me I have to

have a real feeling for the grant that’s being honored.

I think for me, why did I choose SCR? I’ve been in love with this

little theater for over 20 years. I’ve been a trustee for about three

now. And I guarantee you when my little grandbabies -- I have three --

get old enough, I will insist that this be their No. 1 entertainment in

their lives. It’s that important to me, and I just can’t give enough to

it.

What was your first exposure to theater?

As far back as I can remember, the theater has just grasped my

imagination and my spirit and my soul. When I was small, I would take

sheets and blankets and make puppet shows as a little child. And all the

neighborhood would come, and I’d organize where they would sit and the

stage and how the curtain would open and whose puppets would be what.

I also had a mother who gave monologues. In my little hometown, we

didn’t have entertainment like we have now, you know big luncheons where

you get “Larry King Live” and things like that. She was the

entertainment. And she would come and give two or three monologues at a

Rotary luncheon, and they’d give her $5, give her her lunch and she was

their luncheon speaker.

And when I got be about 5, she took me. She taught me how to memorize

my first little monologue. It went like this:

o7 My mother’s got a baby, the cutest little thing. I think I could

pull him through my little rubber ring. Ain’t he kinda ugly? Ain’t he

kinda cute? They say he came down from Heaven. That’s a fib, I think.

f7 So, I’d do that kind of a little thing. Plus, then as I got older,

I’d do more. But as a 5-year-old with my mother I’d come in and do this

kind of a monologue and they thought that was just terrific.

So I think that got me started. Then when I went to high school, I

would do all the school plays. When you love to do it, you just love to

do it.

When SCR’s Next Stage was first announced, you gift was anonymous.

Why?

Well, as I said before, I was a trustee and the campaign was getting

started and the enthusiasm was building, but we really needed people to

contribute money to it to get it going. So, we wanted to be very

supportive and be sure that people would be behind that.

But at that same time, we were right in the middle of the Bush/Cheney

campaign and very active politically and traveling a great deal. There

just wasn’t time for us to do it like we wanted to do it. Right now is

the perfect time because those things are behind us and I’m able to

really do things like this with you and have fun with it. But we didn’t

want to wait until now to give the money, because they wanted their

campaign to get on the go. So, now’s the perfect time and we wanted to

give it then, but we wanted to do it the right way.

How do you feel about the theater being named after you?

I just couldn’t be more proud. It’s beyond any dream I could have ever

had. All I can say is that I’m humbled and I’m proud. Of course, very

very excited. I’ve never been one to think of anything being named after

me. I think the giving is always the thing that’s foremost in my mind.

It’s the seeing the theater progress to the level it can. Because it

really doesn’t matter in something like this if it’s $1 or $5 or $5

million. It’s the perpetuation of the theater that’s the important thing.

But that said, I mean I can’t think of anything that could have made

me any happier. It was my loving husband that really said “No, this is

for you.” And yes, I’m thrilled.

If you got to choose the first play that was seen in the new

theater, what would it be?

Well because I hope a lot of young people will be able to use the

Judie Argyros Stage, if I could choose a play for high school students, I

would probably pick one that I played in, and that is “Father Knows

Best.”

And then here, I would hope that David (Lindsay-Abaire, author of

“Kimberly Akimbo”) would do -- he’ll probably always only write for the

Mainstage -- but if he would write a play for me, or for the Judie

Argyros Stage, that would just be a treat beyond words. I met him, and I

just think that anyone that’s 31 years old and can write things like this

is a genius, and if he’d ever do anything for the Judie Argyros Stage, I

would be honored.

BIO BOX

Name: Judie Argyros

Hometown: Adrian, Mich.

Family: Husband is Orange County developer George Argyros. They have

three children and three grandchildren.

Education: BA Cal State Long Beach in speech therapy. Also received

her teaching credential.

Community involvement: President, Argyros Foundation; trustee, South

Coast Repertory; board of directors, Orange County Performing Arts

Center; board of directors, Trout Unlimited; advisory board, High

Priority (breast cancer education and research); honorary life member,

the Luminaries of the Doheny Eye Institute, Orange County chapter;

member, the Sophisticates of the ATSC.

Fun fact: Argyros is an avid fly-fisherwoman and is licensed as a

fly-fishing guide in Idaho. She works for an outfitter, teaching women

the sport.