Lewis Kempfer and his ragtag group of merry writers have pulled a book out of their hat called, “120 Seats in a Boiler Room: The Creation of a Courageous Professional Theater.” It is about the founding of the Boiler Room Theater (BRT) by four friends – Kempfer, Jamey Green, Corbin Green, and Teressa Howell-Southworth — with the shared vision of having a professional theater in Franklin, Tennessee at The Factory. The book begins with its birth in 2001 and ends with its final curtain call 14 years later. But along the way, Kempfer takes readers on an adventure behind the curtain and into the magical backstage world of professional theater.
The Boiler Room Theater really, really was built in a dilapidated, near-century-old factory boiler room that was no longer functioning, but it was filled with years and years of debris. Kempfer and his friends cleaned out the mess and raised the funds to turn the space into an award-winning theater.
“[The boiler room] was magical, and when we opened in March 2001, people were just blown away,” Kempfer told the Williamson Herald. “The rumblings started happening of ‘wait a minute, they’re going to put a theater in a boiler room? What does that mean? Is it going to be hot all the time?’ People had seen shows in church basements and converted, you know, fill in the blank: warehouses, restaurants, whatever. But a boiler room? People were intrigued.”
Kempfer, who has also written the much honored “Don’t Mind Me, I’m Just Having a Bad Life,” calls the book a story of a “scrappy little theater that could.” It is a blend of memoir and “how to,” with lore about how the four friends built the theater out of nothing and tales of pulling their 96 main stage productions together. He has also brought in 12 guest authors who were actors, directors, managers and others who put heart and soul, sweat and lots of long days and nights into making every production a success.
One of the guest writers is Lauri Dismuke. She was the first person ever to be cast at BRT. She auditioned for their first-year production of “A Chorus Line.” “Dismuke came to BRT thinking she was only a dancer,” said Kempfer on Facebook, “but quickly developed into an outstanding leading lady triple threat [– singing, dancing, and acting]. She blew away the competition, and was named Best Performance in a Musical for her stunning portrayal of Adelaide in “Guys and Dolls” in 2003 by the Nashville Scene.”
“’A Chorus Line’ was our one big, singular sensational gamble, placing this huge show in the first season of a new theater company in an intimate space,” said Kempfer. “But we pulled it off and audiences were blown away. They remarked how wonderful it was to be so close to the actors and really see them in an intimate space that big venues cannot do.”
Patrick Kramer, another guest author, came to the Boiler Room during its first season, but ended up staying for 39 more productions as an actor or director. He played Wally Ferguson in the theater’s first production, “The 1940s Radio Hour,” then went on to play such memorable roles as Riff Raff in “The Rocky Horror Show,” J. Pierpont Finch in “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” and Leo Bloom in “The Producers.”
In 2006, Kempfer left BRT to pursue his movie production dreams in Los Angeles, but Sondra Morton took on the position of Operations Manager for the company, after initially getting involved by auditioning for the 2002 hit comedy “Lucky Stiff.” She is another of his guest writers and she shares her memories of theater life after he left.
The theater never really received a final bow in 2014, it faded into memories and photos on their Facebook page which is still up and contains stills and posters from the last few years of performances. Another theater company eventually took over the space the following year.
A last review in July of 2014 said, “We have been going to shows at the Boiler Room for several years. I hear they are undergoing renovations, which is a good thing, but we hope they don’t lose the charm of the small theatre…We hope they start back again soon.”
“I’m always so incredibly proud of what we did,” said Jamey Green, Co-Founder and Artistic Director. “The Boiler Room lives in the many who we touched, trained, and empowered. It won’t soon be forgotten.”
Growing up in Denver, Colorado, Kempfer came to Nashville to pursue an opportunity for a country-music record deal in 1995. While directing and producing at the Boiler Room, he wrote book and lyrics for the hit original musical “That ’60s Christmas Show”. In 2006, his theater work and award-winning, self-promotional short film, “From Concept to Completion”, led to a dream job with a major entertainment company in Los Angeles, California. He has since returned to his roots, and lives near Denver.
The book is available in paperback and Kindle editions from Amazon now. Here is the purchase link for Amazon. Additional information is available at www.BoilerRoomTheatreBook.com.
