MEMBERS OF THE TRIBE DEDICATED N.H. THEATER TROUPE TAKES IT SLOW AND STEADY.

Byline: Evan Henerson Theater Writer

Keep your eyes on July, Tribe watchers.

The next fully staged, mainstage show to hit the boards at North Hollywood's 38-seat Theatre Tribe will be a world premiere titled ``The Intern.'' The play, by company member John Cellini, is a kind of political thriller examining the relationship between an up-and-coming politician and his intern. It opens July 8.

So, yes indeed, the Theatre Tribe will produce again. Which, given the company's ``no wine before its time'' approach to play-making, should be welcome news to anyone following the fortunes of the 4-year-old company housed within the El Portal Center for the Arts.

``We're slow,'' admits a laughing Stuart Rogers, Theatre Tribe's artistic director. ``Because we're slow, I think to some degree we've been overlooked. We're not as prolific as some other companies, and that's partly due to our mission statement. But we've done well so far, I think, because we spend a lot of time and energy trying to make the piece as good as we can and really make ourselves happy with it before we go outside to the world. It's not about, 'Let's get something up to showcase.' ''

A member of a three-generation theater family, Rogers as a child moved around like a military brat as his father produced Equity seasons at regional theaters in San Francisco, Arizona, Hawaii and throughout Southern California. Rogers began booking acting jobs out of high school. Nursing a dream of creating a theater company whose members could also land film and TV jobs, Rogers began enlisting both his own students and like-minded actors from other companies.

The group's first production, ``The Memory of Water,'' was presented at the Jewel Box Theatre in Hollywood. Rogers took out a lease on the El Portal's 38-seat space and opened Lanford Wilson's ``Sympathetic Magic'' in the spring of 2002. Nancy Bianconi, theater director for the NoHo Theatre and Arts Festival, recalls Rogers' arrival in theater-packed NoHo and the gift baskets he sent to the already established companies.

Good will among NoHo neighbors is essential, says Rogers.

``I believe theater inspires theater. This neighborhood is great because there are so many small theaters doing such good work. I don't think it should ever be competitive. We need more good theater, you know?''

Theatre Tribe - so named because Rogers views artistic expression as a collaborative rather than competitive venture - is an invitation-only membership company geared toward staging new works or plays previously unseen in Los Angeles. Even with a team of readers combing through entries and submissions, locating the jewels that larger, more established companies don't pluck up is a challenge, according to Rogers, but one that the unhurried company can afford to endure.

Precisely how ``slow'' is this company? Theatre Tribe's last fully staged production - the award-winning production of Lanford Wilson's ``Book of Days'' - opened in the spring of 2004. Clifford Odetts' ``Waiting for Lefty'' played the spring before. All four productions staged since Rogers moved the Tribe from Hollywood to NoHo have played to enthusiastic audiences, strong reviews and extensions, prompting the artistic director to predict - tongue hopefully in cheek - ``we're overdue for a big fat flop.''

``Not producing at all is death for a company,'' says Rogers, ``and we've become very prolific in our development process. What we work on more than anything is development: How can we work better and have a deeper experience on stage? We produce year-round, we just don't open for the public.''

Indeed, the high-ceilinged space in the El Portal complex is a veritable hive of members-only Tribe activity. Between writing, acting and directing workshops, the classes Rogers teaches through his studio, and the company's regular Sunday Brunch theater - in which members can take creative risks - there's usually something going on. Several Theatre Tribe Sunday Brunch offerings, including a selection from Jane Anderson's ``The Baby Dance'' and David Kronmiller's ``Soup,'' will be staged as part of the NoHo Theatre and Arts Festival this weekend.

Jeff Kerr McGivney, who produces the Sunday Brunch series, is encouraged by the number of company members who are using the series to flex their creative muscles. McGivney has directed a production of Lanford Wilson's ``The Gingham Dog'' and will appear in a June Brunch offering of Sartre's ``No Exit.''

``Luckily lately the drive of the company has come around a little bit more,'' says McGivney. ``It used to be me and a few other people pushing to get the (Sunday Brunch) up. Actors who started this company three years ago who used to sit in the background waiting to get cast by Stuart are saying, 'You know what? I'd like to do ... ' - fill in the blank. It's exciting to see some of these people getting their own creative force and coupling with the company's creative force.''

The Tribe's mission statement includes cinema as well, and Rogers will launch the company's film component in June. Theatre Tribe will shoot three short films over the summer partially with the aid of a grant from Panavision.

``So we'll be making three short films while 'The Intern' is going to be running,'' says Rogers. ``So we can be doing nothing, but when we do something, we slam it hard.''

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``I believe theater inspires theater,'' says Stuart Rogers, Theatre Tribe's artistic director.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer