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 Early experience paced Pott's path to long career in the arts... By Ron Paglia, For The Tribune-Review, April 9, 2006 Janey Potts likes to joke that she tap-danced her way out of the womb and hasn't stopped since. "I feel extremely fortunate to have had opportunities to work in the arts my entire life," said Potts, a 1975 graduate of Charleroi Area High School now living in Santa Fe, N.M. "It's truly a business that I love." That affection for performing and performers began when Potts was in high school, where she was involved "in all the dramas and musicals." Today, nearly 31 years after leaving Charleroi Area High School, Potts remains deeply involved in the arts as director of the New Mexico CultureNet Board of Directors, chair of the Facilities Sub-Committee of Creative Santa Fe and of several other organizations in New Mexico. "I took a few months off during the summer of 2003 to try to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up," Potts, 48, said, smiling. "I knew I never again wanted to run a fledgling nonprofit arts organization. That's way too stressful. Then I began getting phone calls to work on special projects, and I now am an independent contractor primarily for visual and performing arts organizations doing event planning, marketing, organizational development grant-writing, pretty much anything my clients ask to me to do as long as it's legal." Potts is extremely active in the community, volunteering her time and expertise as a board member and through committee work. One of her most recent volunteer activities was working on the New Mexico float for the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif. "I greatly enjoyed that," she said. "There were about 120 of us who went from New Mexico to Pasadena and spent the week prior to the parade representing the New Mexico Department of Tourism." Potts also got back on stage for the first time in 20 years recently. "I did a play reading of Dylan Thomas' 'Under Milkwood' for a local theater company," she said. "I was terrified, but it felt great to get laughs from the audience again." As a student at Charleroi Area High School, Potts portrayed Kate Keller in "The Miracle Worker" and Dolly Levi in "The Matchmaker" and was in the chorus in "Bye Bye, Birdie." She also toiled as a technician, choreographer and director for "Once Upon A Mattress" and "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown." "I guess I got special treatment due to my work in professional theater at a young age," Potts said. "I had the opportunity to perform at the Twin Coaches Dinner Theatre and in productions in and around the Pittsburgh area while in high school. To be paid as a performer at that age was probably what set me on my life's path. I mean, getting paid for something you'd do without pay? That's pretty nice." Potts said Julianna Van Arsdale was her "theatrical inspiration" in high school. Van Arsdale, an English teacher at Charleroi Area, was the director of productions there for many years. "We worked side by side for many hours in the theater, often into the wee hours of the morning building and painting sets," Potts said of Van Arsdale. "I learned so much about the craft from her. She still teaches at Charleroi, and they are fortunate to have her there." Potts also credits her parents and her sister for their "strong support." Her late father, Clarence Potts, who died in 1984, was a policeman in Charleroi and also worked as a bus driver for the school district. Her mother, Helen Peach McClurg, who lives with her husband, Roger, in State College, worked at Miller's department store for many years. Her sister, Nancy Batko, also a CAHS graduate, lives in Boca Raton, Fla., with her daughter Katy, 22. "Growing up in the Mon Valley provided me a work ethic rarely seen in other parts of the country," Potts said. "My mom and dad worked very hard to provide for their family, and I cherish that lesson learned from them. I'm also grateful to my sister Nancy for allowing me to tag along as a youngster and never complaining about my involvement in the theater with her." Potts emphasized that her parents were "extremely supportive" of her and her sister working in the theater. "Since we were working with professional actors, I got to know a number of people from New York," she said. "While in high school, I took several solo trips to New York to visit them and always saw at least one Broadway show every day, sometimes two a day. This was also something that encouraged me to continue on the theater path." Potts entered the work force immediately after high school and at age 20 was appointed managing director of Dinner Theater on the Ridge, a position she held for three years. She worked as an actor, director and administrator for the company at the Holiday Inn in Irwin. "This is where I gained experience in the administrative end of the business," she said. In 1979, Potts, who had studied at Point Park College in Pittsburgh during that time, "felt the West calling out to me" and moved to Los Angeles. She stayed there for eight years. "I was able to use both skill sets while in L.A., on stage and off," Potts said. "I worked in both capacities at the Morgan-Wixon Theatre in Santa Monica, at the experimental Odyssey Theatre Ensemble in Los Angeles and for a number of smaller Equity waiver companies. I also hooked up with a performing group called Poets, Lovers and Madmen, a Shakespeare touring group that performed in theaters, schools, on the UCLA campus and pretty much anywhere we could make a 'stage.' It was a uniquely enriching experience for the whole company. I also was involved in the planning of the Olympic Arts Festival, and that was extremely rewarding." During her stay in Los Angeles, Potts received sound advice from Ron Sossi, artistic director of the Odyssey Theatre Ensemble. "He taught me that, 'If you don't ask, you don't get,' and 'If you want the stars, ask for the moon, too,'" Potts said. "He gave me numerous opportunities and provided a great deal of encouragement." Those words remained with Potts, who also studied at Santa Monica College, when she and her husband moved to Sacramento. She was married for 13 years to Alan Zimmerman, whom she met in Los Angeles. They have been divorced for two years but remain "dear friends." "It was in Sacramento that I decided to leave the stage (as an actor)," Potts said. "Most people feel you can't do both things well, so I decided to concentrate on my administrative career by working in fundraising and marketing for the Sacramento Opera and The Fantasy Theatre for Children, which was founded by TV/film actor Tim Busfield and his brother, Buck. I spent eight years at the Sacramento Theatre Company, an Equity group that produced eight plays each season. I held almost every administrative position there, ending up as managing director for several years. It was in Sacramento that I truly learned what community service means, as I was involved on a number of boards and committees." Then, in 1998, Santa Fe beckoned. "In the professional theater business, it's not six degrees of separation, it's more like two degrees of separation," Potts said. "If you don't know the person directly, then you know someone who knows them. This is primarily due to all the travel that professional actors and directors need to do to remain employed at regional theaters throughout the country. An actress I knew from Sacramento called one day in 1998 to say that Shakespeare in Santa Fe was looking for a managing director and wanted referrals from their company members rather than do an expensive national search." Potts accepted the job in Santa Fe and immersed herself in the company and her new community. "It was challenging to produce outdoor Shakespeare during a monsoon season," she said, laughing. "But to see the numbers of diverse people it attracted was extremely rewarding. We had the very wealthy sitting on the grassy areas next to a family of Native Americans, everyone from grandmothers to tiny babies. Many young people came, as it was an inexpensive outing where they would picnic prior to the show and then experience professional classical theater under the stars. It was magical. Sadly, it didn't last, and the company closed, for a variety of reasons." Potts calls Santa Fe a "very special place." "It is rich in its arts with museums, performing arts, a plethora of art galleries, not to mention the cultural diversity which makes it a unique and interesting place to call home," she said. "The weather is nearly perfect, although we can always use more rain and snow, and Santa Fe sits at 7,000 feet above sea level and boasts spectacular views. I ask almost daily, 'Aren't we lucky to live here?' I sure am." Potts has two canine companions: Godfrey, whom she adopted from the Santa Fe Animal Shelter, and Brie, "whom Godfrey picked out at the local dog park." "They're both about 2 years old and very active," Potts said. While she savors life in New Mexico, Potts is not about to forget her roots. "I have very good memories of Charleroi and the Mon Valley," she said. "Playing on Lookout Avenue is one of the fondest. There were a lot of kids who lived on my block. One time we counted the number of kids who played on Lookout, and I remember it was something like 58. The Byron family alone provided seven of them. We'd play Seven-Up against the wall, Buck Buck against the phone pole, jump rope with the rope tied to the mailbox, Arrows (a form of hide and seek), baseball, you name it. My friends included Marty, Wendy and Darby Gerard. In later years I hung out with the Speers gang, Nancy Bello, Brad Farner, Cindy Robinson and Nancy Carroll. "I also loved walking around downtown on Saturday and Monday nights. It was crowded," Potts continued. "I loved to go shopping for shoes. I think Charleroi gave me the shoe fetish that I still have to this day because there were so many shoe stores in town." Potts also has fond memories of her "adopted" grandparents, the late Joe and Caroline Hubinon, of Charleroi. "They never had children so they 'adopted' my sister Nancy and me as their grandchildren," Potts said. "They were wonderful people." Potts' link to the area also has become solidified by her getting back in touch with others from Charleroi and learning about their accomplishments on the Charleroi Area School District Web site originated and maintained by Jeane Palfrey (Class of 1974). "Only recently have I reconnected with my classmates, and it's been interesting," she said. "Dan Douro contacted me last year, and we were able to see each other at the All '70s reunion in Charleroi in September 2005. I've also reconnected with Dave Osborne, and he's been out to Santa Fe a couple of times. I visited with Joe Scaccia when I was in Pasadena and I saw Craig "Jet" Hladik fairly often when I was living in Los Angeles." Like many others who live and work elsewhere, Potts left part of her heart in Charleroi and expresses concern for the community. "When we were growing up there, it was vibrant, alive and full of promise," she said. "I have few reasons to return since my grandfather has passed on, but I still care about our community. There's so much opportunity there, they just need to think about the possibilities. I'm just wondering if there is any way that we, as professionals, can make a difference. There are a lot of us who have ventured into other territories and may be able to help. We want to see a resurgence of interest in our town and its vitality restored. I know I'm not alone in those feelings. I really think some of us can help." | John Woodward, '77 | Andrea Todora, '74 | James R. Moon, '73 | David Mudrick & Cindy Colvin, '74 | George Braunegg, '75 | Bob Burns, '76 | Bill Woytovich, '73 | Michael 'Reed' Popovich, '74 | Karen A. Theys, '74 | Keith Spear, '74 | Vicki DuJordan, '71 | Leslie Kibler, '77 | Valerie Marraccini, '76 & Dennis J. Stitch, '78 | Janey Potts, '75 | Joseph R. Scaccia, '75 | Cheryl Deep, '74 | Mark Mascara, '74 | Jeff Kossol, '71 | Philip J. Kellman, '72 | Sheri Monack, '75 | | TEACHERS/STAFF | THE 40's and PRIOR | THE 50's | THE 60's | THE 70's | THE 80's | THE 90's | THE NEW MILLENNIUM! | | Return Home | 'Contact Us'... Submit Profile & UPDATES | Class Directory | Reunions (Includes Possible ALL 60's Reunion) | Where Are They Now? / Where They Were | Photo Gallery | TOWN TALK | Sports! | SCHOLASTICS | |
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