Photo by McLean Fletcher
Originally from North Carolina, McLean Fletcher came to Richmond accompanying her husband. The marriage didn’t last, but she found her place on the city’s stages and as a company member of the former TheatreLab and later its associate artistic director. In 2014, the night before “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” opened in what was then the gritty Basement performance space, she made over the grotty bathrooms by painting nonsense words on the walls and stalls.
Seven years ago, Fletcher left the city to earn a master’s degree in classical acting at George Washington University. Following a circuitous course, she’s returned to the place where her character arc began.
Much has happened in between, including a stint in New York as a magician’s assistant. While in Las Vegas, she contended with Stevens-Johnson syndrome, an affliction of the skin and mucous membranes. As she describes it, “Basically, your body burns from the inside out.” Confined to a hospital, she thought of dying.
Instead, she emerged anew — drawing comparison to the mythological phoenix, reborn from ashes.
Basement Artistic Director McLean Fletcher (Photo by Brianne Oltermann White)
Living in Los Angeles, Fletcher made several realizations. She’d previously been cast in commercials and short films but discovered that, due to the disease having scarred her retinas, working under bright lights was painful. She also wanted to write and produce plays and films, and to achieve this, she didn’t need to reside in LA.
The offer of a rent-free dog-sitting job for a friend moved her eastward. She reconnected with Matthew Bauserman, owner of the building containing The Basement. TheatreLab’s departure spurred Bauserman to set up a nonprofit arts and entertainment venue. He hired Fletcher for touch-ups to the redefined space. She returned to painting the much-less-scary bathrooms. After a few weeks, Bauserman asked if she’d become artistic director for the space.
Already in place were Mercedes Benson as facilities and bar manager and Brianne Oltermann White as the director of finances and administration.
“I said yes pretty much right away. Later that night, I went home and thought, ‘What have I done?’” Fletcher says with a laugh.
Her plans for the space include a listening room music program, art exhibitions, courses in figure drawing, film screenings, burlesque shows, open mic nights and theater. The space is intimate, with fixed seating for 50, a proscenium stage, an LED lighting grid and a screen wall for projections.
The bar area possesses a cabaret feel, “which is appropriate, since apparently back during Prohibition this was a speakeasy,” she says. After the social media announcement about the new Basement, requests have flooded in from musicians, artists, event planners and others.
This month, Fletcher is testing art exhibiting, showcasing her own work accompanied by live music and dance. A burlesque performance, acting workshop and a special event featuring actress Grey Garrett are also scheduled for this month. For the full calendar, visit thebasementrva.org.
“We’re going to see what works best here,” she says. “The Basement will tell us what should be happening.”
