SEE "THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR PARNASSUS" IN A THEATRE WTH QUALITY SOUND SYSTEM

Poster
Click on picture to enlarge
Picture retrieved at the
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus fans' support site

Heath Ledger as Tony in his final movie
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Click on picture to enlarge
Picture from Sony Pictures Classics

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Written, Produced and Directed by Terry Gilliam

Promotion of a Movie Makes a Difference to How Many Show Up

This post is about Terry Gilliam's movie The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and therefore all the people involved in this work of imagination and creativity. But this post is unlike the reviews that give you the synopsis of the movie in their own words. And here is one of the best. But I am going to take on addressing frustration that I have about this movie not being duly promoted by its USA distributor, Sony Pictures Classics, while also including some general frustrations in the USA and money being our guide. Perhaps, our master.

All is not equal in the world of what is pushed upon us versus what is not. Solely because something is promoted, put in our faces, reported doesn't mean it is worthy of our attention. The opposite is also true. There are things, stories worth our time and money that get minimal attention and sometimes no telling or promoting. This movie is one of those. It has received minimal supportive promotion by its distributor.

On the Whole

I cannot express how exasperated I am with how backwards we have gotten in the United States of America. Our media can take an important story, such as Haiti's earthquake and repeat it 24 hours a day, until I can't take anymore and my solution becomes to shut off the TV. An important story of a 7 year genocide can be marginalized and basically ignored by a media who shies away from such stories of real reality and airs way too many mind-numbing "reality" shows. News media has morphed into entertainment outlets, using the 20 minutes a night with time split between national and world news with the category of pop news, which more appropriately belongs on Entertainment Tonight.

Money Makes the World Go Around - Or Does It?

On the whole, "we" have decided that the deciding factor in what is important and best - is what makes the most money. Life is all about money or it isn't. I am going to go out on a limb and say "Life is not all about money". The important things in life are about truth, integrity, humanity, caring for nature, beauty, appreciating it, imagination and creativity.

In a Nutshell

So many undeserving movies get funding for publicity so that the public will go to see them. And many of those movies serve to dumb us down. And then there are movies like Doctor Parnassus that deserve appreciation, viewers and, for sure, funding for publicizing it – so that the public knows it is there for the enjoyment. What a pity the world gets shortchanged because a distributor decides not to really distribute the big screen experience that this Gilliam movie merits.

It is a shame that Sony Pictures Classics bought the rights to this movie and are not promoting it - at least where I live, there has been not one trailer on TV for Parnassus. People won't go to a movie, they haven't heard is out there.

I have thankfully had the opportunity to have The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus available to me in a theatre 45 miles away. I saw it the opening night, January 8, 2010 in Providence, Rhode Island's independent film, one-screen cinema, at the Avon Cinema. I saw it there five times, twice watching back-to-back screenings (paying each time). And each time I stayed all the way to the very end. And each time, I listened for the ring tones that Johanna, a wonderful Heath Ledger fan, mentioned to me in an email. But I just never heard them. I wondered about this and tried to figure it out. When I took my neighbor girl to see it, we both listened and heard nothing. I studied the music credits to try to get a clue.

Later, I read that they happened after the last credit left the screen and the screen went dark. Read about it here.
Here is a portion of Theresa's post from The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus.support site:
...I had noticed after the credits when the screen went dark that the score of the film played in what sounded like cell phone tones coming from every direction... I ... asked Terry Gilliam about the score being played in cell phone tones. He said, “To me it is the sound of many, many people trying to call Heath on Tony’s cell phone. Unfortunately, he still doesn’t seem to be picking up. One blogger/reviewer said it brought tears to his eyes. Obviously he got it.”

Not All Theatres Are Equal

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus closed at the Avon Cinema January 21, which I considered unthinkable, being the date of the night that Heath Ledger took an accidental lethal mixture of prescription drugs two years ago. Therefore dying before the completion of the shooting of this movie. He was pronounced dead January 22. For me, it was like, he died the 22nd and so did my chance - and everyone else's in Rhode Island - to see his final movie, again.

Then, I googled "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus in Rhode Island theatres" and found that it was playing in Providence at Providence Place at a complex, Providence Place Cinemas 16 & IMAX. It started there January 22, 2009 - as I say, the two year anniversary date of Mr. Heath Ledger's passing. It was a phoenix for me. I couldn't have gone on the the 22nd or 23rd, but immediately I made mental plans to change my schedule, so that I could go yesterday to see it at the 2:35 p.m. screening.

So, I left the house an hour before it was to begin, maneuvered my car around the maze of the multi-tiered parking garage and hopefully parked in a spot that I could easily locate later. By the time I got inside the many-leveled mall, and asked a willing stranger to help me figure out how to find my way up three flights of escalators, then an extra set to the theatre floor itself, I still had five plus minutes to spare.

I walked up to the ticket counter under imposing spacial ceilings and darkened, liberally spacious while cavernous floor plan. Tuesdays are "bargain" day. And what a bargain! $6 only. I said simply Parnassus. And got an unknowing look from the young girl. So, I lengthened the name and said Doctor Parnassus. Another blank look was her response. So I said it all: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. She shook her head affirmatively and got halfway through saying The Imaginarium... herself, while pressing the right buttons to deliver the ticket for me.. We exchanged six dollars and a ticket. Number 10 was where I was headed, first door on my left.

Still I arrived early inside number 10. I had been once or twice here before. Beautiful theatre, stadium seating. I had my pick of seats. Straight out from the the center portion of the screen, center seat.

Just let me jump to what I experienced

This was a whole new movie for me. It was, in some ways, like I was "seeing" it for the first time. I saw things I never saw before. Well, noticed. Maybe, it was because, now I wasn't just there mourning the loss of someone I had learned to love. Learned to love after he passed away. You see, this is the first movie of Heath's that I had the privilege to experience on the big screen. I have seen almost everything he has done on dvd. Probably the only thing I haven't seen now is the soap he was on. But I had seen this movie five times in the other theatre, that specializes in independent type movies.

But this was different. The picture wasn't any clearer. I would hope that someday the definition could be, well more defined. But the sound. The sound! The fabulous sound in this theatre was different. Sublime. Compared to the Avon Cinema it was out of this world. I heard things that I never experienced the first five times that I saw Doctor Parnassus. The surround sound was sensational. And so needed to fully appreciate this work of Mr. Gilliam's.

I cannot not praise it enough.

And I heard the ring tones.

I heard the ring tones!

Ahhh... Finally.

Cool.

It was wonderful to see this movie in a theatre that was equipped with a great sound system. No offense to the Avon. However. Not all theatres are equal. This contrast of an experience was proof to me.

And if I had only had the other experience I would have never known. Just like I don't know what it is like to see those beautiful Canadian landscapes in Brokeback Mountain filling in for Wyoming or Montana or ? on a big, sweeping screen. And with a beautiful sound system.

Okay, let me say this: This movie was. so. much. better ~ when I saw it in a good quality theatre. It is not enough to see it in just any theatre. If you can, see it in a theatre with an up-to-date sound system. But, of course, do see it. Seeing it only on your TV can't give you the experience this movie deserves. Well, maybe you have a large screen, high definition and surround sound. I don't. But even if you do, it is worth you going to a theatre to see it the way it was meant to be experienced. I am a convert now to a dvd not being the way to see movies. (But I will still continue watching my Heath Ledger dvds over and over. You can't beat the special features on the dvds, at least.)

I am going again tomorrow to see The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. On the walk out after the movie, I asked - and hopefully, the ticket person is right - this movie will be here at least one additional week. We'll see. I wasn't the only person in the theatre on bargain Tuesday at 3:35 p.m., but there were only about twenty of us there. But school is on and it was that time of day when people wouldn't ordinarily fill the seats.

But, like I said: People won't go to a movie, they haven't heard is out there.

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Want to see some fabulous clips of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus?

From the Sundance Channel:

Terry Gilliam - Up Close and Fantastical

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Clip 7

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Clip 1
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Clip 2
Dialogue:
What exactly do you all do here?

We tell the eternal story.

And what is that exactly?

The story that sustains the universe.
The story without which there is nothing.

Nothing... You mean, you stop telling the story
and the whole universe ceases to exist?

You make it sound so simple.

And you believe it?

We are ordained for this task.

This is incredible to me - that you can believe something
that can so easily be disproved

Oh, I don't think so.

We'll see.

Clip 3

Clip 4

Clip 5

Clip 6 Colin Farrell as Tony

Clip 7 - Heath as Tony

Clip 8 "He's Come to Collect" - Christopher Plummer and Verne Troyer

Part 1 of 3 interview with Terry Gilliam

Part 2 of 3 part interview with Terry Gilliam

Part 3 of 3 part interview with Terry Gilliam

4 Songs from the Soundtrack

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Trailer of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

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Tribute to The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
by jopicca, Johanna

Click post title to go to a special tribute of Heath
in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
by jopicca, Johanna

My Heath Tribute Section

I love this tribute.....
the music has found a home in my heart
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Uploaded by prissson

I'm There Too

I see myself in you
In everything you do
And when you’re all alone at night
You know I am by your side
Cause I’m there too

I see me in your eyes
And I’m tears you cry
And when you fall apart
And are dying from a broken heart
I’m there too

I see your footsteps in the sand
As you journey on across this land
But if you should fall on your way
Then I will carry you that day
Cause I’m there
I’m there too
Yeah I’m there too

I see your face in mine
And I know there’ll come a time
When you will take my hand
And I will understand
That you’re there too

When you will take my hand
And I will understand
That you’re there
You’re there too

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I love you now and until forever ends.....

THE NORMAN CONQUESTS - ROUND AND ROUND THE GARDEN

I JUST UPLOADED THE ENTIRE SECOND ACT OF ROUND AND ROUND THE GARDEN FROM THE NORMAN CONQUESTS

I played the role of Ruth in this production. The video quality is poor. It started out as a VHS video cassette, then I transferred it to a dvd, then I transferred it to iMovie which turns it into a Quick Time movie, then to Youtube where it lost a bit of quality. It was slightly clearer in iMovie and Quick Time than Youtube. I posted Act 2, Scene 1, Part 2 March 17, 2009 - it is the second video on this post. And have been surprised with the number of views it has received. Even some have favorited it and a couple gave it five stars. That just made my day when I saw that this week. I have a total of 9 youtube videos posted of the second act. The videos are no clearer at Vimeo. And most of the videos are over the 500 MB limit for a Vimeo free account, which is what I have there. So if you are interested in viewing them, I suggest, using the black arrow (which turns red when the mouse is hovering over it) at the upper right of the video to see them in a different window. It is slightly an improvement. To have access to the red arrow, you need to go to youtube. Double click any embedded youtube here and you will be taken to the youtube page of that video.

If you have a youtube account, you may know that you can see what people are coming from to see your videos, what sites, links, embeds and what countries and states. New Jersey leads viewers in the USA.

The Norman Conquests
by Alan Ayckbourn

The Third Play is
Round and Round the Garden
A British Trilogy
A comedy

Here I have posted embeds for
Act Two, Scene One
Four youtube videos

The Norman Conquests was playing in New York
April 23, - July 26, 2009
The play was playing at the Old Vic Theatre in London

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Act 2, Scene 1, Part 1
Uploaded by ilovemylifesblog

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Round and Round the Garden
Act 2, Scene 1, Part 2
Uploaded by ilovemylifesblog

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Act 2, Scene 2, Part 3
Uploaded by ilovemylifesblog

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Act 2, Scene 2, Part 4
Uploaded by ilovemylifesblog

If you want to see the Act 2, Scene 2 that I posted on youtube, I will embed them here eventually.

Here are the links to them:
Act 2, Scene 2, Part 1
Featuring Patti Corriveau (Stage Manager)

Act 2, Scene 2, Part 2

Act 2, Scene 2, Part 3

Act 2, Scene 2, Part 4

Or you may go here www.youtube.com/user/ilovemylifesblog
They are numbered in order.

Some reviews:

Providence Journal
Try clicking on the article and hopefully it will enlarge to be able to read it.

A paper called The Eagle

"Round & Round the Garden"
of
"The Norman Conquests"
British Comedy Trilogy

"Table Manners"
"Living Together"
"Round and Round the Garden"

Production by TIFOBET ~ The Incredibly Far Off Broadway Ensemble Theatre
Swanhurst Theatre at Bellevue Avenue and Webster Street
Newport, Rhode Island
April 1983

The video was originally shot by an early VHS video camera, therefore the poor quality. I apologize.

Cast
Sarah..........Lori Brainerd
Tom............John Chatty
Norman......Jim Ernest
Ruth...........Sandra K. Hammel
Reg............Paul Ruggeri
Annie.........Linda J. Vars
Featuring Patti Corriveau (Stage Manager)

Eventually, I plan to post the other two plays, Table Manners, and Living Together

I notice I am fidgeting a lot in these videos . . . scratching although nothing needed to be scratched. And the voice needed to be lowered. But upstage it was hard to be heard because there was a dead spot back there. So, there, I have a reason. Otherwise, the direction was barely there, so I pretty much directed myself. It would have been nice to be told to lower my voice, but I have to live with the high pitched voice....a bit annnoying.

WHAT I DID FOR LOVE - I DID FOR ME, REALLY

Has anyone not done something irrational regarding what we think is love? I certainly have. Not proud of some. And of those – some bother me and some don’t. They are just experiences at this point. Some fun memories. Fond memories, that make bright moments in my life now. The past is never really gone. And some past times are just as strong today as they ever were when experienced the first time. It is interesting what clings to our sense of who we are. At the heart, our lives are only moments. It’s sort of like a great symphony, say like Beethoven’s Ninth…not that any of it is bad, but there is always the climax, the forces are all about getting there. And there is fun, drama and emotional roller coasters - getting there, and it is simply bursting, outloud-fun or even ecstasy, when you are in the midst of the climactic bursts of dynamic emotions. When we are young and going through the youthful loves, we don’t realize that those will be our memories that can really be so welcome later on in the stories that we have lived and shared. I am so happy that I had all of those “loves”. What a life! Never been bored my whole life. Not even now. If I had a choice, I would still be in my youthful thirties – they are the best in some ways. But life is a moving thing. And if we are lucky, we live out all of the seasons of life.

What I did for love, I have done to find myself. And now I am that self, that I was afforded to find, even though no lover is sharing my life with me at this time. But as I have said many times, I am not lonely. Life has been good to me. And I am grateful. It is always best to be your own best friend and companion. I laugh at myself consistently. I find humor in my own behavior when I can look at it and see that I am not totally sensical. I have always been somewhat insecure. I have always cared if people like me, but even that is ridiculous because no one really knows me in a full sense. But I do. And I dare to say "outloud" that I like me.
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What I Did For Love from A Chorus Line
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Mikhail Baryshnikov doing the finale of "A Chorus Line" with the cast from "Baryshnikov on Broadway" with Liza Minnelli - 1980

Check out the link by moving your mouse over the title: WHAT I DID FOR LOVE - I DID FOR ME, REALLY for Kate Hepburn's reading of a letter to her love, Spencer Tracy, 18 years after he had died in 1967.

I WAS RAISED TO BELIEVE THAT DANCING WAS A SIN...BUT I HAD PIANO LESSONS

AND THAT WAS PROBABLY MY SALVATION. THE ARTS HAVE GRACED MY LIFE. I love to sing. I sing best when at home, I sit at the piano, relax and let the music flow through me. When I sing in public I get nervous and it affects my air control. Singing harmony has always been so much fun. For some reason, I have an unconscious belief that to sing in public I have to be perfect. But my favorite singers aren't perfect. I love them because they sing from their soul. I found this YouTube of "Wade in the Water". So much fun. I love the dancers too. .............................................................................. .............................................................................. Music is such a gift.

I taught music to thousands of students over 30 years. One of my students gave me a little picture with this quote on it - "Never try to teach a pig to sing......it wastes your time and annoys the pig." Thanks to Lanee Deblois.

I was raised to believe that dancing is a sin. But I adore dancing....out and about or alone at home to many of my wonderful CDs. Dancing is fabulous. Nothing makes me feel better than music, unless it's dancing. "My only job in life is to be who I am." stated by the character Maxine Gray, aka Tyne Daly on "Judging Amy"

"Be yourself. There's something that you can do better than any other. Listen to the inward voice and bravely obey that." source unknown

The picture of me above was taken at Covent Garden, London, England where I saw the ballet, "La Fille Mal Gardee". My voice teacher had recommended the book "The Art of Singing and Voice Technique" by Viktor Fuchs and I couldn't find it anywhere (before www.amazon.com days), but there it was, up high on a shelf at the Covent Gardens gift shop.

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Help Us Stop and Prevent Genocide

www.savedarfur.org

www.dreamfordarfur.org

www.genocideintervention.net

www.standnow.org

"These are faces worth collecting. They are my human bookmarks.


They help me remember that we can only kill and discard someone once we have convinced ourselves they are not worthy of our caring. Find a way to see what's real, deeply human, about everyone..." "The Face Collector" by Dr. Mitch Abblett

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IT’S TAKEN A LONG TIME TO BE ME

THIS IS WHERE I AM – THIS IS WHERE I LIVE

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I love my life.

I am so alive.

I walk around my house, feeling so fulfilled and grin. I can’t keep from bursting outloud “I love my life”.

It has not been this way a lot of my life.

I’ve been “here” before. But this time, I’m so fully conscious of it and why.

There were people in my life that kept me from me.

Trying to please them took me away from being pleased with myself, my life.

My mother for one.

I had to find how to think about the mother that has openly judged me as a failure of a Christian, and a success of living a sinful life - my entire adult life. My mother is a bottomless unpleasable pit for me. She’s unhappy with me,

even though I am so thoroughly happy with myself and my life.

Even a mother can be a stumbling block.

And mine was.

Until August 8, 2006.

It is like I found myself born finally.

Finally able to know what I felt about her behavior toward my father. And toward me.

Finally able to face her and not let her twist my insides with her manipulating ways.

Finally able to separate what I believed about myself from what despicable person she said I am.

I found I couldn’t please her and me with the same life, the same me.

So I have gone with the woman that I want to be and am . . . and left her view of me - with her.

I have been happy ever since.

My last relationship with a man:

For fifteen years we lived together.

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We met in Bermuda just after I was leaving an abusive relationship. The kind that involves physical abuse cycled with profuse, seemingly heartfelt apologies and promises to stop.

Getting into relationships is easily mindless. It’s getting out of them that has always been difficult for me. Because making something work -even though it was implausible with open eyes - wasn’t something that I gave up on. And I never was able to think about my own well - being over the hurt that I saw the man in. But this last thing never seemed to bother the man in my last relationship. A hint of one of his tears would melt my heart and keep me from thinking clearly. But I could live in forced silence from him for a week or cry for hours and he would simply walk away. It is much more lonely to live in a relationship like this than to live with a beautiful relationship with myself I experience. I needed to learn the lesson that if something isn't working, it's okay to leave.

Even though, he appeared to not be confining. He certainly was. I was spiritually looking for his soul, but it was never available to me. I don’t think to him, either. I was emotionally starving. Starving to find any moment to feel a connection to him. I was dying inside.

When you are dying before your death is anywhere close, you are in trouble.

I was in trouble.

And now, I am not.

I am so vibrantly alive. I feel full, I feel excited.

When people in your life keep you from who you are – you can’t possibly be happy.

Others don’t bring happiness to your life. You do. But they can block you from your happiness.

I shed that baggage

and

have never felt so good. So completely full of emotion. So colorful.

This is a glorious place to be in my life.

I’m sad that these relationships are broken and missing,

but I give them their lives, as they choose them,

and I have not attached strings to them.

I have no control over them.

I can’t change our barren relationships.

I can’t rescue something that isn’t there - with people who are so fragmented

and living in emotional denial.

I don’t like living in denial. I never did.

I can’t stand pretentious people. Never did.

“The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit.

The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are.”

Marcus Aurelius

“When someone shows you who they are – believe them.” Maya Angelou

“When someone takes you away from you – walk away.” Sandra Hammel

Life is a spiritual experience for me.

I love my spirit.

I love the Greater Spirit I am part of.

I love all spirits

who are free to love back . . .

. . . who throw their “joy of life” out for all to walk in the glow of . . .

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radiating out all that they are, have become.

This is where I live.

In the radiance of all the good in humankind and all things good,

true and willing to find the life of celebration.

This is where I am.

Life is Music to Me

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Life is Dance to Me

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Life is Drama to Me

Life is Color to Me

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Life loves truth

This is Where I AM . . .

. . . in this glory of Life

Celebrating Life as a Good Thing

and open to abundance.

You are welcome to come sing with me,

to come share the joy and dance with me

You can see the joy, delight and contentment in my eyes.

I invite you to live in what our eyes find in one another’s eyes.

I invite you to make love with our eyes, our hearts,

our unbridled exploratory touching…

…abandon time and caged up emotions

that have kept us prisoners way too long,

once upon a time.

No one can hold me anymore from being me with all the stops pulled full out.

This is where I live my life, now.

Free of my mother’s judgments, free of fear that she won’t approve of me or won’t like me.

This is where I am.

NOW.

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You could be here, too.

But I can’t take you here.

I can only be here.

No more denying who I was born to be.

I stand tall here

in the light

in my truth.

To my mother:

Walking into your presence

still gives my breath halting, choppy breathing,

but

I am strong enough now to keep all of me

in tact

and

leave your presence with a renewed energy and self-awareness

that I am still whole upon leaving you.

You’ve stolen my wholeness in my life, until now.

Today is different

and

I stand alone, but whole.

As sorry as I am that we have no connection,

no relating between us –

I can live “here” now

and be fully alive

with or without you.

To life, I say

Thanks!

And to all who can see me

and not attempt to kill bits of me – thank you!

All in us is open

and all is open to us.

Wow.

I love my life.

It’s true.

It’s genuine.

It’s joyful.

It’s my bliss.

It is Divine.

Life meeting LIFE and complementing the other.

This is living the way I am sure it was meant to be when we were created.

What fun to be alive.

I wish you all this and more.

Be true to your self.

Only you can do this for you.

That’s the beauty in it –

It’s all within your power.

And once you have it

NO one can take it way.

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Genocide Should Be Made History

Join the "Fidelity Out of Sudan" Campaign
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Movement of the Human Body and All Life is a Stage

Marco & Paulo Lorador . . . . Norman and Ruth in"Living Together"
. . . . . . . . . . . . Pictured on the far left as Ruth

Movement of the Human Body is Art

Did ANYone see Oprah today? It was like Michelangelo's "David" in Florence, Italy - but two of him in motion. WOW. Just WOW. Two brothers, Marco and Paulo Lorador from Portugal, “wow audiences night after night with their physical feats of strength and balance”. Today, they were one brief, but monumentally memorable segment of the Oprah show. For me, it was dancing. Beautiful male bodies, dancing - poetry in the movement of the human body. O-O-ah-a-a. My heart is still full from the sensual sensation. Thank Goodness I have it recorded. I wrote to Oprah on her website while the show was still on today and I asked if this portion of today’s show could be posted on her website. If not, hopefully someone will put in on YouTube.com for those who would appreciate the beauty and missed it.

Oprah - the World’s Best Cheerleader

When they were poised on the stage ready to begin their “act”, no I will call it “art”, Oprah said these words:
“No, we just want a moment to look at 'thehm'. Pause. We want a moment. All take a deep breath. What in the world? What in the world? Oh my goodness. (Can’t contain herself.) We all just took a deep breath. . . . Strength, discipline and balance is the answer to how this next act is done, but even knowing that, you might not believe your eyes. Please, welcome from the Cirque du Soileil show “Mystere” - brothers Marco and Paulo.” Oh dear people, there is such beauty in the movement of the human form. I’m watching it again as I type this, just to refresh my feelings. Oprah’s jaw just dropped. My heart is beating, boom-Boom. When it ends Oprah says, “That’s amazing. Wow… wow …wow, who-o-o. That is unbelievable. Wow, wow, wow. Hello, hello, nice to see you. I was watching you and it felt . . . um, (she goes to their abs) . . . so Marco is 39 and Paola is 41 years old. . . ”

I love movement of the human body. I am drawn to it. Beautiful bodies are enjoyable, but the movement is what pulls me in . . . like nothing else. When I taught children music in schools, I taught movement as well as music. And I noticed that when I purposely moved myself in measured and intentional ways while I taught, the children could become mesmerized and pulled in. And the change in tempo and dynamics (volume) of the delivery of my words would affect the students, as well. When I would be teaching mundane information and break into singing it instead of speaking it - they loved it. I think it is human nature to love theatre on any stage. The children loved the simple drama and creative movement classes probably inclusively more than any other part of the music class. We are all drawn to beauty. I think.

If Life Is A Stage I’d Like Better Lighting
My Experience in Theatre – Oh How I Miss It

Thinking of these thoughts brings memories of experiences that I have had on stage. I miss it so much. One of the few good things of my year and a half at the fundamentalist United Brethren church-affiliated Huntington College experience was the fact that I got cast as the female lead, Fiona, in the musical Brigadoon. I remember getting a rash just before the weekend of shows began. We had two female student directors who somehow got us on the local NBC noon news program where we sang a duet. Now that I think of it, I wonder how we got a way with kissing each other on stage in such a HC stringent environment. I have almost nothing left of it but the bottom half of the poster for it. It reads that seats were $1.50 and $1.00.

Later, I continued for a while in different community theatre productions. My very favorite role was Ruth in Alan Ayckbourn’s trilogy The Norman Conquests, which included I. Table Manners, II. Living Together and III. Round and Round the Garden. I was teaching in the day and going to rehearsal every night. During this time, I have to admit that I did relegate my lesson planning and music classes to things that ordinarily I never did – filmstrips. Other teachers did this lame stuff all of the time on a routine basis, but for me it seemed such a cop-out for what the kids deserved. I had 9 classes a day and 700 students. Music teachers have never had it easy. It was tough even for a young teacher. For Norman Conquests, we had a British accent coach, Jill, who was from England. She became a friend and gave me confidence in my effort. The Norman Conquests actually has good writing. Our sets were decent. There are six characters in this comedy based around Norman, who is married to Ruth, but fancies that he is a ladies’ man. Norman attempts to seduce any other female, including Sarah, Ruth's sister-in-law, but mostly Annie, Ruth's sister, in the trilogy. Most of the acting was passable though we were amateurs, but then there was Norman. oh. I was surprised when I learned that he graduated with a theatre degree. Okay, it took me a while to find my rhythm. But, Norman never found a beat for a rhythm to call home. One night when I had to kiss him, afterward he came up to me all excited, well I think it was excitement, hard to tell with his emoting, he said something like “I REALLY thought our scene (that one with the kiss and rolling around on the parlor room floor) was so-o good tonight.” It was no better than any other time that we did it. Truly. He was just influenced by something I did that surprised him. You do what you can to make things work. But sometimes it just won’t work.

We got reviewed by various newspapers. But I never read any of them until the run was over. We didn’t get rave reviews on the whole. There was one review that I am proud of personally because it was done by the Providence Journal critic, William K Gale, who had panned Elizabeth Taylor who had been playing in Boston in Love Letters near the time. I never saw Ms. Taylor in this play, but I know she is a talent. Because we weren’t really that good as an ensemble, I was willing to take any thing close to good words on my performance. Mr. Gale saw the Table Manners show, where Ruth has it out with Sarah. “. . . (My name) . . . is properly bitchy as the uptight Ruth and she is touching when Norman turns his attentions to her and finds something no one thought existed, a soft side.”

I always got noticed in my efforts to add to a character or scene. I never felt any director I ever had directed. And my experience is not prolific but I am so grateful for it. I loved being on the stage and I loved moving the audience. You could feel it, and it would be quietly audible at times. And the best was delivering a line that brought some form of humor.

Started with the beauty of movement and ended with personal acting experiences. It’s all the same passion for me. I love theatre. And we live theatre every day. Life really is a stage. And we are each the star in our own lives. Or should be anyway. Break a leg.