After doing the narration for the July 4th musical in Lancaster, I was thinking about going back to my first love, which was acting. I got an email one day from one of my drama mentors--Catherine Eaker. She and her husband Gene had been the head of the Drama Department at Columbia College for a lot of years. My first real acting experience was to work with 16 high school students from around the city back in 1970-71 at Columbia College and being directed by Catherine. The education that I learned in that semester was invaluable. Then, I was asked by her to perform in the lead role of "The Butterfly That Blushed" in 1981. Again, I learned a lot from her. She set me on the course to act in plays, films and TV. I was also inspired by her to write plays and perform them.
Catherine invited me to join her Gingerbread Theatre company to do one of her original plays at the Greek Festival in 2011. I was flattered. It was a three-person play. The other two were Gene Eaker and a girl I didn't know. The day before our first rehearsal, I threw my back out getting off of the couch. I had back problems for many years, but things got worse from sleeping on concrete for six months. The rehearsal was at the College Place Methodist Church on the other side of Columbia College. I hobbled two blocks from my apartment over there. I got the script, and we did a read-through. I had a good time with them.
I took the script back to my apartment and began trying to learn the lines. I hadn't had trouble in the past learning lines, but this time was different. I was working out blocking (movement) for the stage and voice inflections. I was analyzing emotions and character development. All the things one did to get a good performance. There are many kinds of acting preparation. Mine comes from figuring out who the character's traits are and reactions to events. Some actors get so immersed in the process that they become that character away from the production. That's called "Method Acting". I am not a method actor. I am an experience-based actor. It is called "Sense Memory". That's why some people are amazed about what I can remember. It is based on my work as an actor. I remember an emotion, and how I felt. I then project that into my character to make it believable. But, this time was different.
I first noticed that my voice was weaker. I had less stamina to stand on stage for very long. My breathing was labored. I was having trouble with the lines. Things were not going well. I realized that the 6 months worth of pneumonia that I had, when I was homeless, had taken its toll on my lungs. The sleeping outside on concrete had caused my joints to hurt. I began to cry. I realized that I could no longer act in anything I had not written. With my Bible-character monologues, I could put in pauses to help with my stamina. To do something that someone else had written, I couldn't do a character in the professional way I had been trained. In acting, I am a perfectionist. I am a technician. If I can't do it the best way I know how, then I am not going to do it. I had to reluctantly call Catherine and tell her that my body was just not up to the rigors of a play.
I had been acting in plays since I was 11 years old. I had been given accolades for my acting in 4 schools. I had gotten awards for my work. I had worked with some of the greats of stage and screen. Now, all I had were my memories. Someone once called me a "legend" in acting circles. Maybe I was. I was.
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