RETRO WEEK: It’s Showtime!

Anything Goes, The Theatre Company at Ft. Lee, 2019

Continuing our week’s theme, today’s posts are about theater. I acted in high school and college and set it aside for a while until we became quite involved with the Music and Fine Arts Ministry at West End Assembly of God. It was there I first donned (Donnered?) the red suit. And ten years ago I hit the Richmond Theater scene appearing in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Dogwood Dell. It’s been a wild ride since. Here are some of the stories.

ANYTHING GOES (Round 1) Giles Little Theatre
Where It All Began
June 5, 2018
Sitting in choir one day, the director told us that the local community theater needed chorus members for Anything Goes. I convinced one of my best friends to go along with me.

JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT – Dogwood Dell
In which I come out of the Pyramid
July 12, 2012
A couple of years ago, I decided to try to branch out. After all, once you hit fifty you lose some inhibitions and think “why not?”

AND THEN THERE WERE NONE – Chamberlayne Actors Theatre
And then there was….curtain
April 8, 2013
I won’t be making any more trips to Soldier Island.

PLAY ON! – Chamberlayne Actors Theatre
All Goofy Things Must Come to an End
June 2, 2013
So for now, the curtain closes on Play On! and it’s been a hilarious ride, both on stage and off. I’ve worked with an amazing director, an amazing cast and an awesome crew. I’ll hate to say goodbye, but it’s time.

FOOTLOOSE – Dogwood Dell
It’s Show Week
July 22, 2013
Footloose opens at Richmond’s Dogwood Dell on Friday, July 26 and runs for five performances over two weekends. I’m playing the part of Ren’s Uncle Wes.

SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE FINAL ADVENTURE – Chamberlayne Actors Theatre
So long, Sherlock
November 10, 2014
I am very proud of my work on this show. Perhaps more than any other project.

SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET – Panglossian Productions
Attend the Tale
October 10, 2015
Face it, the fact that I’m playing a judge for the third time in a year and a half, AND the fact that I had to turn down the opportunity to play a judge in a different show in November, pretty much tells me that I fit a certain character type.

DOUBLEWIDE, TEXAS – Chamberlayne Actors Theatre
When you’ve done all that you can…
May 29, 2018
And when that curtain goes up at 8:00 p.m., I’m done. At that point there’s nothing left that I can do for the show. Good or bad. Right or wrong.

TINKER’S TOY FACTORY…and beyond
Embracing My Inner Claus
March 7, 2019
I first put on the red suit for a Christmas production in 2001. I didn’t really want to be Santa, even as an understudy.

And then the pandemic began to take its toll on the theatre world.

Movin’ on Out
September 9, 2020
In a story that will be written elsewhere, the facility on the north side of Richmond will no longer be our home as of September 30.

BUT IF YOU’RE CASTING…
Dream Roles
January 6, 2015
But for the other dream roles? I’m being more than a little vulnerable here, but here goes.

THINGS YOU SHOULD READ will return next week.

BORN ON THIS DAY

1893 – Allen Dulles, American lawyer and diplomat, 5th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 1969)
1897 – Walter Winchell, American journalist and radio host (d. 1972)
1908 – Percy Faith, Canadian composer, conductor, and bandleader (d. 1976)
1915 – Billie Holiday, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 1959)
1928 – James Garner, American actor, singer, and producer (d. 2014)
1931 – Daniel Ellsberg, American activist and author
1933 – Wayne Rogers, American actor, investor, and producer (d. 2015)
1939 – Francis Ford Coppola, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1939 – David Frost, English journalist and game show host (d. 2013)

BENEDICTION

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 15:5-6

RETRO WEEK: You Should Be Writing

Continuing our theme of re-posting some of our favorites. Here are some of the times I talked about writing when I should have been…writing.

My Writing Story
October 14, 2019
I had this dream of writing in an oceanfront cottage. I’d be wearing my cardigan with patches on the sleeves and typing out the next Great American Novel (™) on an old Smith-Corona typewriter.

RECAFFEINATED MONDAYS: The Kind of Writer I Want to Be
May 11, 2020
I was prompted, in part, to write this post because of a question I was asked the other night.

Change of Venue
January 16, 2013
I’m moving the setting of my current book to a small town in Southwest Virginia. And I’m anxious to do the same with others.

On Becoming a Better Writer
January 3, 2013
If I’m going to get to my More or Less list, and if I’m going to actually make a go of this writing thing, I need to write. But I also need to be a better writer.

It’s Not About Writing When You Feel Like It
July 5, 2018
Some days the words just flow. Some days I feel like I’m having to chisel them out of a rock.

How I Write When I’m at Home
January 17, 2017
Most of my writing takes place in my home office. I’ve talked about that. I commandeered the guest room and surrounded myself with ample desk space, storage space, ego wall space, and a comfy chair.

Write first, edit later
March 22, 2017
Writing is a process. You put the words together. Then you rearrange them. And then, if you’re wise, you leave a large percentage of them in the recycle bin.

One hundred years in the making
October 4, 2018
I’m also a bundle of nerves. What if it’s an awful script? What if the audiences hate it?

THINGS YOU SHOULD READ will return next week.

BORN ON THIS DAY

1929 – André Previn, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2019)
1931 – Ivan Dixon, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2008)
1937 – Billy Dee Williams, American actor, singer, and writer
1947 – John Ratzenberger, American actor and director
1952 – Marilu Henner, Greek-Polish American actress and author
1969 – Paul Rudd, American actor

BENEDICTION

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 15:5-6