I remember hearing the story about the late actor, Victor Mature, who after being denied membership to the Los Angeles Country Club because he was an actor, replied “I’m not an actor-and I’ve got 64 films to prove it.”
I feel the same way when it comes to local community theatre musicals, because I know I can’t sing or dance! Every year, our local theaters put on wonderful performances and I’m always amazed at the talent we have here. When we first moved here in 1970, my folks joined the Island Players in order to have fun and meet other people. Both of my parents enjoyed being on stage and working backstage. They encouraged me and my sister to try out for children’s productions. It’s become somewhat of a lifetime hobby for me and one that I wish more folks would put on their “bucket list” of things to do. I once did One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and the guy who played Chief Bromden was a real life American Indian who had never been in a play before, but that was on his “bucket list.” Unfortunately, doing all nine performances was NOT on his bucket list, so when he didn’t show up for the last weekend, we had to go with the understudy. For those of you unfamiliar with theatre, an understudy is the person who knows that actor’s lines, in case that actor can’t go on for a particular performance. The only problem is that in local community theatre, we don’t HAVE understudies! So, in this case, our director had to stand in and play the part of the Chief. Fortunately, he didn’t have any lines in the first act, and only a few lines in the second. But, at the end of the play, when he walked over two pages too early to try to suffocate me (I was playing the Jack Nicholson part of McMurphy) in my wheelchair, I had to shoot him a look of “NOT NOW, YOU IDIOT!
During productions, I’ve had door knobs fall off, lights not turn on, telephones not ring, ring when they’re not supposed to, sound effects at the wrong time, you name it. One of my favorite moments was when I was doing Wait Until Dark. At the opening of the curtain, I’m on stage as a burglar who breaks into an apartment. When I hear someone coming in behind me, I “hide” behind the front door. The woman who comes into her apartment is blind. As she shuts the door she is “looking” right at me, but of course cannot “see” me. As she was standing there next to me, I heard out in the darkness of the audience, a loud whisper, as an older gentleman leaned over to his wife and said, ‘SHE’S BLIND!” I literally had to turn my back to the audience because I got the giggles. That’s what makes live theatre so much fun; you never know what’s going to happen!
In the October issue, we celebrate our local theatres and their upcoming seasons – can you believe it’s been 60 years for the Island Players?! Way to go! There are many opportunities to get involved with community theatre from auditioning for a role in a production, to helping backstage, to doing publicity, or working the front door, so put it on your bucket list and get involved! Remember, you don’t have to be an actor. I’m not an actor and I’ve got over 30 plays to prove it!
Harlan Hambright
