A Passing Folly
The Source
Chief among the joys of working with the Passavant Follies are the people. Doctors, lawyers, Indian chiefs…or at least Indian head-standers. And although the adage is so old it’s trite, you are indeed never too old to learn. I’m not speaking here of the time and effort it takes for a middle-aged policeman to learn dance steps or a RN to master a song, but rather what I … with perhaps several hundred theatrical productions under my belt…continue to learn. Lessons learned from the Passavant Follies: ---You can make suggestions about a lady’s voice, you can try to improve her dance steps, and you can even try to tweak her acting, but do not (listen to me!) mess with her costume. I wouldn’t go out on Shakespeare’s oft-quoted limb and blatantly state, “Vanity, thy name is woman.” I’m just saying that of all the battles ever fought onstage and off, nothing compares to the vicious ordeal of trying to get a lady to wear something that doesn’t suit her. (That’s why God gave me costume people like Janet Long. Again, to paraphrase Shakespeare, “Don’t kill the messenger.”) ---Good acting…good performing….is more an attitude than a skill. After spending nearly forty years “directing” (and I sigh at that term) teenagers onstage, it’s a delight to work with people who actually hear something the first time you tell them. Okay, we may not always be able to do it, but we heard it. ---The lands of Unbounded Enthusiasm and Giddy Delight are not territories inhabited solely by the young. I often walked into the wings and encountered a group of 40, 50, 60, and 70-year-olds preparing to enter the stage and saw genuine passion and pizzazz unmatched by any cast of teenagers. Forget the “age” line on our driver’s license; we’re all teenagers when the spotlight hits us. ---When quitting time hits, adult casts do not go hang around Steak and Shake for another hour. We’re tired. We go home. ---One of the toughest parts of directing a large adult cast is finding a way to walk from one backstage area to another with your eyes closed. People dress in the strangest places. ---No matter what their reputation, some bankers smile, some lawyers are very funny people, some doctors love to act a bit goofy, real estate people are really quite civil when being watched, managers can be managed, CEO’s can take orders, and restaurant supervisors are chief among those folks who might drop their drawers in the strangest places. ---People truly appreciate doctors who stay and make Jacksonville their lifelong home. ---Retired Cuban doctors bear careful watching. ---The urge to take photographs every waking second of one’s existence is a malady not limited to teenagers and grandmothers. ---Belonging to the AARP does not make you immune from cell phone addiction. ---Grown men enjoy dressing up. ---High kicking should be left to teenagers and kangaroos. ---Costume ladies get angry when you try to repair the stain on your tuxedo with White Out. ---Adult cast members bake good cookies. Teenagers don’t. ---Skinny actors are at a disadvantage in unlit stairways. They don’t bounce. ---A good choreographer and vocal coach can make up for any director. ---So many things given to the youth are taken for granted. We deserve to play football. We have the right to be chosen cheerleader. The world owes me the right to take part in theatre. As most of us grow out of the egocentric teens we learn to appreciate life more fully and become truly thankful for opportunities to work together for a good cause…and have one heck of a great time while we’re at it. I’ll no doubt direct many youthful casts, but gosh it’s nice to work with folks who have learned the simple art of appreciating life while it’s ours to enjoy. Did I mention ladies and their costumes…? .Oh nevermind.