Script to Stage

After realizing that I enjoyed watching good story lines and the acting that enhanced it.  I searched for more.  My resource at the time was the handy, dandy TV Guide.  My mother would buy the mag for the usual reasons, like checking on the time for Columbo, Mannix, or the Rockford Files coming on.  She was a huge crime drama fan.  She would send us to bed early just so she could watch Columbo solve the latest caper by herself.  It was her little escape from the four little monsters she took care of everyday.  She also loved to do the crossword puzzle in the back.  Anyway, I discovered the power of TV Guide.  I would read that magazine from cover to cover, wondering what was the best show or movie to watch next.  I became very familiar with the stars of the day-Michael Landon, Ralph Waite, Lindsay Wagner, etc…  I also was up to date on the newest shows coming on the three networks.  We didn’t get cable-too expensive- so we could only watch shows on CBS and NBC.  I became so hungry for more information that I gleaned from the magazine, I couldn’t wait for mother to get back from the grocery store.  As soon as she would walk in the door, I would start searching for my “fix” in the midst of the brown bags of cereal, bread, deodorant, and toilet paper.  My mother got to a point, where she would just have it readily available and hand it to me as soon as she crossed the threshold.

Have ever wondered where the spark might have come from?  The spark that changes your view of the world, your thinking, your life.  I thought about this for a long time.  What was the spark that turned me on to theater?  I think I have narrowed it down to a TV show that I liked to watch, years ago, on a weekly basis.  The show-Little House on the Prairie.  There was one particular episode that was in two parts.  The story was about the Ingalls family introducing their newest member to the family, a baby boy.  Pa Ingalls was absolutely thrilled to death and gave his total attention to his first son.  Laura would soon be very resentful of her new brother and didn’t want him around.  She tried everything to get her father’s attention, but he was on cloud nine.  Laura became extremely jealous and wished him to be gone.  Her wish was granted.  The boy would get sick and then pass away.  It devastated Pa Ingalls.  Laura saw how sad her father.  She would be very sorry for what she wanted. The little girl decided that there was only one way to fix this problem.  She would run away and go up into the mountains to get as close to heaven she could to talk to God.  Laura wanted to ask God to bring her brother back and take her instead.  On the way there, she runs into a man who takes her in.  When the man finds out why she is up in the mountains, he tries to get her to understand that bad things happen all the time and she shouldn’t blame herself.  He also reminds her that by running away, her father would be scared and upset if he lost another child.  Laura didn’t think her father loved her anymore, but the man assured her that he loved he very much.  I am not going to spoil the ending in case someone hasn’t seen this particular show, but it’s this ending that caused a spark.  It was how I felt that caused me to realize something about myself.  You have to keep in mind.  I was about 10 years and I was moved to tears…to tears!  Here is a young man at point in his life where playing sports, riding his bike, and playing war with dirt clods was the main focus of his life.  Picture him sitting in front of the TV crying.  The seed was planted.  From that point on, I couldn’t get enough of good drama. 

Yes, this my very first attempt at blogging.  As the title of my blog suggests, it will encompass a wide variety of topics.  I have a love, or should I say, PASSION, for live theater in all it’s phases.  I have directed, acted, designed, and promoted shows for a number of years.  I even wrote a small children’s play for a Christmas production at a church I used to attend.  I want to share my experiences that have formed my life in and around theater.  I’ll pass on any information about theater events going on in my “neck of the woods”.  In addition, I’ve tucked away little “nuggets” of wisdom that may or may not be helpful to others and I would hope others would return the favor, whether it’s theater –or blogging.