I like many things, but theatre has always been an important part of my life. I was the little red hen in the first grade and any other type of performance I could manage through high school. See, I came from a long line of hams. My Uncle Bush was notorious for several reasons, but he was also remembered for his antics and ad-libbing on the high school boards. He later had his Equity card and became NC’s Tall Tale Master. My aunt Floss was Aunt Polly in Tom Sawyer and my five year old brother (he was MacBeth’s drunken porter later in high school) bellowed out, “That’s Mawmaw’s hat. What’s she doing with Mawmaw’s hat.” Later when people thought Tom was dead, my brother announced to everyone in the audience…”He’s not dead, he’s hiding under the table.” When the poor actors tried to ignore him, he called out…again…”I told you he’s under the table. Here, I’ll show you.”
He started off down the aisle and my Dad scooped him up and took him outside. Total mortification for an 11 year old (that being me)! In high school, we used to sign the back our scenery flats and I came across some very old signatures from my aunts and uncles. So, I thought I was going to be an actresses at UNCG, but lost the scholarship to a girl who was there for only one year and then went on to a singing career. Emmylou Harris?
Well, being in plays, seeing plays, writing plays, taking students to NYC for plays…it’s always been a passion. We can talk about it later, but now I want to tell you about a couple who have a dream and who are trying to see it come to fruition. Lynn Moore and Jordan Rhodes (check him out online) are married actors who have put together an original work : Papa, the man, the myth, the legend. Jordan plays Ernest Hemingway with Lynn playing all the women in Papa’s life. It won the NY International Independent Film Festival Award as Best Historical Drama of the critically acclaimed play. The play is now made into a film which they are hoping to debut in NYC. Jordan as a writer and actor, as well as an expert on Hemingway, offers a two day “master class” for schools and organizations.
I invite all of you to check out http://jordanrhodes.com/ as well as and you can see some clips of this wonderful show. If you like Hemingway, theatre or independent film, please check this out.
