Open Rehearsal: The Court Theatre Blog
April 9, 2010
Fathers and their Actors III
In The Illusion, an old man visits a magician in the hope that he will help him locate his estranged son, the son he disowned fifteen years earlier. I asked members of the cast of Illusion to talk about their own fathers, and how they felt about their chosen profession.
“My father is an engineer by training and his mind is an ordered and thoughtful one. The presumption could easily be that I’m preparing to describe a two-decade battle between the son’s left-brain and the father’s right, but alas, he breaks the mold. He seeks to understand how something works in the hope that understanding will lead to a greater appreciation of its worth. That desire, partnered with a steadfast belief in my talent, has been present in all discussions over the years regarding my pursuit of a career in acting and theatre. Even at the beginning, the idea that I shouldn’t study theatre, for fear of the risks, never entered the discussion. He has always been supportive and checked any trepidation he may have felt as I plunged headfirst into a profession that never guaranteed anything but a hard road to obscurity. I know that I’ve been lucky in this. I’ve had a remarkable wind at my back as I’ve attempted to sail the rough seas of this peculiar profession. My understanding of this business’ idiosyncrasies and my place in it has always been improved by my father’s thoughtful questions and desire to understand what I do.”
“Dad was a jack of all trades. He grew up being a farm kid; horses, cows, 4-h…that sort of thing. His father was a horse man and refinished furniture, so Dad knew a lot about both of those talents. He went to college in agricultural sciences and taught high school after he finished his degree. After eight years of teaching and being a high school principle he moved into construction and was a foreman for a company that demolished buildings. Then he sold mutual funds and insurance; went onto managing a golf course in our small South Dakota town; and retired after working at a computer chip factory for about five years. I think all that moving around from one occupation to another, is not unlike what I do jumping from role to role as an actor. Maybe I learned it from him. Keep moving, stay active, never settle. I always thought he would have always been happier going back to the farm. But he never let on, and he was always supportive of my decision to be in the arts. As long as I was happy. He made that very clear. Be happy and love what you do.
“I also think there was little bit of an actor in him bursting to get out. He tells a good joke and does character voices to sell it. Now what actor doesn’t wish he could do that!”
The Illusion runs Wednesday through Sundays at Court Theatre until April 11.
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