Crooked Rivers Cast In Rehearsals

This column appeared in the 3.8.06 edition of the Tribune & Georgian newspaper.

Well, the final Crooked Rivers Sisters Three “participation gatherings” are done. More than 80 souls committed to playing some role in the success of this project; to help tell the tales of Camden County past and near present. Diverse in age, gender, race and ethnicity, these tender friends will be your guide when Crooked Rivers Sisters Three comes to life in the moonlight of Crooked Rivers State Park, for three weekends beginning on April 21. Director Jerry Stropnicky is “in the house” and sets, costumes and music are all in process. On Saturday, he gathered the cast together and they read through the script together for the first time. There were many insights gained, parts assigned and there was much laughter shared. The stories are beginning to take shape on the lips and in the minds of the Crooked Rivers Sisters Three cast members. And they cannot wait to share them with you.

Last November, I wrote in a column about a friend of ours that is a drama teacher in Kentucky. I related that Carolyn Greer is a former student of this drama teacher that I am close to (OK, married to), and how Carolyn is a dynamo whose theatre program embodies all the winning attributes to which the arts are supposed to expose students. In this context, I explained that her One Act Play was selected the best in Kentucky and that her students would be performing in March in Orlando, FL at the Southeastern Theatre Conference. I further offered a small wager that a certain mentor of hers would be seated front and center to see that performance and the reunion would create a memory to live a long time.

That event occurred this past Friday night at Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando. In the shadows of Universal Studios, more than 20 teenagers from Owensboro, KY created this special moment. Taking it all in was Carolyn’s mentor and former teacher, as well as my oldest son, his wife and my oldest grandchild. They all came because Carolyn is part of our family; she lived with us for parts of two summers after college graduation. After their play ended, Carolyn gathered her charges around like a mother hen and introduced them to the assembled extended family. After their performance, there was wonder in the eyes of her young performers when they finally met this “legendary” teacher; talking about her is often one of Carolyn Greer’s favorite topics of conversation. The words and tears tumbled out in gobs and drips, with an intensity and passion that is a rare thing to experience. (Of course, I was there too, taking it all in, pondering the meaning of this legacy in the making and pretending to have something in my eye.) I just got busy and hugged them all immensely - students, spouse, children, grandchild and friends, for I know it is important to get close to winners.

Opportunities for this week and the future: “Hello Dolly” at the Alhambra Dinner Theatre; Jerry Seinfeld at the TUC, 3.9, 7 & 9:30 p.m.; “Brigadoon” at Flager College, through 3.12; Russian American Kids Circus at The Florida Theatre, 3.11, 7:30 p.m.; a 20-year tradition, The Great American Jazz Piano Competition at The Florida Theatre, 4.6, 7 p.m.

3.8.06