I acted in my first play at about the age of about 8. I was taking a theater class and the play was a class production. No photos exist, something that is unheard of now. A child in a show and not a single photo?! Apparently I gave a good performance although I had no awareness of what was good or not, I was just playing, just pretending, and following the rules of this game–speak up, face out, pay attention. I didn’t continue with that class because when I walked in one day with no warning I was suddenly greeted by ‘Here’s our Alice!”, meaning the main character in Alice in Wonderland. I instantly felt a burden on my shoulders and the fun evaporated. After that day I didn’t return. But I continued to be interested in performing and finally in high school I signed up for acting class again. Below is the first photo I have of me on stage. Quality is poor as it is from a newspaper clipping.
Ladies in Retirement by Reginald Denham and Edward Percy
My senior play. There is a film of this play with Ida Lupino playing my role, Ellen Creed, the housekeeper who turns deadly. That’s me on the left, the middle, and the right in the upper row and on the right and through a window in the lower row.
What I mostly recall about this show is that someone jumped two pages of dialogue and I had to fill in all the missing information and get us back on track. Which I did. The next summer I was doing Shakespeare at:
UC Berkeley
Taming of the Shrew
My first play at UC Berkeley. Taming of the Shrew, I was playing Bianca. I was a Freshman and I had stayed for a summer session. I am sure I had never spoken Shakespearean dialogue before. Perhaps for the summer session there was not much choice of actresses. I was 18. And wow, I am cast in the first play I audition for! This is when I decided to pursue acting. 2 years later when I wasn’t cast as Ondine, a role I felt fit me perfectly, my heart was broken. But by then I was committed to the path. (The director later told me he made a mistake in not casting me.)
Top photo–Charles Botsford as Lucentio and me as Bianca. Below–Kay Buckner as Kate.
Two more shows from the Berkeley years.
Hamlet
My last show at UC Berkeley as a student, Senior year. Hamlet. Shakespeare bookends.
This is Ophelia being ‘instructed’ by Polonius, played by Rob Lancaster.
Get thee to a nunnery!
The role of Hamlet was double cast. Here we have Ric Prindle.
The mad scene. That is Osric in the background. Apparently I was quite good as Ophelia and this production and my performance was remembered for many years.
So I am told.
The role was a challenge, of course, but I remember there were sections in which I felt I had control of the character and the situation and that felt very good. The mad scene was one of those sections.
Directed by William Oliver.