The Fantasticks Directed by Bo Rabby, my first foray into design. Bo staged it in the 3/4 round Qons-Hut where I was the TD so I had access to lots of platforms, etc. The Fantasticks sign was a cut out on a rope rather than a curtain, but we had real entrances onto the platform from offstage, so the curtain was not really necessary. My primary innovation was the use of a draped scrim behind the small platform. It gave me all sorts of excuses to play with fancy and bold lighting tricks. I cross lit the thing with reds and blues and the whole effect was rather like cotton candy and quite magical. It also gave us a wonderful excuse to play the "mask" sequence in silhouette behind the lowered scrim. I also introduced OWU to the glories of the lobsterscope. To see and read more, just click on the photo.

MUSE ABUSE: Wayne and David Abuse Their Muse, All the songs you've never known and loved

For more than a decade, David Gooding and I have lowered our standards far enough to let our genuine tastes be exhibited to the public at large. The response has been generally very favorable, though mutterings of "tasteless" and "disgusting" and "Why would they do such a thing." are also heard from time to time amidst the laughter. As you can see on the right, the venerable Plain Dealer prounounced the goings on "Choice." The premise is very simple, really. We two storied artistes work our way ever downward through some of the lesser known musical monstrosities of the 19th and 20th centuries. I am generally induced to bellow my way to an abnormally low "C" in the ever popular "Asleep in the Deep." We throw in some delightful patter songs like "Sister Susie's Sewing Shirts for Soldiers," invite the assembled throng to sing along with "She Sells Sea Shells on the Sea Shore" and almost invariably end with our one original composition, by Mr. Gooding himself, which he calls the "Garden Song", though it's known to its devotees as "She sits among the cabbages and peas." You too might induce us out of retirement for a night or two for a fundraiser, or for a suitably hefty fee, or to satisfy some morbid curiosity you might harbor to see just how low we can go, but Wayne and David assume no responsibility for egg or tomato stains on your carpet and upholstery. For booking information, contact Mr. Turney.

DESIGN AND CHOREOGRAPHY:
South Pacific,
Ole Olesen Memorial Theatre, Peru, IN. An admittedly bizarre combination of duties, but, what can I say? I wish I had a photo of the huge proscenium set. I pulled off what I still regard as a coup with this design. I had practically no budget and the group had no stock to speak of. So I took my entire budget and built 4X8 platforms which I imagine they're still using, if there is still an Ole Olesen Memorial Theater. I assembled the whole mess of them into a huge rake and made specific locales by means of little set pieces. Happily, the room had a cyc and a traveller, so with the platforms and a few palm trees moving around and doing double duty, it was not an impossible problem. Emile's verandah was a couple of balustrades, some fake bouganvillea, a couple strings of Japanese lanterns and lighting specials; Bloody Mary's hut was woven grass and bamboo covered in dime store chachkes, the shower stalls were four foot book flats, etc. Since the stage has to represent both Emile's verandah (which I envisioned as a lush carved stone affair) and the beaches of the South Pacific, I spattered the whole thing with shades of blue, grey, yellow, ecru, etc. and then lit it so that the textures and colors were accurate for either setting. And, mirabile dictu, after some adjustments in gels and levels, the spatters turned to stone or sand. It worked. Beautifully. And, as Ray Sovey would have it, every face was lit all the time.

OPERA I've been fortunate to sing in two operas. both by G. Klaus Roy. I have a serviceable bass voice, that Klaus labeled "a basso non-profundo"who can act. The first was Sterlingman. The was other Zoopera, The Enchanted Garden. Both were edifying, but I'll stick to musical comedy, thank you.

fund raising/charity work:

THE NEW CRAWFORD MUSEUM
Working with a terrific bunch out of Florida, Frozen Rope, etc. I was fortunate to play Professor Quincy J. Peerless over the course of two and a half years in a series of fund-raising efforts that launched the New Crawford Museum project for the Western Reserve Historical Society. Politics and the departure of a great many corporations from Cleveland may have derailed the forward looking interactive lakefront museum, but the fund-raising project raised the bar for all such efforts in the future. Truly fundraising as an art form.

PROJECT LEARN
I was invited by an old OWU friend and Play House Supporter to emcee a spectacular fund-raiser for Project Learn, Cleveland's trend-setting adult literacy program. The featured speaker was the incomparable Barbara Bush, a genuine steel magnolia if ever there was one. Every CEO in town was on the dais, and when they lined up in the wings to be introduced, they lined up in reverse order. Too simple a task, I suppose. In any event, as there were three rows, each reversed, I had to do some fancy footwork to get everyone named. It did not go without incident. In my harried looking up and down, at one point I left out the name of the CEO of BPAmerica, introducing him simply as The CEO of BP and his lovely wife... As I recall, despite my gaffe, the evening netted in the neighborhood of $750,000.

Stopping Aids Is My Mission
The extraordinary Dr. Victoria Cargill asked me to be on her board, on which I was privileged to serve for three years.. She was going where few dared, taking services to the then fastest rising AIDS population, single black mothers and their babies. Her passion and energy were the driving force behind an effective organization. A truly eye-opening experience.

POW-MIA BENEFITS FOR 3ACCS
I also designed and choreographed three annual fund raisers for the 3ACCS at the Grissom AFB Officer's Club. Our squadron was to host a bash for the Wing, and I was asked to "do some little skits." The first show was thus done under a tad of duress, as I had no desire to get involved with amateur theatrics, etc. but when the Squadron Commander asks, you comply. I did insist on the powers of a Regisseur, which were granted, and everybody agreed that a big party would be more fun if we turned it into a fund raiser, so we chose the POW-MIA fund and a tradition was born. The first year, we decided on a 1920's style speakeasy theme with floor show and gaming. The idea was that we'd sell chips, and give away prizes for the most chips etc., but at the last minute that idea ran afoul ofsome foolish law, (Dickens was right: the law is an hass...) so we gave away the "funny money" and got contributions. We raised a lot of money. The final year we opted for a Caribbean theme: "I am Cuckoo (Yellow)," and since we had withdrawn from the war, we mistakenly thought the POW's wouldn't need out support so we gave the money we raised to the schools for retarded children in Kokomo, Peru and Logansport. Barb Dickinson (second from the left in the top photo) had a brain damaged, severely retarded daughter--I had flown as co-pilot with her husband--and these lovely people cared for their daughter night and day. These "amateurs" were very special, generous, talented and special people. I'm glad I lived to see the prestige of our military rise in the esteem of the general population.