Stagestruck: Confessions from Summer Stock

IF YOU'RE FOND OF SAND DUNES AND SALTY AIR... ALONG ABOUT THE 1930s, WAS A SWITCH FROM FARM LIFE TO CITY LIFE IN AMERICA, THE NOTION OF VACATION CAME ALONG.

FIRING UP THE ROADSTER, LOADING UP THE FAMILY, AND HEADING OFF TO THE COUNTRY WAS BECOMING THE FASHION.

AND AS THE SUMMER BUNGALOWS AND SEASIDE COTTAGES FILLED WITH HAPPY VACATIONERS... IF YOU LIKE THE TASTE... YOUNG THEATRICAL ENTREPRENEURS LOOKED AT OLD BARNS AND SAW THEATERS.

THE STRAW-HAT CIRCUIT.

SUMMER STOCK THEATER WAS IN ITS HEYDAY.

WINDING ROADS THAT SEEM TO BECKON YOU... SUNBURNS, THE 4th OF JULY, COOKOUTS, AND AN EVENING OF BROADWAY AT YOUR LOCAL SUMMER STOCK THEATER WERE THE STUFF OF DREAMY SUMMER HOLIDAYS.

THEATER HAS ALWAYS BEEN-- THEY WERE MY BEATLES AFTER THE SECOND WORLD WAR.

TENNESSEE WILLIAMS AND WILLIAM INGE AND ARTHUR MILLER, AND SO, YEAH, I MEAN, I WASN'T GOING TO ROCK CONCERTS.

I WAS GOING TO PLAYS, WHICH WERE WONDERFUL.

THERE'S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS LIKE NO BUSINESS I KNOW NOWHERE COULD YOU GET THAT HAPPY FEELING WHEN YOU ARE STEALING THAT EXTRA BOW THERE'S NO PEOPLE LIKE SHOW PEOPLE THEY SMILE WHEN THEY ARE LOW EVEN WITH A TURKEY THAT YOU KNOW WILL FOLD LET'S GO ON WITH THE SHOW AMERICA'S TRADITION OF SUMMER STOCK THEATER.

EVERY THEATER HAD A PERSONALITY THAT WAS UNIQUE, FROM THE WHARF THEATER IN PROVINCETOWN ON CAPE COD, WHICH WAS AS FAMOUS FOR ITS PERCH ABOVE CAPE COD BAY'S TIDAL EBB AND FLOW AS IT WAS FOR ITS PIONEERING PLAYWRIGHT EUGENE O'NEILL, TO THE BERKSHIRE PLAYHOUSE IN MASSACHUSETTS, WHICH HAD ITS BEGINNINGS IN AN OLD RETIRED CASINO BUILDING.

THE ORLEANS ARENA THEATER BEGAN IN THE OLD ORLEANS TOWN HALL, AND AS THE NAME SUGGESTS, WAS INDEED AMERICA'S FIRST SUMMER STOCK THEATER IN THE ROUND, WITH THE AUDIENCE SEATED ON ALL 4 SIDES.

THIS IS THE WORLD I WAS BORN INTO IN 1952.

IT WAS MY PARENTS, BETSY AND GORDON ARGO, WHO STARTED THE ORLEANS ARENA THEATER RIGHT HERE.

THEY WERE YOUNG, THEY WERE IDEALISTIC, AND THEY WERE FRESH OUT OF COLLEGE WITH THEIR THEATER ARTS DEGREES.

THEY VISITED CAPE COD AND DECIDED TO STAY AND START A SUMMER THEATER OF THEIR OWN.

THE LITTLE TOWN OF ORLEANS WAS TREMENDOUSLY SUPPORTIVE OF THE NEW THEATER TROUPE IN TOWN, AND BEFORE LONG, A HOME WAS BUILT UP ON THE HILL BEHIND THE THEATER TO HOUSE THE 20 OR SO YOUNG ACTORS AND ACTRESSES WHO CAME TO THE ORLEANS ARENA THEATER EVERY SUMMER.

IT WAS QUITE AN ATMOSPHERE OF HARD WORK AND COMMUNAL LIVING THAT MY BROTHER AND MY SISTER AND I GREW UP IN.

THE HOUSE WE SHARED WITH THE COMPANY MEMBERS WAS A BEEHIVE OF ACTIVITY FROM SUN UP TILL, WELL, TILL SUN UP.

AND THERE WAS AS MUCH DRAMA OFFSTAGE AS THERE WAS ONSTAGE.

IT WAS FAR MORE THAN PUTTING ON PLAYS AND PERFECTING YOUR CRAFT.

IT WAS ALL ABOUT WHAT THE YOUNG ACTORS AND ACTRESSES LEARNED ABOUT LIFE AND THEMSELVES THAT MAKE SUMMER STOCK UNFORGETTABLE.

A 1960 "NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE" ARTICLE DESCRIBES THE ORLEANS ARENA THEATER AS "HONEST TO GOODNESS SUMMER THEATER," A PART OF VANISHING AMERICA.

THE ARTICLE GOES ON TO DESCRIBE THE NOT-UNPLEASING AROMA OF CREATIVE SWEAT DISCERNED BY THE AUTHOR IN HIS VISIT BACKSTAGE AT THE ARENA THEATER.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER] THE 1950 MOVIE "SUMMER STOCK" WITH GENE KELLY AND JUDY GARLAND GLAMORIZED AND ROMANTICIZED THE HARD WORK AND EXCITEMENT OF BARN THEATER AS IT WAS ALSO THEN KNOWN.

IT'S KIND OF EXCITING.

EXCITING?

YEAH.

BUT WAIT TILL OPENING NIGHT WHEN THE PEOPLE COME IN.

EVEN THE AIR GETS EXCITING.

IN THE MOVIE, GENE KELLY AND JUDY GARLAND CAPTURE THE MAGIC THAT TRANSFORMS NORMAL PEOPLE INTO THEATER PEOPLE.

OH, BOY.

YOU REALLY LOVE THIS, DON'T YOU?

THE ORLEANS ARENA THEATER IS THE REAL-LIFE STORY OF THOSE ROMANTIC SUMMER-STOCK DAYS.

IT'S A HEARTWARMING TALE TOLD BY THE COMPANY OF YOUNG ACTORS AND ACTRESSES WILLING TO UNDERTAKE THE GRUELING BUT GLAMOROUS GRIND OF RESIDENT SUMMER STOCK, WHICH HAS ALL BUT VANISHED TODAY.

SUMMER STOCK THEATER HAS BEEN IN DECLINE SINCE THE 1960s, WITH FEWER THAN HALF THE NUMBER FROM 1950.

YET IN ITS HEYDAY, SUMMER THEATERS LIKE THE ORLEANS ARENA THEATER ON CAPE COD EMPLOYED MORE WORKERS THAN LEGITIMATE THEATER THE REST OF THE YEAR.

BEFORE IT VANISHES FOREVER, I'M GOING TO TAKE US BACK IN TIME AND BACKSTAGE HERE AT THE ORLEANS ARENA THEATER.

LIKE SO MANY OF THE SUMMER-STOCK STORIES, IT'S A TALE OF HARD WORK, COMMUNITY, AND INSPIRATION.

WHY WOULD WE START A SUMMER-STOCK COMPANY?

WHEN WE DECIDED TO BE MARRIED, GORDON AND I HAD HAD EXPERIENCES-- GROWING UP ALL THE WAY, HE HAD BEEN IN THEATER.

HE HAD BEEN IN MINSTREL SHOWS AS A YOUNG MAN.

I'D BEEN IN SUMMER STOCK IN RICHMOND, VIRGINIA.

AND ALL THE WAY THROUGH SCHOOL, I'D BEEN IN THEATRICALS AND SO FORTH.

SO THE IDEA OF HAVING A COMPANY TO DO ALL THE KINDS OF WORK THAT WE WANTED TO DO...

HERE WE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY THE ROLES THAT WE'D ALWAYS DREAMED OF PLAYING.

SUMMER STOCK WAS BIG TIME EVERYWHERE ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

AND IT WAS REALLY STRAW-HAT CIRCUIT TYPE OF THING.

IT WAS SORT OF NOT COMMUNITY THEATER, NOT PROFESSIONAL THEATER, IT WAS A TRAINING GROUND FOR YOUNG ACTORS AND ACTRESSES.

PEOPLE WOULD COME HERE AND ACT WITH US.

I MEAN, PEOPLE WITH TALENT, BUT THEY HAD NO EXPERIENCE, AND THEY NEEDED TO GET THEIR FEET WET.

AND THEY GOT WHAT THEY CAME FOR, BUT LEARNED A GREAT DEAL ABOUT THEATER.

EVERYBODY DID EVERYTHING.

YOU DIDN'T GO THERE JUST TO ACT.

YOU DID SCENERY, YOU DID STRIKING SETS, YOU DID COSTUMES.

WHATEVER YOU HAD A SKILL, YOU USED IT.

WE HAD SUCH A GREAT ENSEMBLE.

WE ADVERTISED OURSELVES AS THE STARS OF TOMORROW IN THE PLAYS OF TODAY.

AND WE BUILT THEM UP, AND WHEN PEOPLE CAME TO THE BOX OFFICE AND ASKED WHO WAS PLAYING, WELL, WE WOULD HAVE SOMEBODY WHO HAD BEEN IN SOAP OPERAS WHO WAS PLAYING HERE.

AND WE'D SAY, "OH, YOU REMEMBER SO AND SO?"

AND THEY'D SAY, "OH, YES.

YES."

THEY WERE EMBARRASSED TO SAY THEY HAD NEVER HEARD OF THE PERSON.

"ISN'T SHE WONDERFUL?"

I'D SAY, "OH, YES.

WAIT'LL YOU SEE HER IN THE SHOW."

I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.

WHAT WERE THEY-- JUST PEOPLE ARRIVING.

IT WAS ANOTHER PUBLICITY STILL.

WELL, I CAN TELL YOU WHO AND WHAT IT WAS.

WE ARE UNLOADING THE STATION WAGON, 1950.

HUGH MORRIS, GORDON ARGO, AND TOM, "BUZZ" WAS HIS NICKNAME.

HE WAS A PILOT, AND HE USED TO DUST COTTON CROPS.

HE LENT THE MONEY TO YOU TO OPEN THE THEATER.

AND THAT'S ME.

MOI.

MM-HMM.

MY WIFE BETSY AND I WERE JUST MARRIED.

SHE WAS DEAD SET ON OPENING A THEATER HERE ON CAPE COD.

BETSY INSISTED THAT I COME OVER AND TALK WITH THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN OF THE TOWN OF ORLEANS, AND I DID, AND, OH, THEY WERE THE CRUSTIEST OLD FELLAS I'VE EVER MET.

LURE, FROWNING, AND I HEMMED AND HAWED MY WAY THROUGH THE PROJECT AND SAID, "IS IT POSSIBLE THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO RENT THE UPPER FLOOR OF THE TOWN HALL AND DO A LITTLE SUMMER THEATER?"

AND THEN I LOST MY NERVE.

THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN CHAIRMAN, A TALL, STERN-LOOKING FELLA NAMED LEROY NICKERSON, HE LOOKED AT HIS 2 COHORTS, BOTH OF THEM GRIM AT THAT MOMENT.

I SAW A SLIGHT NOD FROM ONE AND A SLIGHT NOD FROM THE OTHER, AND HE LOOKED BACK AT ME AND A SMILE BROKE OVER HIS FACE, AND HE SAID, "I DON'T SEE ANYTHING WRONG WITH THAT IDEA."

AND THERE WE WERE.

WE HAD A SUMMER THEATER.

WE WERE CHARGED THE LARGE FEE OF $100 TO RENT THIS BUILDING FOR THE SUMMER.

AND, OF COURSE, THE TOWN OFFICES WERE STILL DOWNSTAIRS.

THE SELECTMEN WERE AMAZING FOR THAT TIME TO, YOU KNOW, HAVE THE FORESIGHT TO SAY, "SURE, LET'S GIVE IT A SHOT."

MY MOTHER WAS THE TOWN WELFARE WORKER, AND HER OFFICE WAS ON THE GROUND FLOOR OF THE TOWN HALL, AND THE ARENA THEATER TOOK OVER THE REST OF THE GROUND FLOOR.

THEY SURROUNDED HER.

SHE DEVOURED IT.

SHE LOVED THE ARGOS, AND I THINK WE WENT TO EVERY PLAY FOR THE FIRST FEW YEARS.

THERE WERE SCATTERED STRAW-HAT THEATERS ALL AROUND, THE RESIDENT COMPANIES, BUT PEOPLE USUALLY WOULD LIVE IN TOWN, AND THEY WOULD GO TO THE THEATER TO REHEARSE AND TO WORK ON THE SHOWS AND SO FORTH, BUT WE ACTUALLY HAD THE COMPANY LIVING RIGHT--ABUTTING THE THEATER SO THAT WE ATE, DRANK, AND BREATHED THEATER ALL THE TIME.

SO THAT WAS THE LITTLE HOUSE.

I'D FORGOTTEN IT UNTIL LIZ MENTIONED IT YESTERDAY THAT THIS WAS A KITCHEN.

YOU'RE RIGHT.

AND THE BOYS WERE DOWNSTAIRS, OF COURSE.

THEN WE WERE ALL ON THE TOP FLOOR, AND THERE WERE, LIKE BUNKS, REMEMBER, COMING DOWN THE STAIRS FOR BREAKFAST IN THE MORNINGS, YOU KNOW, AND, UH, YES.

AND ONE OF US WAS ALWAYS LATE.

OH, REALLY?

OH, YEAH, COMING, SO WE GAVE THEM, WHOEVER IT WAS, A HARD TIME.

IT WAS INCREDIBLE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE'D NEVER DONE ANYTHING LIKE THIS.

NO, I KNOW IT.

NOBODY ELSE HAD TRIED IT.

I KNOW IT, AND REMEMBER THE CAPE CODERS WHO LIVED HERE YEAR ROUND, THEY THOUGHT WE WERE NUTS.

OH-EE, GEE.

HA HA HA HA HA.

WHAT I REMEMBER BEST, IN THE OLD DAYS, WHEN THE GRANGE HAD ITS COVERED-DISH SUPPERS UP HERE.

OH, YES.

WHEN WE ARRIVED, THE GRANGE WAS STILL MEETING AT THE TOWN HALL.

NOW, THAT WAS THE DULLEST SORT OF ENTERTAINMENT POSSIBLE TO MAN, BUT THAT'S WHAT THEY KNEW.

THEY HAD NEVER HEARD OF THEATER.

WE INTRODUCED MANY OF THESE PEOPLE TO THEIR VERY FIRST THEATER.

BECAUSE PEOPLE WEREN'T USED TO US.

THEY HAD TO LEARN ABOUT US, AND, OF COURSE, THEY LOVED US.

WHEN THEY SAW US, THEY LOVED US.

WHAT DO YOU THINK HAVING A THEATER LIKE THE ORLEANS ARENA THEATER, WHAT DID IT MEAN TO THIS TOWN AND TO THE RESIDENTS AND TO THE KIDS WHO CAME HERE?

THE THING THAT THE TOWN WAS STRUCK WITH, AND PARTICULARLY THE SAC SELECTMEN, WAS HOW INDUSTRIOUS WE WERE.

WE WORKED ALL THE TIME.

THIS IS THE WAY THE THEATER OPERATED, THAT BETSY AND I RAN AROUND DOING EVERY POSSIBLE JOB.

I DID LIGHTING.

I BUILT SCENERY.

I DID EVERYTHING BUT CONSTRUCT COSTUMES.

BETSY AND I, WE ENDED UP WORKING SOMETIMES 18 HOURS A DAY.

AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS THAT--FOR THE THEATER'S SUCCESS.

IT'S NOT THAT WE ACCOMPLISHED SO MUCH, BUT THAT THE PEOPLE OF ORLEANS BEGAN TO RESPECT US AND ADMIRE US FOR BEING HARD WORKERS.

THEY WEREN'T USED TO THINKING OF THEATER PEOPLE AS BEING HARD WORKERS.

THE ARGOS DID WORK INCREDIBLY HARD ALL SUMMER.

I KNOW ONE SUMMER, WHEN MY JOB WAS BABYSITTING FOR ALLISON AND ELIZABETH.

THE 2 GIRLS WERE VERY SMALL.

I THINK THAT ALLISON WAS ABOUT 2.

AND THEY WERE JUST CARRIED EVERYWHERE.

I SEEM TO RECALL THAT I WAS CARRIED ONSTAGE AT THE AGE OF 2 IN SOMETHING.

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT IS.

THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT THE CHILDREN WERE ONSTAGE.

WE DID "RIP VAN WINKLE."

I DO REMEMBER BEING A NO-NECK MONSTER IN "CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF" AT THE AGE OF 4, I BELIEVE.

AND I DO VERY CLEARLY RECALL STANDING IN THE UPSTAIRS LOBBY WAITING FOR OUR ENTRANCE THROUGH THE AUDIENCE THERE.

WE HAD CAP GUNS, AND, YEAH, I DO REMEMBER THAT.

WE USED THE CHILDREN ALL THE TIME.

WE DID "DARK AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS," AND I WAS ABLE TO PLAY THE MOTHER AND WALLY THE SON.

LIZ WAS ABLE TO PLAY THE DAUGHTER.

OFTENTIMES, WE WOULD HAVE A FAMILY ONSTAGE PLAYING A FAMILY OF OUR OWN.

IT MUST'VE BEEN A VERY EXCITING, INVIGORATING ENVIRONMENT... WELL, WE DIDN'T KNOW THAT... IT WAS NORMAL TO YOU.

YEAH.

IT WAS JUST OUR DAY-TO-DAY EXISTENCE, AND THAT'S ALL WE KNEW.

IT IS TRUE THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE KIND OF ABSORBED THEM AS BETSY WAS BUSY AND GORDON WAS BUSY BECAUSE BOTH GORDON AND BETSY ACTED, SO THERE WERE TIMES WHEN THEY WERE REHEARSING.

IT WAS DIFFICULT RAISING A FAMILY WHILE DOING SUMMER STOCK.

EVERYTHING HAD TO SERVE THE THEATER, AND I CAN REMEMBER AT ONE POINT, I HAD TO TAKE THE CHILDREN AND PUT THEM IN A TENT OUT BACK.

GORDON PUT UP A TENT.

WE HAD 2 ACTORS FROM NEW YORK, PEOPLE WHO WERE A LITTLE BIT FUSSY ABOUT LIVING OUTSIDE IN THE TENT.

WE MADE OUR CHILDREN THINK THAT IT WAS A GREAT SUMMER EXPERIENCE, AND THEY COULD HAVE THEIR VERY OWN TENT.

WE OFTEN HAD TO SACRIFICE OUR OWN CHILDREN FOR THE BETTERMENT OF THE WHOLE THEATER OPERATION.

I'M AFRAID THAT THIS IS ONE OF THE CURSES OF THEATER.

IT'S 100%.

YOU CAN'T DO IT PARTIALLY.

I THINK WE OPENED WITH A PLAY CALLED "THE SECOND MAN," AND IT HAD 4 CHARACTERS IN IT, 'CAUSE 4 ACTORS WAS ALL I COULD COME UP WITH AT THAT MOMENT.

THE OPENING NIGHT WAS A MIRACLE.

EVERYBODY IN THIS TOWN THAT HAD HEARD OF THE THEATER SHOWED UP.

WE HAD AN ABSOLUTE FULL HOUSE FOR OPENING NIGHT.

THE NEXT NIGHT, 19 PEOPLE SHOWED UP, AND 15 OF THOSE WERE COMPLIMENTARY TICKETS, GIFT TICKETS, SO 4 PEOPLE BOUGHT PASSAGE THE SECOND NIGHT.

I CAN REMEMBER OUR SECOND NIGHT HERE IN 1950 TRYING TO DRESS THIS HOUSE WITH 19 PEOPLE.

THAT WOULD'VE BEEN 5 PEOPLE IN EACH SECTION.

WE HAD MORE ACTORS ONSTAGE, I BELIEVE, THAN WE HAD IN THE AUDIENCE.

THE RULE WAS THAT I WOULD CHECK THE HOUSE BEFORE THE CURTAIN WENT UP.

IF WE OUTNUMBERED THEM, THEN WE DIDN'T PLAY.

GOOD POINT.

YOU REMEMBER THAT OLD FIRE CURTAIN OVER THERE WITH THE SEAL OF ORLEANS ON IT?

THAT'S THE ONLY CURTAIN THAT WAS HERE, AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE REASONS-- IS ASBESTOS.

HEAVY AS A--OH, IT WAS LIKE A TON OF LEAD.

WE COULD NEVER GET THAT THING UP IN THE AIR TO BRING IT DOWN TO CLOSE AN ACT.

WE CAN'T DO PROSCENIUM THEATER.

WE'LL HAVE TO DO THEATER IN THE ROUND.

THAT'S IT.

AND I DREW UP A PLAN FOR SEATING IN THIS SQUARE AREA WHERE THE AUDIENCE WAS TO BE SEATED.

AND BY GOLLY, IT WORKED.

I DID AN AWFUL LOT OF PLANNING WITH SEATING ARRANGEMENTS AND WHAT PLAYS WE WOULD DO AND TRYING TO PUT A THEATER COMPANY TOGETHER.

AND WE MADE CONTACT WITH A FELLA NAMED LAWRENCE WISMER TO DO OUR DIRECTING.

HE WAS A PROFESSOR OF THEATER AT BARD COLLEGE.

HE CAME TO US.

I GUESS HE WAS A REAL, IN THE BEGINNING, THE REAL MAKING OF THE THEATER.

AN INCREDIBLE ARTIST, DIRECTOR, COSTUMER.

OH, HE WAS A MILE A MINUTE, AS THEY SAY DOWN SOUTH.

WE WOULD FIND THAT SOMETIMES WE WERE ALMOST OUT OF MONEY.

WHERE WAS THE NEXT SUPPLY?

WHERE WOULD WE FIND THE MEANS TO CONTINUE?

DO YOU REMEMBER HOW WE WOULD GO DOWN TO, IS IT MAYO'S DUCK-- OH, GOSH, YES.

AND GET CRACKED EGGS BECAUSE HE WOULD LET US HAVE THEM FOR NOTHING.

I'D FORGOTTEN IT.

AND THAT WAS OUR STAPLE DIET.

WE'D HAVE EGGS FOR BREAKFAST AND EGGS FOR LUNCH.

WE KNEW SO MANY PEOPLE IN TOWN IN THE BUSINESSES THAT THEY WOULD GIVE US BREAKS ON THINGS THAT WE NEEDED FOR THE THEATER.

WE HAD TO BE BORROWING ALL THE TIME, AND THEY WERE SO GRACIOUS TO LEND US.

I THINK SOMETIMES THE REAL ARTIST OF THE ARENA THEATER WAS THE PROP PERSON, THE PROP MISTRESS WHO WENT AROUND TO ALL THE HOMES AND ANTIQUE DEALERS TO BORROW THAT PERFECT TABLE, THAT PERFECT CHAIR, FOOT STOOL.

SO THEY SENT ME OUT PROPPING.

AND I FELT SO GUILTY 'CAUSE I WAS, YOU KNOW, I SHYLY WENT UP TO PEOPLE'S DOORS AND WOULD KNOCK ON PEOPLE'S DOORS.

WE'RE WITH THE ORLY.

DO YOU HAVE A REVOLVER?

AND WE DID GET-- I DID GET A REVOLVER.

HOW OLD WERE YOU?

I WOULD'VE BEEN PROBABLY 18 OR 19.

WE WERE SLAVE LABOR IS WHAT WE WERE, YOU KNOW.

LOVED IT.

YOU KNOW, WE PAINTED SET.

I THOUGHT IT WAS SO WONDERFUL.

AND THEN WE USHERED, AND THEN WE WORKED BACKSTAGE.

WE RAN THE LIGHT BOARD.

AND I THOUGHT IT WAS ALL SO WONDERFUL.

AND OCCASIONALLY, WE GOT A PART.

SMALL PARTS.

BUT JUST TO DO THAT WAS JUST LIKE, "AH," YOU KNOW.

BUT THE LIVING CONDITIONS... OUR LIVING CONDITIONS-- WELL, IT WAS PURE DORMITORY STYLE.

AND I SUPPOSE, BEING YOUNG, YOU COULD DO THAT.

AT LEAST THE BATHROOM, YOU COULD CLOSE THE DOOR IN THE BATHROOM.

YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN?

THERE WAS ONLY ONE BATHROOM, AND I THINK IT WAS ONE BATHROOM FOR THE ENTIRE COMPANY, SO IT GOT TO BE A LITTLE IFFY, SO I WOULD UP REALLY EARLY BECAUSE ACTRESSES DIDN'T LIKE TO GET UP EARLY, SO I FIGURED IF I COULD GET UP EARLY, I COULD GET IN, GET, AND BE DONE, AND THAT WAS--IT WORKED.

WELL, AT THE PEAK, WE HAD 35 PEOPLE LIVING HERE.

AND IT WAS TOUGH, IT WAS REALLY HARD, BECAUSE THERE'S A GRUELING GRIND THAT GOES ON FROM THE TIME WE GET UP IN THE MORNING, AND NOBODY CAN AFFORD TO SLEEP IN.

WE HAVE TO BE ON DECK.

NOBODY HAD ANY TIME OFF.

WE SHOULD ALL BE DEAD.

WE REALLY SHOULD ALL BE DEAD FROM THE HOURS THAT WE KEPT.

IT WAS INSANITY.

YOU KNOW, ON ONE HAND, IT'S VERY EXCITING.

YOU GET ADDICTED TO THE ADRENALINE AND THE TEAM SPIRIT, AND I MEAN, WE HARDLY SLEPT.

ONE SHOW IN THE MORNING YOU REHEARSED, ANOTHER SHOW IN THE AFTERNOON, AND PERFORMED A THIRD AT NIGHT.

HEH HEH.

PEOPLE WOULD REALLY WORK THIS HARD FOR NOTHING.

AND THEY WOULD 'CAUSE THAT'S THEATER.

MONEY...MONEY DIDN'T ADD MUCH.

WE HAD EACH OTHER, AND WE HAD THRILLS.

WE HAD NEW LEARNING EXPERIENCES, AND IT WAS JUST SO MUCH JOY.

FAR MORE VALUABLE THAN MONEY.

THAT SUMMER WAS SO MAGNIFICENT.

IT WAS ONE OF THE PEAK EXPERIENCES OF MY LIFE.

IT GAVE ME SUCH AN INNER JOY AND GLOW THAT IT WAS ON THAT BASIS THAT I DECIDED I WAS GONNA PURSUE 2 CAREERS.

SO I FINISHED MY MEDICAL STUDIES, AND THEN I MOVED TO NEW YORK TO PURSUE BECOMING A COMPOSER AND A DOCTOR, AND THAT'S WHAT I'VE DONE EVER SINCE.

A FANTASTIC PLACE TO START, BECAUSE IT WAS, YOU KNOW, A REAL WORKING, PROFESSIONAL SUMMER STOCK THEATER, AND THAT WAS WHAT WE WERE DOING 24 HOURS A DAY, YOU KNOW, WAS EITHER TAKING SOME CLASSES OR BEING IN REHEARSAL OR PERFORMING, AND I JUST REMEMBER FEELING LIKE, "THIS IS IT.

THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO DO."

YOU DID EVERYTHING HERE.

AND THAT WAS WHAT WAS SO IMPORTANT ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR TRAINING.

I MEAN, YOU LEARNED HOW TO SEW, YOU LEARNED HOW TO DRESS THE SET, YOU LEARNED HOW TO CLEAN A BATHROOM, YOU LEARNED HOW TO SELL A TICKET.

AND IN ADDITION, OF COURSE, THERE WAS THE COOKING.

AND JUST BECAUSE YOU WERE A STAGE MANAGER OR A DIRECTOR DIDN'T MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE.

YOU STILL--EVERYBODY DID IT.

IT WAS JUST AN INCREDIBLE ARENA FOR ALL SOR--I MEAN, ALL SORTS OF PEOPLE.

FOR THE ACTORS, I MEAN, SOME OF WHOM WERE SORT OF FADING MOVIE STARS, BUT THEY KEPT UP THEIR CRAFT BY PLAYING SUMMER STOCK.

THE WHOLE APPRENTICE THING.

PEOPLE WERE JUST LESS-- MUCH LESS SPOILED THAN THEY ARE TODAY.

I CAN REMEMBER NO COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE LIVING CONDITIONS OR ABOUT THE FOOD.

IN SUMMER STOCK IS WHERE YOU GOT THE STARS KNOCKED OUT OF YOUR EYES AS FAR AS THEATER WAS CONCERNED.

THOSE WHO CONTINUED IN THEATER WERE ONES WHO SURVIVED SUMMER STOCK.

LIKE THE ORLEANS ARENA THEATER, THERE WAS A SUMMER AT FALMOUTH WHERE A WHOLE GROUP OF ACTORS WERE SLEEPING IN SLEEPING BAGS, ON THE FLOOR, AND AMONG THEM WERE HENRY FONDA AND SEVERAL OTHER PEOPLE WHO BECAME VERY FAMOUS.

IF YOU WANTED TO MAKE YOUR LIFE IN THEATER, THE THING YOU HAD TO DO WAS, ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY IN MY MIND, WAS SUMMER STOCK.

IT WAS TAKEN FOR GRANTED THAT THIS WAS SOMETHING YOU DID TO GET THE EXPERIENCE THEN AND TO HAVE THE EXCITEMENT OF THE CHALLENGES.

THE WOMEN'S DORM.

THAT'S AN INTERESTING DESCRIPTION OF THIS ODD CONCRETE ROOM BEHIND THE KITCHEN IN THE GARAGE.

AND I LEARNED TO COOK.

PEOPLE ASK ME NOWADAYS, "WHERE DID YOU EVER LEARN TO COOK?"

AND I TELL THEM "AT THE ORLEANS ARENA THEATER."

I LEARNED HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE FOR 60.

I STILL MAKE IT FOR 60.

PEOPLE IN THE THEATER, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY'S VERY DRAMATIC AND SO EVERYBODY EXPRESSED THEIR PROBLEMS OR THEIR--OH, THERE WERE ALWAYS ROMANCES THAT, YOU KNOW, SPRUNG UP AT THE THEATER.

THIS HOUSE--I COULD TELL YOU SOMETIME--PLAYED A VERY PIVOTAL PART IN MY GROWING UP.

HOW'S THAT?

WELL, I'M NOT GONNA TELL YOU RIGHT NOW.

UH-OH, ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE-- IT WAS THE LIFE ASPECT.

THE LIFE ASPECT?

WELL, I SAID I DID EVERYTHING FIRST THERE, AND I MEANT THAT.

WE WERE ALWAYS, ALWAYS TOGETHER, YOU KNOW.

AS LUCY SAID, WE WENT TO THE BEACH AFTER PERFORMANCES AND TOOK A MIDNIGHT DIP AND DRANK AND ATE AND HAD A GREAT SOCIAL TIME AT THE SAME TIME.

YOU LIVED IT.

YOU ATE AND SLEPT AND BREATHED AND-AND LIVED TOGETHER.

IT WAS-- WE WERE A COMMUNITY.

THERE WERE SOME GREAT PARTIES.

PROBABLY 5 NIGHTS OUT OF 7 THE PORCH WAS USED FOR VARIOUS ENTERTAINMENTS.

I GUESS YOU LEARN A LOT OF STUFF WHEN YOU'RE LIVING WITH PEOPLE ALTOGETHER REAL CLOSE.

IT WAS WILD.

IT WAS LIKE A KIND OF A MORE BOHEMIAN VERSION OF A SUMMER CAMP, BUT WITH LESS SUPERVISION.

NO COUNSELORS.

WE WERE ALL KIND OF VERY CLOSELY PACKED IN THERE AS FAR AS LIVING WENT, SO IT WAS KIND OF INTERESTING HOW YOU GOT TO PLAY WITH YOUR PLAYMATE.

ONE NIGHT, I DIDN'T GO-- THE MOON WAS OUT, AND I THOUGHT I COULD SEE ALL RIGHT, AND I WENT OUT WALKING TO BE SURE EVERYBODY WAS IN, AND I FELL OVER 2 PEOPLE.

SOMETIMES WE GOT A LITTLE OUT OF HAND AND WERE TOLD THAT, "IT WAS TIME NOW TO GO TO BED."

GORDON WOULD--YOU KNOW, LONG ABOUT GET TO TO BE 2:00 IN THE MORNING, AND HE WOULD REMEMBER THAT WE ALL HAD REHEARSAL, AND WE'D NEED TO BE REMINDED, 'CAUSE WE WERE ALL YOUNG AND SILLY AND HAVING A WONDERFUL TIME.

SAMPLE SWICHEL IS MY NAME [SINGING, INDISTINCT] [HUMS] THE IMAGE OF MY MOTHER THAT'S IT.

"TEN NIGHTS IN A BARROOM."

I LOVED DOING THOSE... MELODRAMAS.

MELODRAMAS.

THE AUDIENCE ADORED THEM.

RIGHT.

WELL, SEE, I LOVED YOUR TRANSLATIONS FROM MOLIERE, AND I LOVED TWANETTE.

I ALWAYS PLAYED THE SAUCY MAID.

THE SOUBRETTE.

SHE WAS SMARTER THAN ALL THE BIG SHOTS ONSTAGE, YOU KNOW.

"BUS STOP."

I LOVED PLAYING THAT ROLE, YES, I DID.

I WAS THE WAITRESS IN THERE.

I REMEMBER YOU IN "BUS STOP," YOU KNOW.

I CAN REMEMBER, EVEN THOUGH I WAS PROBABLY ONLY 4 OR 5 YEARS OLD, I CAN REMEMBER THIS SHOW.

WHY THIS ONE?

BECAUSE YOU WERE SO STRONG.

STOCK COMPANIES USED TO DO WHAT WAS DONE ON BROADWAY OR THINGS LIKE THAT.

THE ARENA THEATER, WE DID ORIGINAL THINGS, TOO, THOUGH.

I LIKED ALL THE WORK I DID, ALL OF THE STUFF I-I'VE DID.

I GOT SOMETHING OUT OF EVERYTHING.

WE COULD DO THE PLAYS THAT WE WANTED TO DO.

NO OTHER THEATER DID THE PLAYS WE DID.

THEY DID JUNK COMPARED TO THIS.

IT GAVE US AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A COMPLETELY DIVERSIFIED BILL, AND THAT BRINGS US TO DOING "BLOOD WEDDING" OR SHOWS SUCH AS THAT BY LORCA, WHICH IS--WAS CONSIDERED TOO HEAVY FOR SUMMER STOCK.

THEY JUST COULDN'T BELIEVE THAT A SUMMER THEATER WOULD DARE TO PRODUCE A PLAY SUCH AS "BLOOD WEDDING."

THAT PLAY MOVED EVERYBODY RIGHT DOWN TO THE TOENAILS.

LET ME TELL YOU, THE FINAL CURTAIN WAS EXTRAORDINARY.

THE SHOW ENDS WITH A TABLEAU OF PEOPLE PRAYING OVER THE 2 DEATHS.

THE LIGHTS COME DOWN, THE END OF THE PLAY.

NOW, I FULLY EXPECTED APPLAUSE.

THE LIGHTS COME UP, UTTER SILENCE.

WE TRIED IT AGAIN.

I WAS ON LIGHTS.

I BROUGHT THE LIGHTS UP AGAIN, NOBODY MOVED.

AND FINALLY, WE JUST HAD TO STOP 'CAUSE THE AUDIENCE WAS TRANSFIXED.

THAT'S THE GREATEST PLAY I'VE EVER DONE.

IT'S HIGHLY LOCAL SUCCESSES.

RATHER THAN OPENING THE WINDOW AND MAKING LOVE TO THE WORLD AND WRITING A BESTSELLER, HAVING A BIG HIT ON BROADWAY, LAST NIGHT... LAST NIGHT, IT ALL CAME TOGETHER.

WELL, THERE IS NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS.

KURT VONNEGUT WAS AN INTERESTING ADDITION TO OUR THEATER COMPANY.

HE WAS HERE QUITE A BIT, AND HE ENJOYED THE PLACE SO MUCH.

HE WROTE ONE PLAY THAT I DON'T THINK WILL EVER GO ANYWHERE.

WHAT THIS PLAY WAS I'VE COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN, AND I HOPE THAT YOU CAN DIG IT UP OUT OF THE ARCHIVES, BECAUSE IT'S A LOST MASTERPIECE, OF COURSE.

AND IT WAS THE DREARIEST THING I THINK I HAVE EVER HEARD.

EVERY TIME ANYBODY GOT UP TO GO TO THE JOHN, AND THERE WAS A LOT OF BEER BEING DRUNK, THEY'D SAY, [SING-SONG] "WE KNOW WHERE YOU'RE GOING."

AND THAT WAS ABOUT THE CHIEF THEME OF THE WHOLE PLAY.

BUT THEN HE WROTE THIS BRILLIANT PIECE CALLED "PENELOPE," AND IT FINALLY BECAME "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WANDA JUNE."

BUT IT WAS TAKEN UNDER OPTION FROM OUR PLAYING IT HERE.

BOY, WAS I EVER LUCKY THAT THERE WAS AN ORLEANS ARENA THEATER.

I COULDN'T HAVE GONE TO NEW YORK.

I WOULDN'T HAVE KNOWN WHOSE DOOR TO KNOCK, AND, YOU KNOW, "HEY, I'VE GOT A SCRIPT HERE."

THEY WOULD'VE GOTTEN NOWHERE.

THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN NOWHERE FOR THEM TO BEGIN IF IT HADN'T BEEN FOR THIS ONE INSTITUTION.

AND BECAUSE WE WERE WORKING WITH WONDERFUL MATERIAL.

I MEAN, I THINK THAT WAS THE REAL KEY TO OUR ABILITY, WHAT MADE ORLEANS DIFFERENT THAN A LOT OF OTHER PLACES, AND WE WEREN'T DOING TRASH THEATER.

I MEAN, YOU JUST BIT OFF THIS BIG STUFF AND WENT FOR IT, YOU KNOW.

HEH HEH.

WHAT THEY PROMISED TO DO WAS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, AND THEY DID IT.

IT WAS THESE PEOPLE COMING TOGETHER IN VERY SIMPLE SURROUNDINGS, UM, PRODUCING FROM NOTHING.

THROWING IT TOGETHER WITH SPIT AND SANDPAPER AND WHATEVER YOU CAN, YOU KNOW.

WE USED TO GO ALL OVER TOWN AND PICK OLD FURNITURE AND COSTUMES.

BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL.

IT WASN'T LIKE RUMMAGING AROUND IN SOMEBODY'S GRANDMOTHER'S ATTIC, NOT THAT BETSY AND GORDON DIDN'T DO A LOT OF IT FOR THE SET, BUT I MEAN, WHAT THEY CAME UP WITH WAS BEAUTIFUL.

IT WAS PERFECT.

IT WASN'T, YOU KNOW, RATTY-TAT, WITH STAINS AND STUFF.

AND WONDERFUL COSTUMES.

SO YOU FELT- YOU FELT LIKE YOU WERE IN SHAW.

YOU FELT LIKE YOU WERE IN CHEKHOV.

IT WAS A VERY AUTHENTIC LOOK.

THIS WAS A VERY PROFESSIONAL THEATER.

AGAIN, IT WAS UNIQUE BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T SELLING ANYTHING COMMERCIAL.

THEY WERE SELLING THEATER, AND THEY WERE SELLING GOOD THEATER.

NO, NOT EVERYONE WAS GOING TO LIKE EVERY PLAY, AND THEY WENT FROM THE MELODRAMAS TO VERY SERIOUS PLAYS.

IT WAS AN AMAZING ARRAY OF LITERATURE THAT WAS PRESENTED ON THAT STAGE.

AND THEY WERE ALSO WELL DONE.

I DON'T THINK ANYONE WENT AWAY WITH A FEELING OF DISAPPOINTMENT, EVEN IF THEY DIDN'T LIKE THE PLAY.

IT'S ONE PLACE--THE ORLEANS ARENA THEATER IS NOT MONEY MAD.

THEY'RE CRAZY IN ANOTHER WAY AND A KIND OF CRAZINESS IN WHICH AN AUDIENCE CAN PARTICIPATE.

IT'S LOOKING GOOD, BUT WHERE ARE THE DOGS?

THEY DON'T HAVE ANY, YOU KNOW?

HOW YOU DOING?

DO YOU THINK THAT YOU WOULD'VE GOTTEN AS MANY PEOPLE TO PERFORM IF IT HADN'T BEEN A THRUST STAGE?

OH, NO, I DON'T THINK WE COULD'VE GOTTEN AS MANY PEOPLE TO PERFORM AS WELL, EITHER.

THE PREPARATION THAT IT GIVES AN ACTOR IS FANTASTIC.

THE CONCENTRATION--IT INCREASES THE ACTORS' CONCENTRATION.

THEY CAN'T BE JUST OK.

THEY'VE GOT TO BE REALLY GOOD.

THE INTIMACY OF THE THEATER WAS REALLY A HUGE PART OF WHAT WAS GOING ON THERE.

WHEN YOU'RE THAT CLOSE, IT'S VERY HARD TO DISGUISE THE FACT THAT YOU'RE ACTING.

IT HAS TO BE REAL.

THE THRUST STAGE CREATES A VERY SPECIAL SORT OF THEATER.

IT REALLY IS IN THE PLAY.

YES.

ONE ACTOR, I REMEMBER, COULDN'T GET THE LIGHTER TO LIGHT, AND SOMEBODY IN THE AUDIENCE JUST REACHED OVER AND HANDED HIM SOME MATCHES.

YEAH.

THAT WILLING SUSPENSE OF DISBELIEF THAT WE BUILD THEATER ON.

IT'S AN AESTHETIC DISTANCE BETWEEN THE ACTORS AND THE AUDIENCE.

THAT DIDN'T EXIST IN THIS KIND OF THEATER.

WORKING IN THE ROUND, YOU LEARNED A WHOLE PIECE OF THEATER THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE TRULY DON'T UNDERSTAND.

I MEAN, THE SHORTEST DISTANCE FROM ME TO YOU MAY BE HERE, BUT I'VE GOT TO LEARN TO MAKE A LITTLE BIT OF A SWOOP SOMETIMES BECAUSE OF THE AUDIENCE THAT YOU'RE-- THAT YOU'RE WORKING WITH.

THAT WHOLE BUSINESS OF ANGLING YOURSELF TO THE OTHER PERSON SO THAT THE WHOLE AUDIENCE COULD SEE THE TWO OF YOU.

TO PROPERLY PRODUCE A SHOW, IT'S NOT JUST HOW MANY HOURS YOU SPEND IN REHEARSAL, BUT HOW MANY NIGHTS DOES THE ACTOR HAVE TO SLEEP AND THINK ON HIS ROLE?

AND WHILE MOST SUMMER THEATERS WOULD JUST REHEARSE FOR A WEEK AND PRODUCE FOR A WEEK, WE WOULD REHEARSE EACH PLAY FOR 2 WEEKS.

AND THAT ALLOWED A GREAT DEAL OF ART TO TAKE PLACE, BECAUSE MOST OF YOUR LEARNING AS AN ACTOR--MOST OF YOUR REHEARSING AND MOST OF YOUR... IS DONE WHILE YOU'RE SLEEPING.

THAT IS IF YOU'RE REALLY GOING TO BE AN ACTOR.

SHOW PEOPLE, IT'S JUST HOUR AFTER HOUR OF REHEARSAL, BECAUSE YOU LEARN THAT BY ROTE.

BUT A REAL ACTOR NEEDS SOME TIME TO SLEEP AND CHEW GUM AND SAY, "BOY, WOW, WOW, WOW."

YOU KNOW, WE ALWAYS SAID TO PEOPLE, "DON'T TALK TO BETSY OR GORDON BEFORE THEY GO ONSTAGE OR ANY OF THE ACTORS ABOUT ANYTHING.

JUST THEY'VE GOT TO CONCENTRATE ON ENTERING AND KNOW THE LINE."

I CAME OUT ONSTAGE IN "LOOK HOMEWARD, ANGEL," AND MY SON FOLLOWED ME OUT.

MY SON IN THE PLAY.

I GOT OUT ONSTAGE, AND I SAW A ROW OF ARTIFICIAL TULIPS, LOOKED AROUND, AND I THOUGHT, "MY GOD, I KNOW I'M ONSTAGE.

I DON'T--I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THE PLAY IS."

I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THE OPENING LINE WAS.

I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THE PLAY WAS.

AND I LOOKED AT HIM, AND HE KNEW MY LINES, AND SO HE STARTED FEEDING ME THE LINES, AND SUDDENLY I THOUGHT, "OH, YES."

OH, AND THEN I PICKED IT UP, AND I WAS ALL RIGHT.

BUT I LITERALLY DID NOT KNOW WHY I WAS OUT THERE.

LIVING IN THE SUMMER STOCK THEATER, LIVING HERE, WAS SOMEWHAT LIKE A SOAP OPERA.

YOU WERE LIVING SO CLOSE TOGETHER AND SO MUCH ON TOP OF EACH OTHER.

DIDN'T PEOPLE GET SICK OF EACH OTHER?

EITHER THEY'D GET SICK OF EACH OTHER, OR THEY GET--DRAW VERY CLOSE, AND MANY OF THEM HAVE KEPT UP WITH EACH OTHER OVER THE YEARS.

THAT'S WHERE WE MET.

YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY MADE OUT WITH EVERYBODY.

THAT'S WHAT I REMEMBER OF THAT SUMMER.

I MADE OUT WITH EVERYBODY.

EVERYONE KNOW-- GETTIN' TO KNOW YOU... YOU KNOW, YOU WAITING TO GO ON?

LET'S MAKE OUT BEFORE WE GO ON.

SO FUNNY.

THERE WAS SOME 6'4", 220-POUND SOUTHERN CRACKER TD WE HAD THE FIRST NIGHT I WAS THERE WHO PUT THE MAKE ON ME, AND I SORT OF WENT SCREAMING OUT INTO THE NIGHT.

THE FAMILY FEELING THAT EXISTED NATURALLY STARTED FIRES.

YOU ARE PRECISELY MY CUP OF TEA OH, I KNEW THINGS WERE GOING ON, BUT I WAS TOO AFRAID TO GET INVOLVED.

YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN?

I THINK QUITE MORAL.

FORGIVE THAT WORD IN THIS DAY AND AGE.

I MEAN, I'M SURE THAT PEOPLE WERE DOING THINGS WITH-- BUT I MEAN, IT WAS A VERY NAIVE, PERHAPS, IN A WAY.

LEARNING, GROWING, PERFORMING, DISCOVERING, CREATING.

IT'S SO NATURAL AND SO INEVITABLE.

IT EXPOSED ME TO A LOT OF THINGS.

SOME DANGEROUS.

BUT, YOU KNOW, YOU SURVIVE IT AND YOU'RE STRONGER BECAUSE OF IT.

STUFF WAS GOING ON ALL OVER THE PLACE, BUT IT WAS KIND OF-- THAT WAS WHAT WE DID.

AND NOBODY GOT HURT.

NO, NO.

WELL, NOBODY GOT REALLY HURT.

YOUR MOTHER GOT HURT THAT SUMMER.

THE YEAR WAS 1963.

LITTLE DID I KNOW THAT THE PLAY WE WERE DOING ONSTAGE, THE "MARRIAGE-GO-ROUND," WHERE I WAS PLAYING THE WIFE AND GORDON WAS PLAYING THE HUSBAND AND THERE WAS AN INGENUE WHO WAS PLAYING THE INGENUE.

AND I'LL SAY THIS THAT GORDON HAD CHARM.

AND HE COULD CHARM THE PANTS OFF YOU.

I MEAN... AND THE SAME STORY WAS BEING ENACTED IN REAL LIFE OFFSTAGE.

HOW CAN I GO ON?

I CAN'T GO ONSTAGE TONIGHT.

I MEAN, THIS IS TERRIBLE.

SO WE WERE PLAYING OUT THE "MARRIAGE-GO-ROUND" ONSTAGE, WHICH ENDED IN DIVORCE IN BOTH INSTANCES.

YEAH.

SO THEN WE WERE MARRIED, AND WE HAD A HONEYMOON IN VERMONT.

I WENT TO PROVIDENCE AND OPENED ANOTHER THEATER THERE.

BETSY, BEING MUCH MORE IN LOVE WITH ORLEANS THAN I WAS, OR MUCH MORE IN LOVE WITH THE ARENA THEATER THAN I WAS, AND MUCH MORE OF A TRADITIONALIST THAN I WAS, SHE REMAINED HERE AND KEPT THE THEATER GOING ALL THESE YEARS.

AFTER GORDON LEFT--THINGS WERE SCARY ENOUGH WHEN HE WAS HERE AND THIS WAS ALL HAPPENING, ANYWAY, THE "MARRIAGE-GO-ROUND," BUT ONCE HE LEFT, THE FINANCES BECAME EVEN MORE--EVEN TIGHTER.

BUT, YOU KNOW, YOU DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO.

I WAS DESPERATE.

I SAT DOWN AT THE TYPEWRITER, AND I WROTE 10 PEOPLE, AND I SAID, "HELP.

I'M REALLY GOING UNDER HERE."

SHE MADE THE DECISION TO CARRY ON BY HERSELF WITH 3 SMALL CHILDREN.

I WAS THE OLDEST AT 10.

EVERYBODY HAD TO GROW UP FAST AND TAKE CARE OF FAMILY FINANCES AND DO THE BEST THEY COULD TO CONTRIBUTE.

YOU KNOW, WE ALL HAD TO ASSUME QUITE A BIT OF RESPONSIBILITY AND BE QUITE A SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR MOM AND FOR THE THEATER.

IT WASN'T JUST MOM.

IT WAS THE PROFESSION SHE WAS IN WAS JUST IMPOSSIBLE FOR ONE PERSON TO DO.

BUT I OFTEN HAD TO CALL UPON THE CHILDREN TO DO THINGS THAT REALLY WERE BEYOND THEIR EXPERIENCE AND THEIR YEARS OF AGE TO DO--DISTRIBUTE PUBLICITY, WORK ON THE SETS, HELPING COSTUMES, CUEING ACTORS.

I CAN REMEMBER THEY LEARNED TO CUE PEOPLE VERY EARLY.

WE WOULD STAY UP TILL 3: 00 IN THE MORNING STRIKING THE SET AFTER THE LAST NIGHT OF A CERTAIN SHOW, AND I THINK WE WERE JUST RIGHT THERE WITH THE, YOU KNOW, THE 20-YEAR-OLDS AND THE 22-YEAR-OLDS, AND I REMEMBER SORT OF VAGUELY OTHER PEOPLE, NOT OUR PARENTS, TEACHING US HOW TO BRUSH OUR TEETH AND TUCKING US IN AT NIGHT, IF WE EVER GOT TUCKED IN AT NIGHT.

WE HAD TO KEEP THE THEATER GOING SO THAT WE DIDN'T GO IN TO DEBT.

I COULDN'T SEEM TO LET IT GO.

IT WAS MY WHOLE LIFE.

YES, THERE WAS A GREAT DEAL OF SACRIFICE, AND I WOULDN'T HAVE CHANGED THAT OR I WOULDN'T HAVE GIVEN IT UP, BECAUSE IT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN MY LIFE.

I FELT THAT I DIDN'T HAVE AN IDENTITY.

THEATER FOR WHITE WOMEN WAS WHAT BOXING WAS FOR BLACK MEN DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION.

IT WAS ONE WAY UP.

BUT MANY TIMES, IN THE MIDST OF IT, I WOULD THINK, "THIS IS RIDICULOUS.

WHY AM I NOT DOING SOMETHING MORE EASIER OR MORE COMFORTABLE OR LESS DEMANDING?"

BUT I STILL--I DON'T THINK I COULD'VE GOTTEN THE EXTREME PLEASURE OUT OF ANYTHING ELSE AS MUCH.

I THINK IT WAS THE MOST GRATIFYING CHOICE FOR ME PERSONALLY.

THERE WERE TIMES TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR WHEN YOU COULD TELL SHE WAS TIRED, AND IT WAS HARD WORK.

I CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT A--YOU KNOW, KNOWING JUST WHAT I KNOW NOW ABOUT WHAT IT TAKES TO DO THINGS LIKE THIS, HOW MUCH WORK IT MUST'VE BEEN FOR HER AND THE STRESS TO DO IT ON WHAT MUST HAVE BEEN A TIGHT, TIGHT LITTLE BUDGET.

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE MONEY THING WAS LIKE, BUT HAD TO BE TOUGH AND TO DEAL WITH THE EGOS AND THE DIFFERENT PEOPLE THAT WOULD HAVE THEIR OWN VISIONS OF HOW THINGS WERE GOING, TO KEEP HER VISION GOING.

I DON'T KNOW WHETHER YOUR DAUGHTER TOLD YOU WHAT I SAID ABOUT YOU.

NO, SHE DIDN'T.

WHAT I FINALLY DECIDED.

NO.

I SAID YOU WERE A BENEVOLENT MUSSOLINI.

OH.

NOW, HE'S A TYRANT.

HE MADE THE TRAINS RUN ON TIME.

THAT I LOVE.

I LOVE THAT QUALITY.

IT WAS NOT LIKE ANYBODY ELSE'S AVERAGE LIFE.

THERE WERE CRISIS AFTER CRISIS COMING UP EVERY SINGLE DAY.

THAT ONE STAGE MANAGER THAT ALMOST KILLED 3 PEOPLE IN THE AUDIENCE AT 3 DIFFERENT TIMES.

THE ONE I REPLACED.

YES.

YES, ACTUALLY YOU DID.

HOW OLD WAS I WHEN YOU PULLED ME OUT OF BED AND WE RACED DOWN THE HILL?

I REALLY BECAME AN ADULT THAT DAY AS I RACED DOWN THE HILL BEHIND YOU BAREFOOT.

WELL, YOU HAD TO TAKE CARE OF GETTING EVERYTHING--THE SHOW STARTED ON TIME.

I HAD TO MAKE LIZ BE IN CHARGE, AND SHE HAD TO, SINCE SHE WAS THE OLDEST AND KNEW HOW TO DO THINGS SOONER AND QUICKER LEARNED, AND SHE HAD TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR SEEING THAT THINGS WERE KEPT CLEAN AND TAKE CARE OF FINANCES OFTENTIMES.

THE ONLY THING-- I NEVER SENT THEM TO A LIQUOR STORE, THAT'S FOR SURE, BUT IT'S A WONDER I HADN'T THOUGHT OF THAT ONE, TOO.

I WAS TERRIFIED ALL THE TIME THAT I WASN'T GONNA BE ABLE TO FIND THE MONEY TO CONTINUE ANYTHING.

BUT WHY WAS IT SO IMPORTANT TO CONTINUE THE THEATER?

WHY NOT JUST GET A JOB AS A LIBRARIAN OR TEACHING?

WELL, I THINK THE THING-- I ENJOYED BEING RECOGNIZED IN THE COMMUNITY AS A LEADER, AS A RESPECTED PERSON--PERSON OF SOME STATURE IN THE COMMUNITY RATHER THAN JUST, YOU KNOW, SAY, RUN OF THE MILL.

IN A WAY, TOO, IT WENT BACK TO A RATHER POOR RELATIONSHIP WITH MY MOTHER WHO ALWAYS SAID THAT I WAS NOBODY AND WOULD NEVER AMOUNT TO ANYTHING.

SHE REALLY GOADED YOU.

OH, SHE REALLY RODE MY...

RODE ME.

SHE REALLY DID.

IF YOU'D GOTTEN THAT FEEDBACK EARLY ON, THERE NEVER WOULD'VE BEEN AN ORLEANS ARENA THEATER.

I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY TRUE.

YEAH.

SO MAYBE THERE'S A PLACE IN THIS WORLD FOR DYSFUNCTION.

OH, I HOPE SO.

THERE'S CERTAINLY A LOT OF IT--THERE'S A LOT OF IT AROUND.

YEAH.

FOR ALL 3 CHILDREN, HAVING TO DO AND TO SACRIFICE FOR THE THEATER MADE THEM INTO INCREDIBLE WORK-- WORKAHOLICS.

YOU ARE SO FUNNY TO WATCH WORK 'CAUSE YOU'RE JUST A ONE-WOMAN SHOW, BUT THAT'S WHAT WE DID AS KIDS.

I MEAN, YOU KNOW, ULTIMATELY, YOU HAD TO DO THE JOB OF 20 PEOPLE, AND WE'RE STILL DOING IT, AND THAT'S--AND I LOVE IT.

I DON'T LIKE IT.

AND IF I DID ANYTHING WRONG, THAT WOULD BE IT, WAS MAKING THEM SUCH HARD WORKERS THAT THEY'RE TOO TOUGH ON THEMSELVES.

SO, DOES AN ESCAPADE, AN ADVENTURE LIKE THIS REQUIRE THAT KIND OF SACRIFICE, RISK, FEAR?

I THINK SO.

I THINK IF YOU LOOK AT ANYTHING, WHETHER IT'S A PERSON IN MUSIC OR ANY OF THE ARTS, YOU'LL OFTEN FIND THAT THEY'RE SUBSTITUTING THAT FOR REAL LIFE.

I DON'T KNOW IF SHE WOULD'VE DONE IT IF IT WEREN'T A TERRIFIC HIGH.

YOU LIKE IT?

YES, I THINK I-- SURE, YOU DO.

IT'S GREASEPAINT.

AH, AH, AH, AH.

GO EASY.

THAT'S VERY POTENT STUFF.

YOU SMELL THAT ONCE TOO OFTEN, IT GETS A-WAY DOWN DEEP INSIDE OF YOU.

OH, YOU CAN WIPE IT OFF YOUR FACE ALL RIGHT, BUT YOU'LL NEVER GET IT OUT OF YOUR BLOOD.

OH... THANK GOD FOR CERTAIN SORTS OF ADDICTS.

DURING THE FIRST FEW YEARS OF THE THEATER, WE WEREN'T REASONABLE.

WE WEREN'T CONSCIOUS OF THE PASSAGE OF TIME.

WHEN I SUDDENLY WOKE UP ALONG ABOUT 1963, I REALIZED THAT 13 YEARS HAD PASSED.

BUT I LEFT HERE TO GO FURTHER AND GROW AND I DIDN'T.

I DIDN'T GROW AFTER I LEFT ORLEANS.

I, YOU KNOW, I'VE TALKED ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT ORLEANS ARENA THEATER WAS TO ME.

I JUST--BUT IT WASN'T JUST THE ORLEANS ARENA THEATER.

IT WAS YOUR MOM.

BECAUSE TO GO TO A PLACE WHERE THERE WAS THIS FORCEFUL THEATRICAL LEADER WHO JUST KIND OF DROVE THE THING ALONG, AND-AND EVERYTHING'S BY COMMITTEE THESE DAYS MORE.

AND SHE WAS THE BOSS.

AND SHE PULLED THESE PEOPLE TOGETHER.

SHE, THROUGH WHATEVER PROCESS THAT I WAS UNAWARE OF, GOT THEM TO COME FROM FARAWAY PLACES AND COME HERE TO COME FROM COLORADO AND NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY AND CONNECTICUT AND RHODE ISLAND AND FROM ALL OVER THE PLACE.

SHE'S GOT THAT ABILITY TO KEEP SORT OF PUSHING THE CIRCLE TOGETHER AND MAKING PEOPLE KNOW WHO KNOWS WHAT.

SHE GOT ALL THESE PEOPLE TO DO THIS.

THE OPENING OF ANOTHER SHOW AND SEEING THE CULMINATION OF THE HARD WORK THAT YOU PUT INTO A SHOW AND SEE THE AUDIENCE REACTION AND TO WAIT TO READ THE REVIEWS, THAT WAS SO EXCITING EVERY SINGLE TIME.

OH, YEAH, TERRIFIC.

NOTHING WAS EVER DOWN WITH HER.

EVERYTHING WAS ALWAYS BRIGHT.

THAT'S NOT EASY.

DOESN'T HAVE TO BE A DARK SIDE TO EVERYTHING.

HELLO.

I'M SURE YOU WEPT ON HER PILLOW MANYS A NIGHT OVER WHO KNOWS WHAT.

IT WAS JUST TOO MUCH HARD WORK.

I TRIED TO FIND SUPPORT AS MANY PLACES AS I COULD.

WELL, AND ONE OF YOUR OBVIOUS SUPPORTS WAS YOUR OLDEST DAUGHTER.

OH, ABSOLUTELY.

MM-HMM.

YEAH, AND THAT'S R-REALLY THE REASON WHY I SOLD THE THEATER.

ALL THE CHILDREN WERE EMPLOYED ELSEWHERE, AND I FELT--IT WAS JUST TOO LONELY TO CONTINUE THIS BY MYSELF.

AND SUMMER STOCK HAD CHANGED, TOO.

THAT WAS ANOTHER THING.

PEOPLE WEREN'T LOOKING TO RESIDENT COMPANIES ANYMORE.

DO YOU THINK THAT ANOTHER ORLEANS ARENA THEATER CAN BE INCARNATED?

I DON'T THINK THE ACTORS, THEY WOULD BE WILLING AS MUCH TO CAMP OUT.

TIMES HAVE CHANGED.

IT WAS NOT PROFITABLE TO RUN A SUMMER THEATER IN THE SAME WAY THAT WE HAD.

THERE WAS NO SUCH THING AS THE STRAW-HAT CIRCUIT.

THAT ERA HAD JUST ABOUT GONE BY THE BOARD.

PEOPLE WEREN'T PERFORMING IN BARNS ANYMORE.

IT WAS DEFINITELY AN END OF AN ERA WHEN I SOLD THE THEATER.

I THINK THAT THE LOSS OF THE STRAW-HAT THEATER, STRAW-HAT CIRCUIT, AS THEY USED TO CALL IT, THE THEATER IN THE RESIDENT COMPANY SENSE, I THINK WE'VE LOST THAT CLOSENESS AMONG INDIVIDUALS IN OUR SOCIETY TODAY.

I THINK THAT PEOPLE-- THERE'S SO MUCH FEAR.

PEOPLE ARE AFRAID TO LET OTHERS INTO THEIR LIVES BECAUSE THEY'RE AFRAID THEY'LL BE HURT OR TAKEN FOR GRANTED OR RIPPED OFF OR SOMETHING OR OTHER, SO THERE'S NOT AS MUCH TRUST.

LOOK, IT'S A FAMILY, AND THE MAJOR AMERICAN ILLNESS BECAUSE OF INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION, IN EUROPE, TOO, IS LONELINESS, THAT WE DON'T HAVE EXTENDED FAMILIES, AND TO DO WITHOUT ONE IS LIKE DOING WITHOUT VITAMIN C. YOU KNOW, YOU'RE GONNA GET RUNNING SORES, YOU'RE GONNA FEEL LOUSY, SO WHEN YOU GET A FAMILY, AND ONE PLACE TO GET IT IS IN THE THEATER.

YOU-YOU ATE AND SLEPT AND BREATHED AND LIVED TOGETHER.

IT WAS--WE WERE A COMMUNITY, AND WE WERE IN THE ARENA, AND--SO THERE WAS NO ESCAPE.

I MEAN, THERE WAS NO-- THERE WAS NOTHING PART TIME OR HALFWAY ABOUT IT, AND YOU KNEW THAT YOUR FRIENDS HAD YOUR BACK AND THAT SOMEONE WOULD RELY ON YOU AND YOU WERE PART OF A TEAM AND THAT WE WERE A PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER THAN OURSELVES.

I THINK IT'S A FEELING OF COMMUNITY AND WANTING THE COMMUNITY TO ENJOY EACH OTHER AND FUNCTION WELL.

THEY GAVE PEOPLE SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY, INCLUDING US, AND DIFFERENT ARENAS, SORRY ABOUT THE PUN, CAN OFFER SIMILAR THINGS TO A PERSON AND SHAPE A PERSON IN A SIMILAR WAY.

I NEVER JOINED THE PEACE CORPS, BUT IMAGINE IN SOME WAYS, THERE'S SOME SIMILARITIES ABOUT WORKING TOGETHER AND ABOUT SELFLESSNESS.

I MISS THOSE DAYS.

ME TOO.

[OVERLAPPING CHATTER] HI.

YEAH, HI.

HOW ARE YOU, DEAR?

GOOD.

GOOD.

GOOD.

SO GOOD TO SEE YOU.

I WAS THINKING OF YOU A LOT.

WE'RE STILL HANGING IN THERE.

YEAH, BUT SEE, WE HAVE TOO MANY PEOPLE... TRY TO REMEMBER THE KIND OF SEPTEMBER WHEN LIFE WAS SLOW AND OH, SO MELLOW TRY TO REMEMBER THE KIND OF SEPTEMBER WHEN GRASS WAS GREEN AND GRAIN WAS YELLOW... I FEEL WISTFUL AND NOSTALGIC THAT SUMMER-STOCK DAYS ARE OVER WITH.

NOSTALGIA FOR THE KIND OF CAMARADERIE AND THE EXPERIENCES THAT WE ALL SHARED.

THEY WERE UNIQUE.

TRY TO REMEMBER... THIS PLACE WAS WAITING FOR US, AND I FEEL A LITTLE BIT MISTY.

SOMEHOW OR OTHER, BETSY CAUGHT THE COAL IN THE SUMMER OF '49, AND SHE KNEW THAT THIS WAS A TOWN TO HAVE A THEATER.

YES, THERE WAS A GREAT DEAL OF SACRIFICE, AND I WOULDN'T HAVE CHANGED THAT.

I WOULDN'T HAVE GIVEN IT UP.

TRY TO REMEMBER... BUT OUR PARENTS WERE BRAVE.

THEY DID SOMETHING CRAZY, AND I FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW, ALMOST NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE IF YOU REALLY ARE THAT PASSIONATE ABOUT IT.

TRY TO REMEMBER THE KIND OF SEPTEMBER WHEN YOU WERE... ANYTHING WHICH REQUIRES COMMUNITY EFFORT FOR EVERYBODY FIGHTING FOR THE SAME GOAL IS GOING TO HELP ANY COMMUNITY.

PEOPLE DISCOVERED TALENTS, HIDDEN TALENTS THEY NEVER EVEN KNEW THEY HAD, AND THEY LOVED THE DISCOVERY, AND THEY APPRECIATED US FOR PROVIDING THE OPPORTUNITY.

SO IT WAS WELL WORTH ALL THE SACRIFICE, I FELT, ALL THE TIME.

DEEP IN DECEMBER IT'S NICE TO REMEMBER THE FIRE OF SEPTEMBER THAT MADE YOU MELLOW DEEP IN DECEMBER OUR HEARTS SHOULD REMEMBER AND FOLLOW FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW [APPLAUSE] WHOO.

THERE'S NO BUSINESS LIKE SHOW BUSINESS LIKE NO BUSINESS I KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT IT IS APPEALING EVERYTHING THAT TRAFFIC WILL ALLOW NOWHERE CAN YOU GET THAT HAPPY FEELING WHEN YOU'RE STEALIN' THAT EXTRA BOW THERE'S NO PEOPLE LIKE SHOW PEOPLE THEY SMILE WHEN THEY'RE LOW EVEN WITH A TURKEY THAT YOU KNOW WILL FOLD YOU MAY BE STRANDED OUT IN THE COLD BUT YOU WOULDN'T CHANGE IT FOR A SACK OF GOLD LET'S GO ON WITH THE SHOW... "STAGESTRUCK: CONFESSIONS FROM SUMMER STOCK" IS AVAILABLE ON DVD FOR 24.99 PLUS SHIPPING AND HANDLING.

TO ORDER, WRITE TO THE ADDRESS ONSCREEN OR ORDER ONLINE AT WWW.ARGOPRODUCTIONS.COM.

...SHOW LET'S GO ON WITH THE SHOW.

[APPLAUSE]