throwback thursday to 1970

Once again, a cut-and-paste from an old post (comment, actually) where I described my final stage performance as an actor. I took drama from 7th through 12th grade. My first play was The Wizard of Oz ... I was 11 years old, and played The Scarecrow. Don't remember much about it, but I think I was already establishing myself as the guy who knew not only my own lines, but everyone else's. And in 7th grade, knowing your lines is all that can be asked of you. My last play was 1984, where I played the "hero", Winston Smith. It ran for three nights, the last of which was 49 years ago today, February 14, 1970. Here is what I wrote back in 2007:

The last play I was in was 1984, where I played Winston Smith. It was done in the round, so there were no blind spots where we could trick the audience, plus they were very close to us. Near the end, as I'm being tortured/reprogrammed, I say the wrong thing and I get smacked in the head for my mistake. During rehearsal, the guy would be standing in front of me, I'd see the fist coming, and I could time my flinch. I guess I was flinching too soon or something, because the director decided to have the guy be standing behind me when he smacked me, so the audience would think I didn't see it coming. We had some cue to let me know when it was coming, but it didn't matter ... my flinches were even more poorly timed because I was scared. So finally I told the guy I was willing to take one for the team ... and for the actual performances, he'd walk behind me, I'd say the wrong thing, he's smack me one ... and I wouldn't move an inch, because I preferred getting clubbed than flinching like a wussy in front of an audience.

Thankfully, we only did three performances.

Not sure what video I can use to liven things up for this post. How about this one?

Comments

[Tomás]

This is a new side of Steven that hadn't really registered for me yet (the acting thing, that is not the taking a punch). That your first role was in Wizard of Oz is kind of funny, too, considering your low estimation of the flick.

[Steven Rubio]

Not sure if there is some leg-pulling going on here, but just in case, for the record:

https://begonias.typepad.com/srubio/2015/02/revisit-the-wizard-of-oz-victor-fleming-1939.html

Off the top of my head, some of my other acting performances came in such high-school war horses as Arsenic and Old Lace, Inherit the Wind, and others.

[Tomás]

There wasn't! I probably confused your Wizard of Oz review with your Sound of Music. :)

[Steven Rubio]

I added another post, which includes some 1984 photos and a couple of other pix:

https://begonias.typepad.com/srubio/2019/02/1984-addendum.html