Peace Theatre was the genesis of my acting career. It was the summer 1995. I was a freshman at Martin Luther King High. Good Shepherd Mediation Program had come to our school to start a peer mediation program in conflict resolution. Not that I cared. I only went to the training because the program director, Elisa Hines, promised summer jobs to students who completed the training and became peer mediators. So me,Patrick Williams and Canard Stratford agreed to we would go the training so we could get a job. I was fourteen going on fifteen and the thought of having my own money was a dream come true. I had applied unsuccessfully to Chicken George and this seemed like my last shot to get a summer job. At the end of the school day I was walking down the hallway to go the training. I then remembered my mom telling me and my brothers that under no circumstances would she let me get a summer job. I thought for a second I might be wasting my time. My mom wouldn't let me keep the job anyway.
I must have stood there for a few minutes stagnated in indecisiveness. I didn't know what to do. After a while, I decided to go to the training. I had nothing to lose. I would get the job and see if my mom would let me keep it. I had no way of knowing at the time just how much this one decision would change my life. I got to the training late. The training lasted four days during after-school hours. Once I was done the training we received certificates to be peer-mediators. Our job at the school was mediate disputes when needed. That job didn't pay. We were only interested in the paying gig! I got an interview with Good Shepherd a week later. They were located at 5336 Chew Ave. For some reason I couldn't find the office. So I went home and stood up Elisa Hines the director of the program. I thought I blew it.
The next day I ran into Elisa Hines and to my surprise she rescheduled. A week after that I was offered a position at Good Shepherd. First of all, when I was hired, I didn't know my job description. Secondly, my mom still didn't know about the job yet! So I went to my mom and told her about the the job and asked her if I could keep it. She said yes! I was shocked! I didn't even have to do much convincing! I still didn't know my job description. I told my mom that we were hired to be peer mediators. I didn't lie. That's what I assumed.
I missed my first day of work because I didn't get my work permit back in time. I was bummed. I didn't even call to tell Good Shepherd to say I wouldn't be there. I just assumed I lost the job! Elisa called me and asked where I was. I told her and she laughed. She said you didn't come in because of that? So the next day I went in to work. I was very excited! That is until they told us the job description. We were hired to a theatre troupe called Peace Theatre. We would develop and perform loosely improvised skits about conflict resolution that would tour summer camps all over the city. I thought it was crazy! But I was getting paid! I didn't complain. Our first performance was July 11th, 1995 at a summer camp in SW Philly. I was so nervous! I remember counting the number streets as we rode on the trolley, 52nd, 53rd, 54th, hoping time would delay the inevitable! Performing in front of people! I was now petrified! I remember there were only eleven kids at our first show. After the first minute my nervousness went away. I remember thinking "I can do this,it's not that bad at all."
Our second show that day was at a summer camp in West Philly for 91 kids. I was a little nervous at first but only at first. I remember I said a line and everybody laughed. That was amazing to me! I never thought I was funny! Ever! By the second day of performing I was totally at ease. I looked forward to making the kids laugh and conveying a positive message at the same time. Me and Pat proved to be a great duo. We had very good chemistry. Our troupe leader Bob Napper loved us and would give us free reign in the performance. I had a blast. I never wanted that summer to end. I went back to school the next year with a renewed self-confidence. I starting feeling good about myself for the first time in my life. The next summer I planed on going back to Peace Theatre. But Peace Theatre changed their policy for the summer of 1996. They wouldn't bring back any performers from last year. They would only hire high school students with a professional theatre background. So basically they told me thanks but no thanks. I was devastated. Pat didn't care. He had a lot of jobs and Peace Theatre was just another job to him. But not to me. It was so much more. It became apart of my identity. So I called Elisa back and asked her what I needed to qualify. She said I needed a resume and a head shot and professional theatre experience. I had none of that. I decided I was going to try and get the job anyway. So in my 8th period Spanish I wrote out a resume listing my experience in Peace Theatre last year. I grabbed an old photo of myself jumped on my bike and rode to Good Shepherd for my interview. I had nothing to lose.
A few days later Elisa called and offered me a position with Peace Theatre! What had happened was they had cast the whole troupe. But then somebody dropped out. Cheryl Cutrona the Executive Director of Peace Theatre thought it would be a good idea to bring me in to replace the actor they had lost because I was the only one with prior Peace Theatre experience. So I was in! The troupe was six high school actors with a lot of theatre experience. They were: Shane Slater, Rachel Brown, Burgandy Holiday, Walter Threadgill, Daniel Thomas and me. Our trope leaders was Robert Schiller and Julie Lake. I was intimidated by them at first and wondered if I could hold my own.
That summer trumped my first summer with Peace Theatre! It was that summer that I decided I would pursue an acting career. It made sense to me and felt so right. I stayed with Peace Theatre for the next two summers '97 and '98. However it was in '98 after my freshman year in college that I decided I was a big fish in a small pond with Peace Theatre and decided to try and audition for real theatre companies and productions. I was eight-teen now. I needed to know if I belonged in the theatre world outside of Peace Theatre. Elisa and everyone at Good Shepherd told me I had a lot of talent and should pursue other theatre and film projects. In '97 my troupe was leader was Judy Nelson. She was the first one to tell me I had a lot of talent and really should start taking classes. So in the fall of 1998, much to the dismay of my mother, I decided to take the year off from college and pursue it full-time. I hired a manager enrolled in acting classes at the Walnut Street Theatre and started auditioning. As a devout Jehovah's Witness there were a lot roles I wouldn't accept. But I was determined to find out where I fit in, if at all. After all, I had nothing to lose...
No comments:
Post a Comment