The Theater Speech

The Sam Bass Theater has been a second home to me. At times, it has seemed like my first home. When I first started working there, I was very diffident. I felt intimidated by the talent, education and intelligence of the people already working hard there.

Costuming was the first non-acting job I was offered. I was too frightened to attempt it on my own, so I brought in my bestest friend to help me. Between us, we got the show, a melodrama, done. I ran lights (once) and sound (once). Those turned out to be not my forte. I could do it, but working the buttons terrified me more than being onstage did, and that was saying a lot. I stage managed, ran props, schlepped set pieces and worked as an Assistant Director. As other people came in who could do those jobs, I reverted to the costuming, which was where my heart lay.

I learned a lot over the years. How to make a frock coat out of a suit. Not to put ladies with big feet in white flats. How to convince an actress that she could look beautiful even if she was a size 22.

One of the things I did learn is to avoid putting up with guff. One of the things I did not learn is to do it tactfully.

I have a feeling (and it's just a feeling, as I do not know exactly who they are) that those I have offended may be some who think that actors come higher on the scale of "assistant storytellers" than costumers do. Now, one of the underlying philosophies of the Sam Bass Theater has always been that every person involved in a production has an equal role in making a good show. And, that making a good show is the goal...the be-all and end-all...the very purpose of the organization. Anyone who doesn't see that tends to get short shrift from me.

However, times are changing. Sam Bass has grown, through our longevity and the quality of our productions, to a point where we are starting to attract talent from Austin.

The Big City. (Everyone say "Oooooh!")

To these actors, a quality production is not the Alpha and Omega of their efforts. It is the means to an end, a stepping stone to a professional career. A venue where talent scouts from Austin's burgeoning movie industry can see them in action. A stage on which a critic can see that they are so much better and more sophisticated than their surroundings. A place in which they can land a role that they might not be in the running for in The Big City.

These actors have no emotional investment in our theater. They have none in the role they are playing. Their only investment is in themselves. They are very thin-skinned. They feel that we should be falling over ourselves with gratitude to have them. They need to be cozened, coaxed, flattered.

I don't do that.

Maybe part of the reason that I will always be an amateur is that I have no patience with such people. I love the word "amateur." It has fallen into disrepute, being taken to mean "non-professional." It actually means "someone who engages in an activity out of love." What I love is Harrison Ford's attitude that "We are all assistant storytellers." What I love is working together without a class system. What I love is putting on a good show.

If I ain't lovin' it, I ain't doin' it.