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One last time

To the Journal editor;

Not saying good-bye.

It’s always with great enthusiasm that this time of year brings some fortunate community theatre actors and I are busy with music rehearsal and fishnets, learning blocking for and concentrating on choreography for this years “Time Warp” and assembling a new cast around (your) Dr. Frank N Furter.

To say it’s been an honor is an emince understatement. I remember the first year at the Vista Theatre in Negaunee as the curtain would fall and we take our call on opening night thinking: just like Sally Fields at the Oscars; “They like me, they really like me.”

Twenty-three years is a long time for anything. And I am humbled to have been given the opportunity to welcome folks to my lab, wherever it was built.

A lot of rumors are swirling around and I won’t get into the brouhaha but let me start by saying, Rocky Horror is a cult classic performed around the world. And I support any production that continues the tradition. However, here some facts. The community was always invited to audition. Any and all who were of age and available were given the opportunity to audition. It was an incredible run and it literally changed my life.

Change is good. However, when it’s forced on you can elicit negative consequences.

The cast is set and decisions were made in a hurtful way. But I wish NMU and its cast the very best. However. the current situation could have been handled differently. I went to University of Nevada Las Vegas for my graduate work after attending NMU as an undergrad.

UNLV had guest artists, artists in residence, adjunct faculty and other performers who we were cast in leading roles and we learned performing techniques from.

Sometimes our faculty would play a leading role. A current NMU faculty member can attest to being an understudy for a major production while in the same MFA program I attended. I fully understand students paying for an education and when it’s in theatre you hope to get cast. I did that too.

I didn’t always get the part I wanted, but I learned and grew from it. Theatre and life are temporal. That being said, I wanted one performance, just to have it count toward Guinness Book of World Records.

And yes to continue the tradition that the greater community, our patrons and businesses supported. I wanted to say good-bye, pass the corset on to the next Frank.

Sadly that’s not the case. Let me be clear it’s not the end. My efforts now will focus on one last time. Find a venue. Possibly the Vista Theatre when it is complete and leave it on the boards where it all began 23 years ago. Enjoy the Halloween season. I know I will but for now, “I’m goin’ home.”

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