I'll admit it; I got involved in theater for a boy. But I stayed for a man. When I arrived at college to major in theater I was one of the few women who hadn't always been doing it, who hadn't been the supreme star diva of it all for years and years. I really liked singing, but since my boyfriend was singing and acting in high school I started doing it too. That's how I met Larry Life. Larry was the terrifying, skeletally skinny, alcoholic, gay theater director for IPFW college, where anyone from the community could audition. He was also wildly intelligent, funny in the most evil ways, and so creative it literally pained him. He was never nice to anyone but the prettiest young boy in the cast and he was constantly demanding that we singers find our testacles so that we could sing from them. He was a trip and a half, and over the course of doing three shows in two years with him, I came to admire the shit out of that guy. From him I learned about artistic integrity, creative obsession, and of course, Fosse.
I know to people who have only ever known me as an editor it may seem weird to think that Larry, who saw me as an actress, is one of the many people who got me here to where I am now. But when I look back I see all the steps, and they seem as perfectly choreographed as any of his shows. I hope that whereever he is now there are plenty of pretty young boys, vampy showstopping numbers, and that everyone has found their testacles.
To Larry: Thank you for seeing the talent in a budding actress/singer, you cast her in college productions when her own high school drama teacher couldn't see past the fact that she wasn't blonde and a size 2. I can only imagine the number of others you gave confidence and experience to. You gave the community wonderfully spellbound productions time after time. You were a gift to us. Thank you.
Posted by: Mom | February 12, 2007 at 05:15 PM