The Hillside Players<\/p>\n
A notice on a bulletin board at the Senior Center I frequented, said \u201cTo all parties interested in joining our theater troupe to perform in comedy skits. No experience necessary, come to our meeting.\u201d
\nThis opportunity opened up for me that I had been waiting to happen. I hadn\u2019t consciously yearned for it, but the desire had been with me for a long time.<\/p>\n
I had been in my high school plays years before and I enjoyed being on a stage. The applause from an audience really thrilled me. I preferred comedy, not drama, so I went to the meeting. I realized immediately that I found my place.
\nThe group\u2019s emphasis was to have fun together, develop our own style, and entertain.
\nTo begin with our director gave us works from famous comediennes. George & Gracie, Jack Benny, Lucille Ball, Art Carney, Red Skelton, to name a few. We watched their old shows on TV and studied their styles. We found that old jokes were still funny. We decided we wanted to be like them instead of these new comedians that think you have to be raunchy and crude to be successful. So we would memorize their work and perform for each other at our once a week rehearsals. The jokes rolled off our tongues, while we laughed at our amateur attempts. We learned the serious business of how to perform on stage. <\/p>\n
We had grown to a group of 12 performers, when we appeared in our first public appearance. It was to be the opening acts for a College\u2018s presentation of a 3 act play. We were a hit! I found I had a talent for interpreting almost any piece of work and make it funny. I can\u2019t begin to describe the warm feeling I got from discovering I was good at this. We gave short, 30 minute shows for clubs and businesses lunch meetings. Our director would introduce each of us as to do our act, as in an old timey vaudeville type show. . However, as I tried to develop my own character, it fell short many times. I couldn\u2019t get it to convey the aura I sought.<\/p>\n
No group too large or small for us. One performance we presented out in the country at a small 100 year old church. There were about 100 members, and was well attended. When we arrived we were at a pot luck dinner. What a feast, the food all \u201chomemade\u201d by the members was superb. They had every kind of edibles imaginable. Then we gave our show. We heard lots of laughter, some real belly laughs, and received wonderful applause. As we walked among them we noticed them preparing for something special. They invited us to stay. This event was occurring at the time our country was involved in a world conflict where many of our men were serving in a foreign country. The song \u201cTie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree\u201d was playing everywhere. All over town yellow ribbons were being tied around trees to honor a friend or relative over there. Unexpectedly, we became part of this emotional packed ceremony. There happened to be a huge oak tree in front lawn of the church building. After the meal everyone went outside to take part in the ritual by singing the song while a big yellow banner was tied around the tree. Not a dry eye in the crowd. The emotional impact of extreme laughter changing to wholehearted compassion for our countrymen was profound. We never ceased to be amazed at what kind of experience we will have doing our show. That was one that will never be forgotten.<\/p>\n
Our favorite place to perform was for Senior Centers. The faces would light up and smiles would appear .The response at these was so rewarding. They were in great need of laughter. Sometimes a person who had many health problems didn\u2019t seem to react. But after the performance we would walk around in the midst of them, still in our costumes. As we communicated on a one to one basis they loved it. We would find one that hadn\u2019t cracked a smile, but maybe he\/she would reach out and touch us on our arm. A slight upturn of their mouth would tell us the whole story. That simple gesture let us know, it had been appreciated. <\/p>\n
The time came when our beloved director had to leave us, and we were left to develop the show ourselves. We came up with the idea of an old timey \u201cradio show\u201d where a co-worker and I would be the host and hostess. The other characters would each come in to our radio station to talk with us. There I found my unique character which I had been seeking. I took the thoughts from my mind and created a live person. Once I put on her clothes, I was her. I thought like her, walked and talked like her. We spent the next few years perfecting this concept in our shows. Our rehearsal times were a big part of the process, as we were constantly developing new characters and situations for them. <\/p>\n
The most appreciative audience ever was when we went to perform a show at a camp for blind veterans. At practice we joked about not needing to wear costumes, because they couldn\u2019t see them anyway. But we all wore them. You just couldn\u2019t be your character in your own clothes. They were a wild crowd. Laughed hysterically, banged their canes on the floor, stood up and clapped and waved their hands when something was especially funny. The best audience we ever had. It was awesome!<\/p>\n
After 10 years of performances, as life situations separated us. Our group slowly drifted apart. Now a few of us are still close friends that always enjoy a meeting together to reminisce about the days when we were The Hillside Players.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Hillside Players A notice on a bulletin board at the Senior Center I frequented, said \u201cTo all parties interested in joining our theater troupe to perform in comedy skits. No experience necessary, come to our meeting.\u201d This opportunity opened … Continue reading