North Carolina School of the Arts
Page 5
If
“I was on my way to
becoming a ballerina...”
Continued from Page 4
comparison. In addition to which
we were paying 29 cents for
cucumbers and it was ridiculous
when you could drop a seed in the
ground and have fifty cucumbers
two months later.
NCSA; Just about everyone here
knows you’ve just finished a film
for Otto Preminger. When did
you do your first film, ever?
BEARD: “With a Song in My
Heart” with Susan Hayward. I
went in as a singer. A bery big
director at that time named
Walter Lang was directing this
enormous big crowd scene where
everyl^y sang. Susan Hayward
was singing to the boys at the
army hospital. We were all
supposed to be convalescing. She
sang songs of each state and then
sections of the auditorium would
stand and sing a verse of the
song. And I remember Walter
Lang saying to someone, “Now in
this shot I want someone to'stand
up and give a wild cheer. You,
there in the back, picking your
nose.” It wasn’t me, but the fella
he was talking to practically
TRUE
STORY
The sun has long since gone
down behind the trees to the west.
The bright orange and pink of
simset are follo^g it into the
night. Slowly, ever so slowly,
time begins to ease. Hie days
work is complete, and the time
for play has come. Friends
gather for a beer. Music drones
from a stereo. Then, after the
fourth heaping suds, the change
takes place, not suddenly, but
softly, like a dream.
A quick look around the room
reve^ a marvelous miracle,
friends with whom you were only
a moment ago chatting about the
great jazz musicians, have
disappeared. Tlirough the gloom
you can make out a legendaiy
figure, terrible and yet beautiful.
It is no longer your dear com
panion in his two dollar Goodwill
special who handles the can of
hops. It is John Dillinger, public
enemy number one, in a finely
tailored suit who has come and
honored your humble home. Mth
him are his men and women,
ghostly manikins who bear a
strange resemblance to people
you once knew in a time yet to
come. The music is no longer the
whispy sounds of some past
decade of light hearts and sweet
jazz, it is the latest swinging
now. Strains of the young
singer Sinatra, Glen Miller. The
Original Tuxedo Band Your
strange ghostly guests make you
feel right at home. They are
relaxed, cool, in no hurry. Their
time is back for a brief moment,
and they are alive once more.
But the most wonderful thing of
all: they know you, and you are
with them. They ask you to
dance. You toddle, Charleston,
Big Apple They ask you to
drink. They smile on you. And
you know you have stepped out of
the headaches and stomach pains
of your own life, and have come
to visit the life of someone else’s
decade
-jon thompson
“I’m excited about the school
because it’s still in a state of flux
and I think it’s off to a good start.”
jammed his finger into his brain.
I don’t know why I rememljer
that, but what I remember from
my first picture job. Never pick
your nose on the set.
NCSA: Do you have any opinions
about the drama school here, or
about the school in general? Or
do you expect any problems?
BEARD: I don’t foresee any
problems between myself and the
school. I’m excited about the
school because it’s still in a state
of flux and I think it's off to a good
start. I feel that what Dean
Pollack is trying to do, to get a
cohesive unit among th faculty,
people who complement one
another in their approach and
their ideas for the department, is
good. My view has always b^
that any drama school should be
a unit for the production of plays,
because this is the only way that
people are going to act in the long
run. Class work is very im
portant, but most important in
the light of production. I think
that’s the direction the school is
taking and I’m all for it.
NCSA: Could you give us some
other film titles that you’ve been
in?
BEARD: I could give you all the
titles. I did “Wth a Song in My
Heart,” “Mohawk” wi& Scott
Brady, “Cobweb” by Bill Gibson,
and a picture for a New York
director named Alex Segal called
“Ransom” with Glenn Ford.
Then I didn’t do any major pic
tures. I did television pictures.
Gunsmoke, I Led Three Lives,
The Man Called X, Superman...
NCSA: You did some Superman?
“As a matter of fact, I played
Laurie in “Little Women” from
the time I was thirteen until I
was twenty-one.”
What was the character?
BEARD: I was Slats Dugan. This
was the time when I was running
back and forth between New
York, trying to get a foothold in
the commercial end of it. The
next picture I did was not until
“Tell Me That You Love Me,
Junie Moon” about two or thxee
years ago. And then of course,
I’ve finished another one for Otto
Preminger, “Such Good
Friends” and it’ll be released in
December.
NCSA: If it isn’t prying too much,
how long do you plan to stay here
at the school?
BEARD: My initial contract is
for a year. It’s a state institution
and I’m told they don’t sign you
for more than a year the first
time around. I’m Uke any fresh
man, on probation. Of course,
I’ve bought a home here so I plan
to stay. The minimum amount of
time I’d like to stay is four years,
so I can see one full class go all
the way through. That would give
me some sense of fulfillment, to
have a freshman class and see
them graduate. In the sum
mertime I’m looking forward to
making more pictures, doing
shows at the school and summer
stock. One of the nice things
about being able to teach, you are
free about three months of the
year.
NCSA: That’s about it. Thank you
very much, Mr. Beard.
Beard will be in the all faculty
production of “Dear liar” later
on in the year.
—Jon Ttiompson, Frank Wolfe and
Jon Coggeshall
Governor,
A Modest Proposal
Our proposal is to bring to the prisons and to the other penal in
stitutions live theatre; theatre done honestly, simply and with much
human care. Theatre can and should be a part of priwn reform. Is not
the theatre of our society a part of our social reform? Men in prisons
are being punished but that should not mean that they should be
deprived of any human interaction between them and us. We should
bring to them one of the things that they feel they are being deprived of
simply because they are no longer a part of our society. They have
something very valuable to offer us, and we have something that we
should be aUowed to share with them. If through our productions we
can inspire or bring any form of human love or understanding to any
one prisoner, the program will have been successful. If through talks
we can urge or help to develop an interest in theatre or in any other
cultural fields, we will have succeeded. If a small handful of prisoners
become involved in a theatre program inside their prison, that handful
may not believe they are rejected and will not be lonely, but will strive
to accomplish something constructive. If nothing el^, if that one
prisoner writes the one song he wants to or the one play he’s been
thinking of, then we will have succeeded.
We hope for a strong communion between them and us, or society
and them. We want to let them know we care, that we think of them,
that we want to understand. We want to help them in the one sm^ way
we can.
This is a budget for a one week (seven day) tour. This tour includes
twelve people.
Food
Room
Trans^rtation
Electrics
Props
Royalties
Emergency
Total
$504.00
450.00
435.00
240.00
50.00
300.00
300.00
12279.00
If we are allowed to eat and sleep in the prisons, we would only need
food and rooms for traveling days. Hiis would reduce our budget to
$1471.00.
This will be a Mars Theatre Production in co-operation with the
North Carolina School of the Arts and the State of North Carolina.
—John Woodson