Rip Van Winkle

THEATER 2
-fall 1978
After my success as Baba Chaghaloo, the stage beckoned again four years later. My teacher picked me for the lead role in RIP VAN WINKLE. It's again a bit of a mystery why i was chosen. I had come out of my shell a bit in the intervening years, and had even had one year, 3rd with Mrs. Shaffelberger, when i was an unequivocal class clown. In 5th though, i was quiet. I don't remember volunteering for the part, but was happy to do it. Especially for Miss Dull. Fresh out of school, she was smiley with sparkly eyes, a thin figure, and light brown feathery hair. I had a crush on her, maybe just like every other boy. It was to be my last year at Jefferson, we moved a month before school ended, and i still have the copy of "Wind in the Willows" she gave me as a going-away gift. Our production was staged in the main auditorium, for the whole school and open to the public. We had costumes, sets, and effects. I had the coolest beard. Our cast was around thirty in all. It's a wonderful tale of a henpecked, gentle soul who stumbles across Henry Hudson and his crew playing ninepins in the mountains, shares a few mugs of ale, and wakes up twenty years later. Talking with my children, both young and fully-grown, the "waking up" scene, calling for my dog Wolf…all so wonderful. Betsy Thatcher was delightfully overbearing as my wife. We used a huge piece of sheet metal as our backstage thunder. The auditorium was filled, with lots of happy laughter. I remember not being nervous. Who could be nervous about something so fun? An audiotape of the performance survives.