By the time I got to High School I was interested in drama. I wanted to act on the stage. When I was a Junior I tried out for a part in the play “George Washington Slept Here”. I was cast in the part of the Mother. I remembered seeing an old movie by the same name starring Jack Benny. I realized after reading the script for the play that my part had been rewritten for Jack Benny. I had the best lines. It was funny and I had a lot of fun. I guess I was good. Of course every one tells you that you were wonderful.
I found out when they were having tryouts for the next summers productions at the Shakespeare Festival and I tried out. I was cast as a hand maiden to Cleopatra and a towns person in one of the other plays I don’t remember which one. I also helped out during the Green Show as a Madrigal singer and a seller of tarts and hour hound candy. The production of Anthony and Cleopatra was horrible. The lady cast as Cleopatra could not remember her lines and she was replaced just a couple of weeks before production by another actress. In the play Cleopatra kills herself on stage and so do the hand maidens. So I got to die on stage. Yeah! My High School drama teacher came to see the play and said she was kind of disappointed in my performance. Oh well you can’t please them all.
The next year in school we had a new drama teacher and Choir director. He wanted to put on “Oklahoma” as a school production. This time I was cast as Aunt Eller. I wanted to improve my singing and I tried to take lessons from my teacher but we didn’t communicate very well. I don’t think he really wanted to bother or else he didn’t think I had any talent. Anyway lessons did not last long. Doing Oklahoma was fun and when I was supposed to sing solo parts I couldn’t get the pitch so he had me talk the words to the music. That worked out pretty well and got me over my nervousness.
We also did “Brigadoon” and this time I was in the chorus and I helped with the props. That was fun making fake rocks and trees. I learned a lot about the backstage production of a play.
The next summer 1964 after I graduated from High School I tried out again for Shakespeare and this time I was cast in “Midsummer Nights Dream” in the role of Helena. She in one of four young lovers roaming through the forest. It was a great part and I had some great lines and action. Again I participated in the green show on the nights I wasn’t in a play and I helped sew costumes and I think I even helped make tarts. Those were some of the best summers of my life up to that point. Festival only lasted about four weeks at that time. They were starting to bring in more experienced actors and local amateurs did not get as many leading roles.
After Festival was over there was about two months before College started. I didn’t have a job and so I applied to the Utah Parks for a job. They called me up two days later and asked me to go to Grand Canyon North Rim as a cabin maid. And, as they say, that is another story.