THE OVER-55 FOLKS RECONVENE  by Barbara Biddison

Suppose you're 65 or 85  (or older or younger or in-between) and you wake up one morning and wonder when Acting Up is going to start meeting again.  Or suppose you're that age and remember that you have heard about HG's  Acting Up and wondered if that would be something you'd like to do.  Or suppose a friend wants to go and is reluctant to go alone.  Well, it's time to give it a try, or to return to it for the umpteenth year!

It's time for ACTING UP to gather together for Hamilton-Gibson's opportunity designed for folks over 55 (no age limit on the top—we've welcomed in recent years at least 2 who have reached 90).  We meet on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month at 2PM on the second floor of the Deane Center.  All are invited to "just show up" for an hour of reading aloud to each other, a casual ReadersTheatre experience.

People come and go as their lives require.  You can still go to your grandson's birthday party, or to a doll club meeting, or south for the winter.  No gold stars for perfect attendance!  We do like to know
about how many will be there on a given Tuesday so we can plan an appropriate group reading, but we like to keep it loose.  That's probably how we have been able to keep Acting Up going regularly since
2005!

Who is this "we" newcomers may ask.  It's Larry and Barbara Biddison. We both have some background in literature and in theatre, and we love helping people develop skills in the oral presentation of all kinds of literature.  Yes, we read plays, and also prose and poetry.  Y'all come!  We welcome newcomers as well as longtime regulars. ​

THE SCENT OF A MELODY by Thomas Putnam




I was in a play at Mansfield University in the summer of my 16th birthday. (I remember it was my 16th because I had just gotten my driver's license and got a ticket driving home very late one June night from rehearsal! Yeah...for speeding. It's a good thing the policeman wasn't around when I had turned off my headlights because the moon was so bright and I wanted to see if I could drive without them.) Sorry...I digress.


I was in a play with college students and faculty (I was the only high school student) and in one scene my character climbed up into the bedroom loft with his former but still dear girlfriend and we were to make-out on the bed. The most memorable thing about that romp on the bed was the actress's perfume. It was mesmerizing...and memorable. I don't remember that co-ed's name, nor have I ever had any contact with her since. But, over the many decades since, I have instantly thought of her when I happened to smell that perfume. I don't remember the name, but wow, does that perfume take me back to those nights on the old Allen Hall stage.


What makes MY WAY work is hearing a melody that Frank Sinatra used to sing (or still sings if you listen to recordings or other avenues.) None of the four singers in this revue which opens on September 16 even begins to try to sound like Sinatra, but the tunes....oh, those tunes. In this case it's not the sound of Sinatra's singular voice that stirs us, but the remembrance of that melody.


Like that perfume from long ago, the scent of a melody transmits us back to another time or place or company or situation. Some of these melodies most of us have heard, I bet, a hundred times, and that scent is strong; sometimes triggering a very, very specific moment in our lives (like making out in the loft on Allen Hall stage), and for better or for worse we are broadened by the memory. Breathe deeply.

​WHAT WERE YOUR PARENTS LISTENING TO? By Thomas Putnam


MY WAY opens September 16, so many of my waking moments (and many of my sleeping moments!) are taken up with all things Sinatra. Even in the midst of the past few weeks' muddled-Covid-brain, my thoughts go to that voice, that face, that phenomenon. With a singing career that lasted so many decades, there is a lot to think about.


One of the lines in the musical revue indicates that “half the U.S. population over 40 was conceived while their parents were listening to the music of Frank Sinatra.” Actually in our script it says “over 80” but I've heard that age modified in a few different productions. Regardless of the age indicated, how in the world would this be a statistic that could be verified?


I think it's a fun thought, however, and probably one that at least during many of the years between 1945 and the early 1990's there probably would be a good chance that a large percentage of conceptions occurred while the participants were hearing the voice of Frank Sinatra. He had at least three career wanes with equal number of career revitalizations; and the wanes were fairly short-lived. He also recorded somewhere between 1200 and 1600 different songs. Uh...that's a lot of air-time.


This might be a fun question to ask couples around an extended family picnic: what were they listening to when their children were conceived? Of course, for many of us who are of a certain age we can't ask our parents that question. The sheer number of Sinatra recordings however, makes it plausible that the Crooner was present.


Our musical revue is family friendly so there's no need to worry about such questions being asked when you attend on September 16, 17, 18, 23, or 24. But “family friendly” takes on new meaning when considering this question, yes? Good ol' Frank.

FOOD AND WINE...AND SOME IVORY by Thomas Putnam




I've been reminded the past few weeks of a particular person who means a great deal to me...and ultimately to you. The person is “the accompanist.” With the commencement of the new season of the HG Choral Program for kids in grades 2-12, and planning ahead for music gigs in October and even the musicals for 2023, and the fast-approaching musical tribute to Frank Sinatra, I am reminded that I and the projects I direct are worth very little without an accompanist. Wait, let me clarify that...without a really good accompanist.


I don't think most people realize the value of a confident, talented, flexible, selfless accompanist. HG has been hugely blessed with just such people. Over the years Kay Galloway, Marian Miller, Cheri Ayres have all bolstered our choirs and shows. More recently Parker Neal, Adam Mahonsky, and others have sat on the bench, which we might call the Mercy Seat. Without the strong support of those who sit at the piano, the choir or the show simply falters.


In the past few weeks, two guys have reminded me of this. Gary Citro became our accompanist for the choirs last year, and as we begin this year, he is once again is faithfully providing the support the singers need. He also played for the melodrama and the Animal Crackers show this summer! We couldn't do it without him.


Derek Young was the choir accompanist a few years ago. He also accompanied a few shows and traveled with the choirs on tour. Last month he came to our rescue when we were in great need of a solid accompanist for MY WAY, which opens next Friday. Though now living in Sayre and with a full schedule, he's making the time to accompany the four singers as they croon their way through 50 songs made famous by Sinatra. We couldn't do it without him.


When you attend an HG event, or a high school concert, or a Wellsboro Men's or Women's concert, take the time to thank Pat Davis and Judy Smithgall and Marian Miller and whomever is on the Mercy Seat, tickling those ivories and providing the support the singers need.   

​STARS IN THE SKY. STARS ON THE STAGE by Thomas Putnam




I attended a rehearsal for HG's evening of show tunes to be presented at the Stony Fork Campgrounds on Saturday at 7:30. The evening was a perfect August night. Warm, but not hot. Still, but with just a whisper of a breeze. And, yes, one could say “the hills are a live with the sound of music.”


There were about 10 people milling about, and techie Gary Fizzano had all his sound equipment on and off stage. Everything was ready. The coordinator of the event couldn't be at this run-through; it was mainly for Gary to check to make sure all was well with the sound. The well-prepared group began to run through the pieces in order of the show.


One after another they mounted the open-air stage facing the wide expanse of hillside lawn where the audience will be bringing their lawn chairs. The line-up begins with Ramon Duterte delivering a powerful rendition of a song that will be familiar to many, new to others.


I remember when we produced THE SOUND OF MUSIC in the early '90's and a man—who was not particularly eager to attend the show, but did so to appease his wife—leaned over to her after that glorious opening of the nun's chorus and said “That was worth the admission; I could go home now and be completely satisfied.” It was good, imho, with over 30 women in habits skillfully trained by Barbara Winters. I felt kind of like this man after Ramon was done. If the rest of the show is half as good as this, we're in for a great evening.


And I wasn't disappointed. One after the other came to the mic and sang their heart out. Some of these folks are trained, experienced performers; others are kids who took a shot and sent in an audition recording. One of the foundation stones of HG is that all are welcome; that we're providing opportunities for people of all ages—and all experience levels—to enrich and empower their lives through community performing arts. It's good stuff.


I had not met a few of these folks. Some I've known for decades. They each chose their particular song that they felt some connecting to/with; and they do a bang-up job of sharing with us that connection.


There is food and beverage and some fun games of chance before the show and during intermission. It's going to be an evening to simply relax and hum along with songs that you have known for years and songs that you may be hearing for the first time. Invite some friends and grab your lawn chairs and treat yourself a well-deserved rest. “The hills are alive...”