THE EAGLET

The Episcopal Actors’ Guild | Est. 1923 | For All Faiths, and None

Vol. 31, No. 2 | May 2019

I believe that the world is made
up of two kinds of people: those
who like to celebrate their
birthdays and those who don’t. I
am in the former camp, so I was
recently inspired by three other
EAG birthday lovers.
Ryan Murray celebrated his
birthday in April and took to
Facebook to celebrate while
doing good. In partnership with
his own charity, The Wishing Kids
Foundation, Ryan raised money
for our clients who are suffering
from life-altering illness, terminal
or otherwise. His enthusiastic
celebration raised nearly $1,000
for our charitable programs.
Our second inspiring birthday
baby is Solange DeSantis. She
celebrated a major milestone in
May and had a party with her
nearest and dearest. However,
instead of asking for much-
deserved presents, she asked
that people make a donation to
the Guild. Wow!
Solange asked if we could prep
something to give to her birthday
party attendees, some of whom
might not know about us. We put
together jazzy party favors that
included our “Acting/Singing/
Dancing is my real job” buttons,
festive donation envelopes that
people could mail back to us,
brochures and postcards, all in
one of our “No More Starving
Artists” tote bags.
If you don’t like celebrating
The Episcopal Actors’ Guild of America
yourself, consider celebrating 1 East 29th Street, New York, NY 10016
someone else. Member Anstice 212.685.2927 | info@actorsguild.org
Carroll loves giving the gift of www.actorsguild.org
EAG for birthdays and holidays.
Officers
She makes a contribution in her Elowyn Castle | President
friend’s name and we send a Father John David van Dooren | Warden/Vice President
Nicholas Pavlik | Vice President
birthday card to the recipient.
Peter Von Berg | Vice President
Festive and meaningful. Suzannah Grady | Treasurer
Bernadette Fiorella | Recording Secretary
My birthday is in June, and I am
Staff
inspired by these individuals to Karen Lehman Foster | Executive Director
raise money for one of my Rebecca Lovett | Assistant Director
Jamie Soltis | Office Manager
favorite EAG Programs: the
Council
Florence James Children’s
Amelia Anderson Julia McLaughlin
Holiday Fund. I will be posting a Margot Astrachan Leslie Middlebrook
fundraiser on Facebook later this Paul Cardile Mierre
Anstice Carroll Anthony Newfield
month (please friend me!) to Ruthann Daniels Richard Olson
raise money for our program that Claudia Dumschat Tina Prins
Jennifer Fouch Rev. Gerardo Ramirez
provides holiday gifts and food
Sam Fortenbaugh Sarah Ann Rodgers
for our clients who can’t afford it. Meryl Goodfader Louis Scheeder
Steven Hayes Sally Sherwood
For those of you less tech-savvy, Robert M. Hefley leslie Shreve
Evangeline Johns Deborah T. Shull
feel free to mail a donation to us Eric Kuzmuk Ted Story
with Attn: Karen Birthday in the Laurel Lockhart Webb Turner
address line, and we’ll make sure Advisory Board
it gets to the right place. Elizabeth Ashley Rev. Dr. James Kowalski
Zoe Caldwell Swoosie Kurtz
And when it is time for your own Jim Dale Angela Lansbury
birthday, consider following in the Elizabeth Franz Campbell Scott
Rosemary Harris Frances Sternhagen
footsteps of Ryan, Solange, Dana Ivey Richard Thomas
Anstice, (and me), and put the
The Eaglet is a publication of EAG and may not be repro-
FUN in fundraising. We’ll provide duced without permission.
the party favors! Mervyn Kaufman, Anthony Newfield | Editors
Rebecca Lovett, Jamie Soltis | Layout & Content
Karen Lehman Foster | Cover
All my best, Mervyn Kaufman, Anthony Newfield, Jerry Vermilye |
Publications Committee
Karen Lehman Foster
Executive Director
EAG is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City
karen@actorsguild.org Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council
and New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Gov.
Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
 Events Remembering
As winter slowly melted into spring, EAG members kept the nights alive with their
collec ve crea ve exper se. Tecla Armstrong and Rick Reiners
It is with a heavy heart that we tell you that two of our
EAG members have passed away.
Marilyn “Tecla” Armstrong was a singer and
devoted member of City Opera. She joined EAG in
2010 and was a Life Member. She was also a
dedicated Council member and served on our
Finance and Reception committees. An avid reader,
she was an inaugural member of EAG's book club and
was always willing to lend a hand wherever and
whenever we needed it.
Tecla will be interred at the Columbarium in the Little
Church. Per her wishes, there will be no memorial
service.
Rick Reiners, also a Life Member, became a member
of the Guild in 2001. Rick served as a devoted Council
member of EAG for many years, as well as a member
of our Publications Committee. He offered many
creative ideas and donated his time to planning
fundraising events, like our Broadway Bingo.
Rick is survived by his partner, Ralph Ruder (also an
EAG Life Member).
Please keep our dearly departed in your thoughts and
prayers.

(Top le to bo om right: Judith Greentree, Colleen O’Neill in Dr. Julia Wonder and
Birdie the Tissue Fairy; The Headshot Project’s photographer Ahron R. Foster;
Reynaldo Piniella and the cast of BLACK DOVES; Michael Gnat, George a Buggs,
Sharon Talbot, & Eric Kuzmuk in Love Conquers; Jim Anderson in Totally Wholesome
Foods [photo by Ahron R. Foster]; Steve Hayes hosts Tired Old Queen at the Movies)

Would you prefer to receive future issues of The Eaglet online instead of in the mail? You can now opt out of receiving a hard copy and opt in
to receive a link to a downloadable PDF version by emailing EAG’s Of ce Manager Jamie Soltis at jamie@actorsguild.org.
 On the Ro
“You’re On!” or A Different Eve Harrington Story by Kathleen Conry

At seventeen, I played Dainty June in Gypsy—one of the rst shows that lead me to pursue a
Kathy Conry as Dainty June in 1966...

career in the theatre. Later, one of my rst professional jobs was playing the last ballerina on
the right in Oklahoma! starring Karen Morrow. One day, I heard a voice in the rehearsal room
and said to myself, “That’s it—that’s the voice I want!” It was Karen singing “I Cain’t Say No.”
She became an inspiration for me as I watched her during the run.
By 1992, I worked frequently as a director/choreographer and was offered a job directing and
choreographing a production of Gypsy in Arizona—also starring Karen Morrow. My rst
thought was, “Would she remember me?” As inexperienced as I was back then, would I want
her to remember me? I promised myself I’d tell her of our past history after we opened. It was
a wonderful but short run—two weeks—but two days before we were to close, our Dainty June
had an accident and was unable to perform. I was still in town; the producer called me to
explain the dilemma and asked if there was an understudy who
could go on. No! Who could we get on twelve-hours notice?
Knowing I was also an actor, he told me I had to go on in the role. Impossible. I was too
old for the part. He reminded me the theatre was huge, and no one would notice. I then
realized I was the only solution and spent the next twelve hours trying to remember my
1966 performance of the role.
The lines came back, I t into the other actress’s costumes, and I remembered all the
choreography. But realizing that I was to be on stage with my idol from my early days was
another challenge. Luckily, all those scenes went well, and I was thrilled to “save the day”
and share the stage with one of the most talented women in musical theatre. After the
performance, I reminded Karen of our history in Oklahoma! and how thrilled and proud I ...and Kathy Conry as
Dainty June in 1992
was to work with her, direct her, and to truly share the stage with her.

Life on the Road by Bob Hefley

Robert Hefley as Alexander Hamilton
After getting out of the army in 1973, I moved to NYC and was hired by a
new regional theater in a 600-seat theater on the grounds of the University
of Virginia in Charlottesville, where we did four plays in rep. I was put up in a
three-bedroom apartment, where one of my roommates was a young actor
who later became quite famous. For unknown architectural reasons, our two
rooms shared a closet, and he would sometimes amuse himself by running
through my room naked with a paper bag over his head. The rst time he did
this, I nearly had a heart attack. Down the street was an elderly woman
claiming to be Princess Anastasia of Russia, who coated the trees in her
front yard with lard to stop Soviet agents from climbing them and shooting
her.
I then was hired by Howard Wolf at the Barn Dinner Theatre in Roanoke,
which began the smut and smorgasbord phase of my career. It started off
with a bang, when during the rst act of No Pill for Peggy a pickup truck
crashed through the front doors of the theater and ran over our business
manager in the lobby, breaking both her legs. Then it got really strange.

Do you have a story to share? We want to hear about the best—or craziest— lesson you learned in acting school.
Email Jamie Soltis at Jamie@actorsguild.org and, in 200 words or less, tell us all about it!
oad Again
The Bread and Puppet Theater by Paul Bedard

Last summer I had the opportunity to live, work, and perform on the legendary
Bread and Puppet Theater farm in upstate Vermont. Each summer, hundreds of
artists descend on the sprawling farm to build the puppets for their shows and
work the land for their food. Led by Peter Schumann, the company hosts large-
scale, outdoor political circuses and an indoor show in their Paper-Mache
Cathedral, which tours each fall. Last summer, this show was The Or / Else
Opera, a meditation on the consequences of late-stage capitalism and the
refugee crisis at the border. The politics of the company are erce, considered,
relentlessly humanist, and always spritzed with humor.
In a promenade-performance we toured around the Northeast for the 4th of July
and “town day” parades: two giant puppets embrace, and then are pulled down
by clownish ICE agents who shout “God Bless America!”. The piece, while taking
aim at the “no hugging” policy in the baby prisons (Tender Age Facilities),
Paul Bedard and his puppet offered the beauty and anarchy of childhood as hope. A group of children we
recruited in each town resurrected our embracers with cheers, shooing away the
clowns and waving flags. While not everyone agreed with the politics of the piece, crowds cheered for the beautiful
puppets to rise back up and hug again.

Working in Russia by Peter Von Berg

“You’re going to Russia.” This was the message from my agent on my answering machine. The year was 1998. My
parents were from Russia, my father a refugee from Stalin’s regime. I had been brought up speaking Russian at home
and was steeped in Russian lore. It seemed like a fairy-tale land; surely I would never get to see it. But the Soviet
regime had fallen. A Hollywood movie, Cast Away, starring Tom Hanks, was shooting in Moscow. I auditioned, my
audition went great, and for once a great audition led to an offer. Within ve days, I was on a plane and a couple of
days later standing in the middle of a dilapidated space
known as Mos lm Studios. I was so excited that I hadn’t
been able to sleep for the past two days and nights.
My role was that of a FedEx of cial who translated for
Hanks. So I had to know Hanks’s lines as well as my own.
Well, we start, and immediately he starts transposing his
lines and improvising. Luckily I was in such a state of
euphoria that I wasn’t thrown. We played back and forth
all day long. He was a wonderful actor to work with and a
very nice man. The extras were all theater actors, just like
in the U.S. In true Russian fashion, they were stone-faced
and intimidating at rst, but as soon as you got to know Peter Von Berg with Tom Hanks in Cast Away

them, sweet and hilarious.

I had some time to explore Moscow. The subway (Metro) alone! Chandeliers, marble, statues, artwork. The stops
named after famous writers. “Chekhov,” you would hear. Gogol Street signs. Busts on the streets commemorated
writers, artists, musicians. I visited Chekhov’s house. He shingle was still up for seeing patients—“Dr. A. Chekhov.”
Wit Works Woe, the classic Russian comedy in verse, was playing at the Moscow Art Theater. Great production. But
there was something else—a wonderful feeling in the house, because it was lled with young people, who could easily
afford the tickets and obviously knew the play and got all the jokes. So ended my magical week. I have since returned
to Russia twice more. But that’s another story.
 Two on the Aisle | Jerry Vermilye
Do we really need revisionist theatre?
Despite its effectiveness, director Daniel Fish’s current
concept of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1943 Oklahoma!
(“re-imagined for the 21st century”) plays out in so dark
a production that it has been likened to a “fever dream.”
One critic opined that it might even be mistaken for a
new work! Then why not create a new work instead of
messing around with a beloved classic of the American
musical theatre?
In the opera world the updating of familiar works has
featured streamlined sets and contemporary costuming,
especially in the Verdi repertoire: a stark La Traviata,
notable for its giant clock and a scarlet cocktail dress;
Rigoletto, re-set in flashy Las Vegas; and a Falstaff
moved from its Elizabethan roots to a 20th century
kitchen. But to what gain?
Puccini’s venerable La Boheme has survived many a
shift in time and setting, yet continues to be produced as
originally intended. But when its basic theme resurfaced
in 1996 in the guise of Jonathan Larson’s Rent, it won
acclaim and popularity as an original work. Could not
Oklahoma! have thus done better to inspire an entirely
new work with its own contemporary score? Just asking.
Beyond the Fourth Wall | Mervyn Kaufman
After my former UCLA classmate Carol Burnett had
triumphed in Once Upon a Mattress, her next show was
a Comden-and-Green vehicle, Fade Out, Fade In.
Friends who knew my Burnett connection said they'd
be visiting their New Haven family, all of them planning
to attend the new show's out-of-town opening. Did I
want to go, too? Sure.
After the performance, my friends urged me to join the
family at their uncle's restaurant. "It's right near the
theater—the actors go there after a show." Great. I
remember our being seated at a long table in a private
area of the restaurant. There were big windows, so we
could spot the actors streaming in, and I was suddenly
peppered with questions: "Think she'll remember you?"
"How well do you really know her?" Doubt reigned, it
seemed—oh, boy!
Later, when I spied my former classmate striding
toward the restroom, near the back of the
establishment, I stood up and smiled and, to my joy,
she ran down the hall and threw her arms around me. I
could hear my table mates gasp. Then, as weary as she
was, Carol engaged everyone and had them chirping at
her like baby birds. But, of course, she never knew how
she'd saved my bacon. That performance was actually
better than the show!
Why An Archive? | Eric Stamm
In 1998, a group of Guild members began bringing
boxes down from the Bell Tower—sorting through,
organizing and preserving their contents. There were,
and still are, a lot of boxes.
It seems that, starting at least at the Episcopal Actors’
Guild’s founding in 1923 (and probably much earlier),
nothing was thrown away—it was put in boxes that
were carried up into the Bell Tower—waiting for us to
begin our work. Immaculate scrapbooks of the Actors
Church Alliance and the EAG, hundreds of photos,
personal memorabilia, theater programs, magazines,
recordings of Guild radio shows, books, paintings,
posters, broadsheets, postcards, furniture and printed
materials capturing the rich theatre history associated
with the Guild, the Little Church and American theatre
dating back to the late 18th century.
We have perhaps the de nitive collection of materials
related to the late 19th century movement to reunite the
church and theater and other rich collections of
memorabilia related to the luminaries associated with
the Guild—Joseph Jefferson, Edwin Booth, George
Holland, George Arliss, Maude Adams, Julia Marlowe,
David Belasco, Sidney Blackmer, Leo G. Carroll,
Charles Coburn, Rex Harrison, Tessa Kosta, Basil
Rathbone, Tallulah Bankhead, Otis Skinner, Peggy
Wood and so many others. All are names and events
we should know and remember. These collections are
unique —capturing not just Guild history but that of an
era that has passed but should never be forgotten.
In coming issues, the Archives Committee plans to use
this column to showcase our collections while providing
context to the Guild and its place in American theater
history. We’ve enjoyed, and been enriched by, our
journey so far and look forward to sharing our
discoveries with a wider Guild audience.
Welcome, New Members!
Sam Bartos Alice Lustig
Bill Broderick Zoey Martinson
Georgetta Buggs Tulis McCall
Dericka Coady Randy Mulder
Alice Cohen Inshirah Overton
Phyllis Cox Bjorn Pink
Carol Eynon Cynthia Shaw
Veronica Frazier Bartek Szymanski
Edward Furs Al e Thomas
Hannah Howzdy Paul D. Thomas
Katerina Ksenyeva Cheri Wicks
Kareem M. Lucas Tanyayette Willoughby
Helena-Joyce Wright
 Turnley’s Turns… EAG Members Appear on Stage and Screen | Rebecca Lovett
F 2019...
In February, Peter Von Berg completed lming a role on Minyan, a new
feature lm.
Colleen O’Neill starred in Talking Band’s world premiere production of
City of No Illusions at La MaMa February 8-24.
M 2019...
On March 6 at TADA Theater, Joanne Dorian played the matriarch of a
dysfunctional family in the funny and heartbreaking new play Wishing
You Were Here for the Emerging Artists Theatre Festival.
Mierre, Glauco Araujo, Kathleen Moore, Betsy Ross appeared in the
Snark's production of Museum at Amateur Comedy Club of New York,
March 18 through 24.
Glauco Araujo and Mierre in Museum - photo by Bethanne Ha
Teri Black and Susan Richard were a part of the cast of Break A Leg
Productions’ rst ever One Act Slam at Guild Hall on March 23. The slam
featured ve new plays including Stuart D’Ver’s Operation Pizza and
Fran Handman’s A New York Encounter.
the cast of Break A Leg's inaugural One Act Slam
Mark Nadler debuted his all-new show The Old Razzle Dazzle: An
Evening of Lies, Lying, and Liars at Café Sabarsky at The Neue Galerie
on March 28 and played an encore performance at The Laurie
Beechman Theatre on May 9.
A 2019...
J. Dolan Byrnes, Michael Gnat, Denise Pence, and Sharon Talbot
appeared in pieces which were performed as part of Articulate Theatre
Company’s The Art of Protest at TADA Theatre in April.
Leslie Middlebrook and Meryl Goodfader starred in a reading of the
screenplay The Girl in the Safe on April 25 at The Players. Leslie also
appeared with Shana Farr in American Hits by Wanda McCormick at
The Players on April 29.
M 2019...
KT Sullivan appeared all over NYC this May: in KT Sings Kurt: A Walk
on the Weill Side at The Neue Galerie on May 2, in Elizabeth Sullivan and
Family at The Beach Cafe, and with Mark Nadler in Thanks for the
Memory: 25 Years of Duets at the Green Room 42.
May 3 through May 12, Amelia V. Anderson and Mary Jane Gocher
appeared in the St. Jean’s Players production of The Man Who Came to
Dinner.
Craig Wichman appeared in WWOW Radio Theater’s The Whistler and
Phantom Lady on May 4 at Guild Hall.
Liz Flemming and her company Out of the Box Theatrics are proud to
present The Pink Unicorn, starring Tony-winner Alice Ripley, May 9
through June 2 at Guild Hall.
Elowyn Castle directed Dudley Stone in Triangle Theatre’s staged
reading of Black Tie on May 11.
Tyrone Henderson is appearing at the Delacorte in Shakespeare in the
Park’s production of Much Ado About Nothing in the role of Friar
Francis/Sexton, May 21 through June 23.
You can catch Teri Black in Break A Leg’s upcoming presentation of
Einstein’s Wife at the Playroom Theatre on May 29 at 7:30pm.
J 2019...
Paul Bedard and Theater in Asylum invite you to join them at Guild Hall
on June 6 for The Debates 2020: Countdown Cabaret, an evening of
short performances (theater, music, poetry) that provoke conversation
about the upcoming presidential debates.
On June 9 at 12 noon, Laura Shapiro will perform Last Gasp! as the rst
piece of the opening set on the last day of Performance Mix Festival 33
at University Settlement.
J 2019...
Don’t miss Evangeline Johns in Torching the Blues with Darryl Curry
on the piano and special guest Ariana Johns at Don’t Tell Mama July 14
and 24.
R R ...
Fr. Ron Clingenpeel, an EAG member from New Orleans, has just
released a new album of original tunes in the tradition of New Orleans/
South Louisiana. This eclectic set covers a practical and spiritual journey
and can be found at www.bishopsmusic.net as well as on CD Baby. Note
the EAG influence on the back cover (just above the bar code).
The Episcopal Actors’ Guild
1 East 29th Street
New York, NY 10016