I'm not sure how I found NextStage in August 2022—probably through online searches for community theater groups. I was considering taking up acting as a social outlet after retirement from being an engineering professor at UCSC, because of how well that worked for my son (who started acting at age 5 and has kept it up as a major hobby for 22 years). I needed a group who would be accepting of someone starting out as a complete newbie in his late 60s, but a group that also had high enough standards that I could learn from them.
When Sally Bookman sent out a call for tryouts for Readers' Theater, I thought that it would be a good starting point for me—I was not sure of my ability to memorize lines (memory work has never been one of strong suits). I knew I could project my voice loud enough to be heard clearly, but I had no idea whether I had any of the other skills an actor needed. Having a script available while performing seemed to be one way to reduce the barrier for entry.
At the tryouts, we were very short on male actors, so I was practically guaranteed a part. As it turned out, Sally cast me in two plays: as John in Mary Miller's Ferris Wheel and as Rollo in Nina Shengold's Emotional Baggage.
It was fun converting the scanned scripts into editable files, learning the lines, rehearsing with others, and putting together costumes and props for the plays. I made fake cigarettes and a box for them for Ferris Wheel, and I made luggage tags and a couple of monogram necklaces for Emotional Baggage. Rollo required clothes rather different from my normal attire, so I ended up buying a canvas jacket, aviator glasses, a beanie, and a Bob Marley T-shirt for that costume (the worn-out pants, shoes, and fingerless gloves I already had).
At the very first performance of Ferris Wheel, I forgot to change which glasses I was wearing, and I could not see the script at all, so I had to do the performance entirely from memory, which I had never practiced. I was a bit slow on some of my cues, but I got through the play without any major mishaps. This reassured me that I can memorize the lines for a 15-minute two-hander, so I won't necessarily be limited to Readers' Theater and other staged readings.
Kevin Karplus and Marigold Fine in Mary Miller's Ferris Wheel
Since joining NextStage I've also started getting other acting training: mainly workshops through Actors' Theatre and drop-in improv classes with the Fun Institute, and I've signed up for acting classes at Cabrillo College in the Fall.
I hope to work with Readers' Theater again next year, and I'm open for other acting opportunities (as long as they do not involve singing—I am completely hopeless at carrying a tune).
More NextStage photos are on Kevin's website:
https://users.soe.ucsc.edu/~karplus/theater/.
Kevin also has a blog (https://gastationwithoutpumps.wordpress.com) which has some recent posts about theater.