Document text
0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Since You Asked: Southern Oregon electric companies started in 1800s ... New Mexico rancher renounces federal grazing contract at Bundy event ... Local farms captured in words and color ... Since You Asked: Southern Oregon electric companies started in 1800s ... New Mexico rancher renounces federal grazing contract at Bundy event ... Local farms captured in words and color ... THEATER Grant Shepard's love for the stage is still strong at age 100 Grant Shepard's love for the stage is still strong at 100 Comment By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune Posted Jan. 24, 2016 at 12:01 AM By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune Posted Jan. 24, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Social News Not a lot of people are still going to plays at age 100. Grant Shepard is still writing them. Shepard, who marked his 100th birthday earlier this month, will have several short plays read by leading actors beginning at 6:30 p.m. Monday in the Gresham Room of the Ashland library. The event has been organized by the Atelier Group, a workshop for playwrights that meets the fourth Monday of each month. It’s free, including refreshments. The evening will feature two of Shepard’s comic sketches and two slice-of-life tales. Two were written within the past year. Shepard says he isn’t sure how many plays he’s written. “I began writing them whenever an idea came,” he says. “He wrote a play a couple years ago about a hobo on a freight train," Atelier’s Tim Kelly says. "Who even uses the word ‘hobo’ anymore? But it took me right to the moment.” Shepard has been a familiar face on Southern Oregon stages for the past 25 years. “He’s been such a gift,” says Livia Genise, artistic director of Camelot Theatre in Talent, where Shepard has performed often over the last decade, including recent roles as the Rabbi in “Fiddler On the Roof” and former President Hockstader in “The Best Man.” “I always knew it was good when he’d come back after the show and give me a hug and say, ‘Well done,’ ” Genise says. Shepard says his favorite roles have included Norman Thayer Jr., the old curmudgeon in “On Golden Pond,” and the Stage Manager, the character who also acts as narrator in “Our Town.” Shepard began acting in 1924, when Calvin Coolidge was president, the Model T Ford ruled the road and the movies hadn’t begun to talk. His father, a minister, was commissioned by the Long Beach, Calif., Chamber of Commerce to produce a “miracle play” with a religious theme. “He wrote about the prophet Amos and gave Amos a son,” Shepard says. “I was the son. I was stage-bit and have been ever since.” In the early years of the Great Depression of the 1930s, Shepard’s father wrote a play called “Shadow of the Cross” about the “lost years” of Jesus between his childhood and ministry. “I played Jesus at 18,” Shepard says. “We took it on the road up and down the West Coast for two summers. They’d take up a collection, and we’d split it with the church. It was some of the best theater experience I’ve ever had.” Shepard served with the U.S. Army in the Philippines in World War II. After the war and a stint teaching at the University of Miami, he taught theater, speech and English at California State College at Los Angeles until moving to Southern Oregon 25 years ago. Paul Jones, who has both acted with Shepard and directed him, says you won’t find a more prepared actor. “He always comes in to the first reading with his lines down,” Jones says. “He usually has a clear concept of what the character should be.” When he acted with Shepard in a production of “Judgment at Nuremberg” at Camelot several years ago, Jones said Shepard’s character was “the nastiest Nazi you can imagine.” He says Shepard’s plays, no matter the theme, have one constant. “They always have a great sense of humor.” Just don’t expect trendy. “A lot of today’s humor leaves me cold,” he says. He admits to having an issue with the language of the contemporary theater. Peter Alzado some years ago planned to stage David Mamet’s “American Buffalo” at Actors Theatre, where he was artistic director. The 1975 play was considered by some to be in bad taste due to its explicit language, which was praised by others for having a rough poetry. Shepard, along with most of the theater’s board, was opposed to presenting the play. “He didn’t like the language,” Alzado remembers. “But he came to the play. Then he wrote me a letter saying it changed his opinion of the play, and of David Mamet. That endeared him to me forever.” Shepard’s advice to young actors is succinct and to the point. “Do everything,” he says. “Do everything you can on the stage.” Reach Medford freelance writer Bill Varble at varble.bill @gmail.com. By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Bill Varble for the Mail Tribune Posted Jan. 24, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2016 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501