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It's still show time For longtime entertainers Don and Janet Dolan, moving to Ashland hasn�t dimmed a love of the greasepaint and roar of the crowd. By JOHN DARLING Don and Janet Dolan thought they could move to Ashland and give up a life in show business. Turns out they were wrong. Don�s long acting career includes roles in "General Hospital" ( as Police Chief Guy Lewis), "Quantum Leap," "Hill Street Blues," Broadway musicals and films. Janet, a graduate of the Boston Conservatory of Music, was a dancer who had draped herself over Jimmy Durante�s piano on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and appeared in many musicals and nightclub acts. While visiting a friend, the Dolans were enchanted by the magic of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival�s Green Show and they decided to move here in 1994 from the Los Angeles area. Then a whole new kind of show business opened up for the couple. Both of them sing in the Rogue Valley Chorale and Siskiyou Singers. Janet has danced in Rogue Music Theater�s "Hello Dolly," "My Fair Lady" and "The Sound of Music." And both continue to act in local plays, such as Actors� Theatre�s upcoming "American Buffalo" in Talent. It�s the chorale singing that moves them most deeply, however. "It�s a peak religious experience," said Janet. "It fills the soul and surmounts everything." "Being part of a hundred voices doing the Bach B Minor Mass � it�s such an emotional experience," said Don. "I cried twice and the hair stood up on my arms all the way through it." Although Don and Janet are artists on the stage, their real art is their life � and their 34-year marriage, which Don celebrated in "The First and Last Don Dolan Concert," a one-man Actors� Theatre presentation on Valentine�s Day that centered around his love for Janet. "My children have told me there�s one reason I�m happy and that my life has been a success, and that�s Janet," he said. "We have a lot in common � walks in the forest, our dogs, dance, sports, theater � yet lives that are also separate from each other." At this Don leapt to his feet, gesturing and grinning in full storytelling mode. "I create the chaos and Janet puts it all in order." Don has been writing his memoirs lately. "I was recounting all the jobs I�ve held. I was amazed. Shipyard plumber, donut maker, submarine shop owner, Tupperware salesman, forester, on and on. I do handyman work now. I even had a morning paper route for three years here in Ashland. Had to get up at 4. I saw the most amazing sunrises," Don said. "They can�t be photographed or painted or even told about. You have to be there." If some of these jobs sound beneath a noted actor, that�s the way Don intended it. "My philosophy is that none of this is terribly important," he said, laughing. "It doesn�t matter an awful lot what we do. I got where people recognized me on the street and, believe me, famous is just like being not famous. Things are for now, and what we do, well, we do it to make life better for ourselves and our children." For Janet, aging has brought on creaky knees, forcing her out of musicals and into studies in the tamer Baroque dancing. "But that�s the only downside," said Janet. "I quit running and now I swim, do yoga and walk. I bring my book and read while I walk. With age, you�re not career-driven. You have more time to volunteer, act and do the things you love." Don added, "Show business is one of the things that�s ageless. No matter the age � or gender � when the play is on, you�re just all actors and you can go on forever. We thought we could give it up, but we couldn�t. We just are who we are." John Darling is a free-lance writer living in Ashland. If you have ideas for a Prime Times story, please e-mail them to [email protected] . Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.