Lights! Camera! Action!
I
f you see anyone out in a Marjorie Book’s shirt, tell them to break a
leg. They are most likely an actor or actress in a play for Marjorie
Book Continuing Education. Named for one of its early devoted
members, Marjorie Book Continuing Education offers a variety of
educational and service programs including plays and musicals for
actors of all abilities.
“Marjorie Book is for people with or without disabilities, and it is a
great acting group,” says
Ben, an experienced
Marjorie actor who lives
at Find A Way. “The most
recent play, Enemy of the
People was set in 1700 or
1800 Norway. I played the
president and the doctor
was my brother. We had a
slight disagreement about
the pollution that plagued
the town.”
while doing that chorus. It has meant a great deal to me—it makes
me feel definitely happy and important that I am acting.”
Marjorie is not just about acting in plays, however. The actors and
actresses go on occasional service trips to help people in need. “We
have gone to service trips in places like Detroit, Cleveland, Toledo”
remembers Ben. “We have sailed to Put-In-Bay Island. There was an
organization we were working together with called People Working
Cooperatively. It fixes
homes up for the elderly.
We fixed up homes, we
cleaned yards and raked
them, we did that for the
elderly. They were really
happy about that. We
enjoyed that—helping
people who couldn’t help
themselves.”
In the future, Jenny and
Sarran would like to
perform in Wicked. They
went to see a performance
of the play at the Aronoff
Center and were inspired.
If they get the chance
to act in a Wicked
performance, Jenny
suggests to Sarran that “I
think it would be really
cool if you were Glinda
Jenny Crowe and Sarran
Hoffman, who both
receive services from
LADD, made their
Marjorie Book Continuing
Education debuts in
Cast of Enemy of the People, including LADD actors James Bodle,
Enemy of the People as
Bill Riddle, Sarran Hoffman, Melinda Schwarm, and Jenny Crowe.
townspeople. Before
they performed the play
Not pictured are Ben Brown and Beth Lohner.
in front of a crowd, they
practiced at Marjorie with their fellow cast members to perfect their
and I was Elphaba.”
performances. “If I practice I can get down the job,” advises Jenny.
“She has a broomstick, I have the bubble,” adds Sarran. Jenny
“For me, if I didn’t have that regimented practice I would probably be
was especially inspired by the actors and actresses at the Aronoff.
skittish in front of the camera.”
“They normally have to practice a whole bunch, and they also wear
“The rehearsals go maybe eight to ten weeks before the actual
performance,” says Ben. “We rehearse sometimes all night to
prepare for our roles. We rehearse like crazy.”
Once the rehearsals are over, the actors perform numerous times for
different audiences. “We perform all over town,” says Jenny. “We did
a whole lot of nursing homes and a church.”
One of Ben’s favorite Marjorie Book performances was when he
was a member of the chorus in Godspell. “None of us could believe
how packed it was,” recalls Ben. “I thought it was the biggest musical
ever—it filled the whole auditorium. There were so many people
there and at the end when we sang it, we clapped our hands, and the
audience clapped their hands! It was such a joyous occurrence!”
cool costumes. One of the cool things about acting is you can
put on basically any costume and you can be transformed into the
world—like in Enemy of the People we were transformed into a totally
different world.”
For aspiring actors and actresses, the trio of Marjorie Book
performers had a few suggestions. “I think the key word here is slow
down. I think in our community it is like rush rush rush, and I think
you need to slow down and see the light to master something new,”
suggests Jenny. The chance to hone a new skill and find community
among fellow artists is empowering, and quite worthy of applause.
Ben, Jenny, and Sarran all like acting for different reasons. “Acting is
my favorite part,” says Sarran.
“My favorite part about acting, let me se K