Learning Acting the Hard Way at St. Ed's, by David Dean Bottrell

In a wickedly funny April 12 entry in his blog "Parts and Labor, Making A Living, Making a Life in Hollywood, CA," actor & writer David Dean Bottrell, sometimes of Boston Legal, recalls his freshman year in St. Ed's drama program in the 1970s, where he learned some unexpected lessons:

The drama department at St. Ed’s had been founded by a guy who’d been instrumental in creating the famed Arena Stage in Washington, DC (and he remained well-connected in New York theatre circles). The evidence of this was that the school hired prestigious “guest artists” who came and performed in the plays alongside the students. Their brochure featured photos of Tony-winning actors like Eileen Heckart and George Grizzard appearing in plays by Chekhov and Ibsen, so you got the sense it was a classy place. Unfortunately by the time I arrived, the original guy had been demoted and replaced by a fellow whose primary experience had been running dinner theaters in Oklahoma.

Read More at AustinLiveTheatre.com. . . .