Monday, May 21, 2007

Stories of the Past

Posted by Robert Albertia

The year was 1963 and I was thrilled to be a member of the cast of Twelve Angry Men directed by David (Pete) Kilgore. Those were magic times at Hanover Tavern. I had not yet reached my 30th year and to work at this marvelous theatre was, for me, a great milestone. The cast was filled with Barksdale favorites: Jay Lundy, Glenn Crone, Mike Pettinger, and Pete himself.
The association with Muriel McAuley and Nancy Kilgore along with Pete was one that has remained a joyous and constant reminder of the creative individuals I have had the good fortune of working with in almost forty-five years in the theatre. I wouldn't change that for anything.
It would seem that I have lost count of the many productions I have worked on, however, there are standouts among that list: playing opposite Mallory Freeman and Edie Williams as my parents in the brilliant production of Da; the hilarious My Fat Friend with Helen Ball Williams, a life-long friend; numerous productions with Helen Levinson (too many to mention)--in fact many people thought we were married!
In most of those productions, I wore my own clothes since the theatre had almost no costume budget. I never minded because of the joy of doing a part in any Barksdale production was an opportunity not to be missed.
Even today I feel the same way and continue to accept delightful roles that continue to challenge me as an actor and feed my soul.
Barksdale Theatre is one of my great loves. Those marvelous actors I have worked opposite remain with me always.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Are we going to get to see Mr. Albertia back on stage sometime soon?

Russell Rowland said...

Good question...actually you can catch Bob performing in our Bifocals production of Arsenic and Old Lace -A Radio Drama- Starring Mary Jane Board & Charlotte McCutcheon, touring local venues.

For details or to book
Contact Chase Kniffen at
783-1688 ext. 14 or
c.kniffen@barksdalerichmond.org