REGION
TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2022
VOICES
Gett ing the nudge I really needed
By ANN DUDLEY
Special to The Observer
I was a shy child, almost
painfully so. But when I was
10, my mother came into my
room one Saturday morning
and announced that she
thought it would be a good
idea if I took some acting
classes at the Portland Civic
Theater.
The fi rst class started in
half an hour, so I better get
hopping if I was going to
do it. I had to factor in the
10-minute travel time, the
getting there a few minutes
early time, etc. That meant
there were only a few minutes
left for me to throw on some
clothes and get in the car.
But before I jumped into
high gear, I had a fl ashback of
the last time I was in a show at
the Firehouse Theater. I was
4, perhaps 5. I don’t remember
the play, but I do recall
wanting to play the fairy.
That role went to the pretty
girl with long blond hair. Me?
With the pixie cut? Got the
role of alligator and I had to
crawl around on my belly. I
hated it.
I had a feeling that I didn’t
really have a choice about
this off er. I’m not sure now
whether it was my mom
trying to get me out of my
shell or assuaging her love of
acting, theater and movies.
That was the start of eight
years of acting lessons. Oh,
and there was also ballet, tap
and singing lessons on top of
it. Turns out, while I may not
have been very good at it (I
was horrible at learning lines),
a part of me really loved it. I
made a lifelong friend and am
FB friends with a few of my
fellow childhood thespians
and one of our acting coaches.
There are a few priceless
moments from that era of my
life that always come to mind
when reminiscing about it.
In one production, I played
a chorus girl in a western
show. The costume didn’t
allow me to wear a bra (which
I needed). During a change of
costume from townsperson
to chorus girl, my bra that I
had worn as Townsperson
Number One got caught up
in the dress for Chorus Girl
Number Five. While I was
doing the can-can on stage,
I looked down and saw my
bra fl apping along with me. I
danced off stage, yanked the
off ending appendage off , and
rejoined the line-up, red-faced
with embarrassment and my
friend and fellow chorus girl
laughing her head off .
I always hated wearing
coats as a child, and I still am
prone to not wearing them.
In late grammar school, there
was one that I particularly
loathed. It was blue and made
of a material that produced the
sensation of being steamed
alive.
When horsing around with
some friends after school, one
of the boys got a hold of my
sleeve and there was a loud
ripping sound. The sleeve was
torn largely from its socket.
For some reason, my mother
decided to repair it using black
electrical tape.
On the outside.
So now, not only was I
wearing a coat I hated, but a
coat ungracefully patched.
Along the way, the coat dis-
appeared. I had no idea what
had happened to it. Five years
later, I am in the audience for
a production of “The Glass
Menagerie.” The girl playing
Laura entered the stage. (A
girl none of us particularly
cared for. Perhaps we were
jealous she got the coveted
role or maybe because she was
a snotty snob.)
ANYONE CAN WRITE
Nearly 40 years in the business have taught me that readers are bom-
barded and overwhelmed with facts. What we long for, though, is
meaning and a connection at a deeper and more universal level.
And that’s why The Observer will be running, from time to time, stories
from students who are in my writing class, which I’ve been teaching for the
past 10 years in Portland.
I take great satisfaction in helping so-called nonwriters fi nd and write sto-
ries from their lives and experiences. They walk into my room believing
they don’t have what it takes to be a writer. I remind them if they follow
their hearts, they will discover they are storytellers.
As we all are at our core.
Some of these stories have nothing to do with La Grande or Union County.
They do, however, have everything to do with life.
If you are interested in contacting me to tell me your story, I’d like to hear
from you.
Tom Hallman Jr.
tbhbook@aol.com
Tom Hallman Jr. is a Pulitzer Prize-winning feature writer for The Oregonian.
He’s also a writing coach and has an affi nity for Union County.
I sank lower in my seat. “It
couldn’t be.” I thought. But as
Laura turned, I saw the tale-
tell electrical tape patch job.
My quiet humiliation and the
thought that the girl who was
playing Laura must never fi nd
out that that had once been my
honest-to-goodness coat. The
family in that play were sup-
posed to be poor. From the
wrong side of the tracks. The
situation also played out in my
head as to how it had come
into the costume mistress’
hands. I had most likely left it
behind long ago during a class
or rehearsal. I never claimed it.
The costumer tucked it away,
only to be brought out, perfect
for the role it was in.
And yet, the most poi-
gnant and most signifi cant of
my memories, is also one of
pain and personal triumph. To
set the scene as it were, I had
gotten a bit mouthy to my dad.
This was in the late ’70s, so
think women’s lib.
My father was old-fash-
ioned. Once he sat down at
the table, he wasn’t getting
up until he was through. That
meant that my mom and I
were the ones who were get-
ting up when he deemed he
wanted salt, seconds, a napkin,
fi ll in xyz.
One night I had had enough
and most likely said he could
get up and get it too, you know,
or he could do more like help
with the dishes. The next night
he came home from work and
announced that I would no
longer be taking acting classes
because my mom needed help
around the house. My punish-
ment for speaking up was to
have the thing I loved taken
away. I spent the next year
after school and on weekends
ironing. Ironing sheets, dish
towels, his shirts, T-shirts and
boxers, along with my own
clothes. This was in addition to
having always helped with the
dishes and other housework as
needed from a young age.
That is, until I got the call.
It was the theater. The director
of the children’s production
was calling. Someone in the
cast had broken their arm and
couldn’t perform that after-
noon. Could I replace her? I
would need to go to the theater
that morning, learn the lines
and blocking and perform two
shows that afternoon.
My fate was in my dad’s
hands. He relented and let
me perform. I knew, though,
that the only reason why I
was permitted to fi ll in was
because someone who was
an authority, the director and
the head of the acting school,
thought I was good enough to
do it.
So it was that I returned
to the theater after a year’s
hiatus. I was able to take pride
in the fact that I had been
thought of, out of the blue, to
step into a role, and then com-
plete the run of the show the
following two Saturdays.
I learned so much from
those eight years. Most
importantly, I learned about
(and accepted without ques-
tion) diff erent lifestyles, per-
sonalities, friendship and
camaraderie.
Thank you, Mom, for
giving me the nudge I so des-
perately needed.
THE OBSERVER — A7
Josh Abbott Band to
headline Wheatstock
Music festival
returns to wheat
country in August
By TAMMY MALGESINI
East Oregonian
HELIX — Wheatstock
Music Festival board
member DeWayne Dunlap
said this summer’s show
is shaping up to be the
best yet. The event is
Aug. 20 at Quantum 9
Arena in Helix.
“We’re trying to step
it up every year,” he
said. “We have some
great bands coming —
it’s going to be a great
lineup.”
Dunlap called the Josh
Abbott Band “one of
the hottest groups out of
Texas right now.” Playing
country red dirt music, he
said the event’s headliner
is raking in the hits on the
music charts in the Lone
Star State.
“They might be the
best band we’ve ever
had,” Dunlap boasted.
That said, Dunlap and
the Wheatstock board
still are courting another
top group. Because they
are in negotiations, he
couldn’t release the name.
“If we get ’em it’s
going to be fantastic,”
Dunlap said. “Even
without them, the show’s
still going to be stellar.”
With five acts already
confirmed, Dunlap said
presale general admis-
sion tickets, which are
$49, are soaring. Also,
VIP presale tickets are
$139, which includes a
general admission ticket,
a limited backstage pass,
a meet-and-greet with the
Josh Abbott Band and
a signed event poster.
Tickets prices increase
March 14.
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian, File
Jef Farley and Shaner Applegate of Imperial Twang entertain the
crowd on Aug. 17, 2019, at the Wheatstock Music Festival in Helix.
The local band again will perform at this year’s event, on Saturday,
Aug. 20, 2022, at Quantum 9 Arena.
The other confi rmed
traveling acts include
Giovannie & The Hired
Guns and Carson Jeff rey,
both hailing from Texas,
and Oklahoma-based
group Ragland.
In addition, local alt-
folk-country band Impe-
rial Twang will take
the stage. Known to go
months or more between
live performances, the
proverbial party band
knows how to ratchet
up a raucous and rowdy
good time — drawing
from their fanbase,
known as “The Merry
Twangsters.”
“We’re just really
excited about the whole
lineup,” Dunlap said.
Wheatstock was
founded with the purpose
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