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My Visit with Tim Behrens
By- Krystal Irwin
I recently went to go see “Scrambled McManus”, a
comedy play written by Patrick F. McManus and
starring Tim Behrens.
Tho only props on stage were six stools, four pieces
of clothing, and one actor. “Scrambled McManus” is a
one-man show. The play was a mix of comedy acts
taken from stories written by Mr. McManus, including
one of my favorites, “The Grasshopper Trap”. This
story is definitely better to see in person than read in a
book. The story is about young Pat McManus (played
by Tim), and his best friend, Crazy Eddie Muldoon
(also played by Tim) who come up with an outrageous
scheme to catch grasshoppers to sell. Rancid Crabtree
(an appropriately named older man, and what do you
know, another character played by Timl) Gets in on
this plan and ends up volunteering to try out the trap.
Sitting out on the front of an old truck holding the
“net” made of a gunnysack, a barrel hoop, and a
broomstick, Rancid lets Pat and Crazy Eddie (both
around 12 years old) drive him through a ditch to
catch grasshoppers. Not only is he splattered with
grasshoppers, Rancid ends up getting thrown from the
truck and as Pat later says, “lands comfortably in a
brier patch.” Tim plays these characters wonderfully.
Another act that had me in stitches is about young Pat
and crazy Eddie building a cannon made of sewer
pipes, baby carriage wheels, two-by-four wood planks,
and a can full of gunpowder. They take it out to the
golf course and end up blowing themselves into a
nearby tool shed. An officer (the father of whom the
now-smoldering baby carriage wheels belongs) hears
the explosion and comes over to them to ask if they
knew anything about it The kids respond, “Uh, no.”
The officer then asks, “Then why are you smoking?”
Crazy Eddie responds “gosh officer, if you had been
here a few seconds earlier you could have seen us on
firel” And on goes the play. It was so humorous and I
was constantly wiping tears of laughter away from my
eyes.
If I could use just two words to describe Tim Behrens,
they would be “comical” and “talented”. Thanks to
Cory Hamann, President of the Big Butte Historical
Society, I was able to interview Mr. Behrens for a
school project When I spoke to him, he said that he
had grown up in an acting family. His mom, Amzie
Stickland, still guest stars on popular TV shows, and
his dad, Frank Behrens, was a famous radio actor, and
later became a comedy writer. As a young person, Tim
tried to avoid acting “like the plague”. He ironically
wound up becoming an actor while trying to steer
clear of it
- •---------
Tim was a very serious person in middle school. He
kept to himself most of the time and liked to bury his
nose in books. As soon as he hit high school, though,
Tim opened up and became a very comical person.
His friends told him he had too much energy and
suggested he try out for a play. Tim ended up getting
the lead part in the play and grew to like acting. One of
his college teachers was a man named Patrick
McManus, who later began writing plays for Tim to
perform all over the United States.
Mr. Behrens has toured Patrick McManus’s four plays
all over the U.S. and Canada. Since 1992, Mr. Behrens
has performed in front of 160,000 people about 450
times. Married to Leslie Ann Grove and living in
Spokane, Washington, Mr. Behrens’ advice to anyone
who wishes to pursue drama as a career is, “Make a
Living. Do what you love and the money will follow.”
I recommend that everyone see at least one of Patrick
F. McManus’ plays or read one of his many books. I
guarantee they will enjoy it
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