AT AGE 41, RICHMOND ACTOR BRUCE WHITED RECLAIMS THE PASSION FOR HIS ART
Bruce Whited
Years later, I found myself divorced and miserable. I left my passion for love and lost both. I found myself living a life that was not for me. Searching for the “normal life” I sucked at every‑ thing I attempted. I tried to force myself into any other career. I have worked almost every job you can think of. I can easily give Mike Rowe (Dirty Jobs) a run for his money. I have been home‑ less, and have worked at every‑ thing from picking roots out of rock piles in a quarry to working for a major university recruiting students. Putting your life back to‑ gether is never easy. It takes a certain something to look at your circumstances, and really know you are on the wrong path. I have always believed that when you are on the wrong path your life will become harder until you finally get the hint and “right the ship.” Well, my path became so hard I could stand it no longer. When I lost the woman of my dreams again, I finally listened to the voice that had been in my mind all those years. I decided the only way to handle the raw emotion I felt was to vent. There was only one place I have ever been able to vent my emotions, and that is on the stage. With more than a little trep‑ idation, I decided to quietly look into taking an acting class. After all, I had not been on a stage in sixteen years. What if I sucked?
Richmond Comedy Coalition
BY BRUCE WHITED
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ow, I know what you are thinking, “This is the story about a guy going through another midlife crisis.” Sixteen years ago, I walked away from my first love. I had been an actor since my freshman year in high school. I confess I made the decision to take drama in high school because I was painfully shy and yes, I wanted to meet girls. All of the actors I saw on the screen (big or small) always knew just what to say, and how to say it, so they could get the girl. I wanted that power. I wanted the charm. What I found in acting class was the power, the charm, and the creativity to literally be anything I wanted. I could be a good person, or a real jerk, and I found I could make people laugh, cry, think, be angry, and perhaps I could in‑ spire them to step outside their world for a moment and believe in another reality. In college while I was plan‑ ning my trip to Los Angeles, I met a lady who took my breath away, and I felt forced to make the decision whether to leave and pursue that dream all actors dream of, or I could chose a fam‑ ily, and the quiet life. I made my choice, and was soon blessed with a family, and a life that never sat with me. Like an Olympic athlete who suddenly decides not to compete, I tried to purge my passion and settle into a “normal life.”
RICHMONDʼS COMEDY BOOM
A late cancellation by a stand‑up comic could have been trouble for a recent com‑ edy showcase produced by the Richmond Comedy Coalition. But levity prevailed, as the nightʼs MC/group co‑founder David Pijor opened by inviting the audience to text message their feelings directly to the ab‑ sent performer. The prank was “a great success,” and it established a healthy amount of laughter and audience involvement as the scheduled perform‑ ances began. The surprise closing in March 2009 of the ComedySportz Theatre sent the Rich‑ mond improvisational comedy commu‑ nity scrambling to find new homes for many talented performers, resulting in no fewer than five new improv comedy pro‑ ductions across the area. The Richmond Comedy Coalition ̶ the young, yet seasoned, group of Pijor, Katie Holcomb, Matt Newman, Jenni Goldsby, Zach Arnold, Emily Smith, Stacey Voorhees‑Brown, and Aaron Grant̶is unique in this mini‑boom be‑ cause its programming expands well beyond its membershipʼs own improvi‑ sations. It embraces the entire Rich‑ mond comedy community in whatever forms it takes. A monthly Richmond Comedy Coali‑ tion production, staged at Art6 Gallery downtown (6 E. Broad Street), might con‑ sist of two distinct improv groups creat‑ ing scenes that launch off from audience suggestions trading off stage time with a stand‑up act or a sketch troupe for almost two hours of fast‑paced performance for just $5. “Our plan is to eventually start offer‑ ing training in both improv and sketch writing to people who are eager and in‑ terested in performing comedy, and from that we would be able to harvest new acts and talent and give them an outlet to per‑ form,” Holcomb says. BY ROBERT SOBECKE
PLAY
Living The Dream
What if I sucked all along and just had a group of friends who were just too nice to tell me? Once I signed up for an acting class, my “other life” took of with speed and fury like I never expected. Cruising Craigslist I found a few student films. I figured if I sucked or if this was a passing fancy, who would know? At the first audition the direc‑ tor said “I donʼt have to see anyone else, I want you for this part.” I was thrilled. I got a part in another stu‑ dent film, and began to wonder if perhaps I could pull this off. I au‑ ditioned for a play. I waited nerv‑ ously as time slipped by. I figured I had not been picked until to my amazement I checked my email, and have been invited to read again for the part. Now at 41, I realized a lot of people would figure I was having some kind of midlife crisis. There are few actors who have ever made it after having started at my age. I never decided to quit my job and run away to New York or LA. I still work my job, I still miss the love of my life and I adore my kids. I just decided to find out what would happen if I opened up that part of myself I had turned off so long ago. What I found out was won‑ derful and scary and exciting. In just barely a month I have been in two small independent films, one of which is headed to a few film festivals. I have been called back to read for a play, and I have been contacted by a director in New York for another small independ‑ ent film early next year. I can put food on my table and do the one thing on this planet I love so much I would do for free, and that is act. I once read something from Anthony Robbins. He said, “ If you make a decision and donʼt take ac‑ tion, you havenʼt really decided.” “Uncle Tony” is right. For years I told myself I would find a way to get back into acting as a hobby, and if I could find a way I would make it my living. But I never took any steps toward that dream. Now that I have, the universe has opened up an entirely new set of doors I had not considered for many years. I have not made it by any means, but I am living a life now that I only dreamed about. I would challenge you to listen to that voice nagging at you in your mind. Dare to dream! It makes no difference where you end up on the path, just take it.