April 22-25th: Four-in-one

The focus of the four day weekend was predetermined.  We went to Denver to celebrate Scott’s accomplishments and to see him in two classic plays.  Because Thursday through Sunday all blurred together I’m treating this long weekend as a unique Mission To Be Happy unit.

M2B:) moments as they occurred:

1) Getting off the plane we were greeted not only by Scott but also Gili Getz who’d come out to Denver from Brooklyn  to celebrate with us.  Gili, some of you may know, has been the Director of THE FORGOTTEN CAROLS tour for the past few years and plays the role of Dr. Halifax.  When Scott wrote the adaptation of my book and songs he always had his friend Gili in mind for the part of Halifax. Not only is he profoundly talented as an actor and director, but he has taught our family by example about true friendship since he and Scott first became friends at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City over a decade ago.  Couldn’t count the number of times Gili cracked us up and warmed our hearts all weekend long.  Each time scored high marks on the M2B:) unexpected joys chart.

2) TARTUFFE made us laugh at a play written in the 1600’s because it comically proved that the great thing about hypocrisy is that it never goes out of style.  Seeing Scott’s take on Tartuffe caught me by surprise – bold choices.  He plays creepy so hilariously I forgot that my handsome son was the ugly jerk conning an inheritance out of a wealthy French family.

3) HAMLET, on Friday night, was an amazing theatrical experience.  The director’s concept was that the audience would see this classic play as if it were a graphic novel.  “HAMLET: Prince of Darkness”   And it WORKED!   Four different Hamlets, (one being female) all in one performance and it worked seemlessly and compellingly.  Scott was Hamlet #3 (The “Get Thee To A Nunnery” section) and I couldn’t believe the same guy that had played Tartuffe the night before was able to convince me he was this most complicated character in theatre.  But he did.  His fellow classmates blew me away (as they always do) Having sort of adopted them all for the past three years of this Master’s in Acting program I was as proud of them as I was for my own son.  They didn’t just entertain me, they made me feel grateful that I came to the planet when they did and they enriched my life with their talent and artistic commitment.

4) The actual day of the graduation went as follows:  A sold out matinee performance of Hamlet at 1:30pm followed by a 7:30pm performance of Tartuffe (also sold out) followed by a graduation ceremony at 10:30pm in the theatre where Othello was being performed by the Denver Center Theater Company.

The shows were even more fun to watch the second time we saw them.  My buttons were bursting….and it wasn’t from lunch.   During the break between the matinee and evening performance I wrote notes to each of Scott’s fellow thespians in the class of 2010.  With each of the 10 notes I got a chance to let these terrific young artists know how much they meant to our family; how much they’d blessed Scott’s life; and how excited we were to watch them take wings and soar.

As I was writing these notes I thought about the economy.  I thought about what a tough business they were entering.  I thought about the challenges, the ups, the downs, the triumphs and disasters that awaited them AND THEN I THOUGHT: Wait a minute.  That’s true of everybody graduating in ANY field.  Wait, not just graduating, but living their lives.  It was then I wanted to find the time (but I couldn’t) to write you all who read this, and wish you well WHATEVER you are pursuing.  Whatever mountains you’re hoping to climb.  Sorry I’m so late in expanding upon my initial note writing, but my feelings and love for all of you  are just as real and sincere, whether written by hand in Denver or on this keyboard now.

The graduation ceremony was unlike any I’d ever attended. But then, these are actors after all.  The National Theatre Conservatory faculty and staff took the stage first.  Then the resident acting company (that played such a major role in mentoring the students in this Masters Program)  The Class of 2012, 2011 (a total of 16 students) briefly took to the stage and then each member of the Class of 2010 stood as the Dean of the conservatory said some personal words about each of them and their growth as thespians and as people over the last three years.  The only “speech” given was the short one directed to the individual graduates as they stood in front of family, friends and peers.   As each graduate shook the hands of faculty and staff and received their diplomas, at the end of the line their mentor ushered them into the section of the theatre populated by the professional acting community.  A sort of welcome home to those who’d taken the long journey and hoped they’d proved worthy.   It was a touching thing to witness.

Then there was a reception and goodbyes and thank yous.  Lynne delivered the individual notes and our little gifts to each of the members of the class.  I got a chance to give everyone a hug and invite them to come visit us in Utah, and to thank everyone who had been such a gift to our family and particularly our son.

Lynne and I passed on going to the traditional after, after party traditionally thrown for the graduating 3rd year students by the 2nd year class.  However, when the after-after party was over the youngins stopped by for a final debrief of the weekend.

Just like every show we EVER watch, we sat around and  discussed how everyone did, how we felt, what we learned.  What moved us in the performances and what touched us most or left us scratching our heads – what was THAT supposed to mean?  It’s one of my all time favorite things in life: The McLeans De-brief.  And at this late, late graduation de-brief we had the Mormon McLeans, the secular Israeli Jew and the Southern Belle Christian all exchanging their takes on the evening (and the lessons of the last 3 years).  Heaven!

5) After a brief “nap” Lynne and Gili were off to the airport.  Gili back to Brooklyn and Lynne to Indianapolis where our niece is on bed rest at 29 weeks with her second miracle baby.  The first “miracle”, Mary Martha isn’t quite two, and our beloved Leslie while her husband is away doing Ph.D. stuff that can’t be postponed, so she really needs some help:  Of course, Lynne (she doesn’t know that see’s an angel in disguise) McLean got the news and was on the plane.   Her mission to be happy mantra is simple:” Just go and do whatever you can to be useful and helpful.”

Since my flight home was later in the day I got a chance to spend a bit more time with Scott up close and personal.   As so often happens, we had extended discussions about the eternal verities and I loved every second.  When he dropped me off at the airport I tried to tell him how proud I was of him.  For a guy who spends most of his time trying to capture these sorts of moments in songs or scripts or pages of a book, I wasn’t very good at saying all my heart wanted to say.  I don’t know if I’ll EVER be able to say it.  But here’s the happiest of happy moments over these last four-in-one mission to be happy days:   Somehow he understands.