"what lies beneath"

I saw my dear friend David Garver perform in The Runner Stumbles at Miikin University in 1979. I was completely enthralled with the story. My great aunt Nadine always hoped I would be a priest and I can now say that I was one, on stage in 1993 for a very short period of time. I wasn't supposed to portray Father Rivard, I had submitted a proposal to direct this production and had cast the show and was deep into rehearsals, getting closer to tech week when the actor I had selected to play Father Rivard relayed that he simply could not memorize the lines and he was afraid that he could not perform. I was scheduled to take a fishing trip down to Branson, Mo. with my brother-in-law Jack over the Columbus Day holiday weekend and took the script with me and rehearsed the lines on the drive down and back as well as on the boat while fishing. Upon my return the actor dropped out with just a couple of weeks before tech, I moved into the role and Jim Masini took over as director. This play has so many wonderful scenes that I could have chosen but this was one that stood out in my memory as I had a hell of a time with the Italians crawling up stone steps speech and us offering our pitiful prayers! My scene partner is once again Jill Chukerman Test, one of my favorite scene partners to work with, I always felt an authenticity to her characters and this was a far stretch for this wonderful actress and she brought the audiences to tears almost every performance. 

The Runner Stumbles