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Look Ma, I’m Part of a Museum Exhibit!
by Becky Brett
Submitted: Tuesday, December 02, 2008
I’m in a museum exhibit.
OK maybe that’s making a bigger deal out of this than it really is, but honestly, a letter I wrote to Hope Abelson (theatrical producer and patron saint of many a storefront theater company) while I was in college is in an exhibit about her life at the Newberry Library in Chicago. “Humbled” doesn’t scratch the surface of what I’m feeling right now. “Surprised, amazed, delighted, awed…” yes, these come close.
I was working our last Opera in the Neighborhoods performance for Lyric Opera, when one of our volunteers came in and showed me the exhibit rundown. Her husband had been to it and recognized my name. So I had to go see for myself, and yep. There I was, my peach colored stationery and (by some miracle) clear handwriting among letters from Bob Falls (artistic director of the Goodman Theatre) and photos of Mrs. Abelson with the likes of Tony Kushner. Many of the letters and photos in the exhibit were pulled from boxes and files. After a long lifetime in the theater, Mrs. Abelson must have had a ton of memorabilia to draw from. My letter, according to the exhibit flyer, was borrowed from her scrapbook. Not some box somewhere, but a scrapbook.
The reason for the letter was the inaugural Hope Abelson Artist in Residence program, a weekend immersion with a renowned theatrical artist. Ours was Peter Sellars (the director, not the actor), who I’d never heard of before that day. I won’t go into detail about what he discussed, because anyone can Google him now and probably get the gist of it. More, I was struck by what I wrote to Mrs. Abelson in response to that weekend.
Dang, I was smart. And a good writer, too. Maybe a little melodramatic, but what do you expect from a 19 year old college sophomore who’s just had her mind blown? I was so excited, I even took a picture with my phone. It didn’t come out great, but it’s neat to see among all the other things
I was also struck by the passage of time and the many ways in which I am similar and different from the person I was then.
And then there’s the whole scrapbook thing, which only filled me with questions that I regretted not being able to ask her myself. I’d met her several times in my career, and had I known she still had that letter, maybe I would have paid more attention or made a special effort to glean some of her producing wisdom. Did she ever doubt herself and wonder if what she was doing mattered to us young(er) artists? Did she ever read my letter and think, “Yes, this is why I do it”?
I’ll never know now, since she passed away two years ago at the age of 95.
What I do know is, I am still grateful for the opportunity she presented me that college weekend, for the parts of me I recognize as still relevant, and the parts of me that I shed after they served their purpose.
Original text of the letter:
Feb. 18, 1990
Dear Mrs. Abelson,
I attended the “Peter Sellars Journey” in its entirety this weekend, and it had a very profound impact on my life. I am deeply indebted to you for making this possible. Not only did you pave the way for this amazing talent to come to us, but you accepted our interest as the price of admission. In such a profit hungry world it is nice to see someone so interested in our education and enrichment.
I won’t go into all the thoughts Peter articulated for me or the zillions of new ideas and philosophies he has given me to think about. I imagine it will take me years to process it all. This weekend has changed my entire outlook, and in gratitude I wish there existed bigger words than thank you.
With highest regards,
Becky Brett
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What you want, wants you
...A study has shown that only three percent of all Americans list their goals in writing...[and] do reach their goals. ...belong to this group of people, who reach their goals and live the life they want...
Read the entire article
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