Behind the Scenes: Bob Tobin

Today we welcome Bob Tobin – Episcopal priest, retired educator, OHA’s new Board Chair, and all-around swell guy – to give us insight into his elementary school years, his love for the theater and why his elevator is so very crowded…

1. Where did you grow up?

Austin, Texas.

2. How would your elementary school classmates remember you?

Probably as a semi-nerd. I did better after I got to junior high and high school.

3. Name four fictional characters with whom you’d be okay being stuck in an elevator. Why them?

Zorba the Greek (Zorba the Greek) – He would raise my spirits. He’s a character who fills the room. Very positive and adventuresome.

Holden Caulfield (The Catcher in the Rye) – He was sort of a rebel.

Randle McMurphy (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest)– Probably the same reason as Holden. He wanted to defy authority in a strange but positive way.

Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan (The Help) – She had courage to face any situation.

Minny Jackson (The Help) – She was another one who defied authority.

Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird) – He was steady, smart, committed and compassionate.

4. If you were a cartoon character, what cartoon character would you be?

The Phantom, he’s mysterious.

5. When did you fall in love with theater?

Probably when I was helping backstage at some summer programs in high school out at Barton Springs, in Austin.

Come say hi to Bob at this weekend’s CAB meeting, followed by OHA’s Annual Volunteer Clean Up and Maintenance Day from 1pm to 4pm. For more information, email info@operahousearts.org, call 367-2788, or just stop by the theater in your cleaning or gardening clothes on Saturday May 16.

Throwback Thursday

 Peter Boie masters the straight jacket during his 2011 “Live! for $5″ performance.

We have some great acts on tap for this year’s “Live! for $5.” Click here to see them all!

Behind the Scenes: Pam Getto

Whether you’ve hung out with her in OHA’s box office or seen her on stage at either the Opera House or in her many Cabin Fever roles, if you’re a lover of theater on the island, you know Pam Getto. Today, however, we offer you the special chance to find out what cartoon hybrid she would be. As well as why her elevator wouldn’t be all that crowded….

1. Where did you grow up?

Stonington, Maine. It was a great place to grow up, very safe. All my family was here. My mother’s the oldest of 12, so I had a lot of cousins and family around all the time, which was great. And you go to school with the same 30 kids through high school, so you’re all like one big, happy family. Most of the time.

2. How would your elementary school classmates remember you?

I was never shy. I was never quiet. I was very bossy. Who would believe it? They’re all still living here, so you could ask them.

3. Name four fictional characters with whom you’d be okay being stuck in an elevator. Why them?

Don Draper from Mad Men. And no one else. It would be weird if there was anyone else in there with us. Nudge, nudge. Wink, Wink. But he couldn’t smoke in there.

4. If you were a cartoon character, which cartoon character would you be?

Marge Simpson mixed with Jane Jetson mixed with Jessie.

5. When did you fall in love with theater?

I always have been. I love being on stage. I was always fighting to have the solo in the chorus, but since I was the only one who wanted it, that was pretty easy. And then I was in a commercial in third grade. I got to see the whole process. So then all that summer I directed my brother and cousins in “commercials.” I just fell in love with it.


You can catch up with Pam this weekend at While We Were Young, or visit her during the week in the box office and find out about our upcoming summer season!

Throwback Thursday

Bob Burke and Larry Estey lending a helping hand at Volunteer Day, 2014. 

Want to join the ranks of these illustrious individuals? Volunteer Day is Saturday, May 16 from 1pm to 4pm. If you’re interested in helping out, call 367-2788, email info@operahousearts.org, or just stop by the theater in your cleaning or gardening clothes on the 16th.

Behind the Scene: Joshua McCarey

There are two sides to every coin. While we’re all very sorry, down here at the Opera House, that we won’t be working with former Education Associate Robin Cust on a regular basis anymore, we are all so excited to welcome Joshua McCarey to the position! Especially now that we know he’s a James and the Giant Peach fan…

1. Where did you grow up?

I grew up in a neighborhood called “The Grove” on the city limits of Boston. Though downtown was just 20 minutes away by train, my house was surrounded by trees and a circuit of winding dirt roads. This made playing, exploring, and also some scandalous behavior possible and routine. We played kickball behind my house, made forts between oaks and maples and raced down hills on our bicycles. I realize now that it was a blessing for city kid.

2. How would your elementary classmates remember you?

It seems sad to say, but they may remember me as sick! I was in and out of Boston Children’s Hospital for severe asthma and allergies. Though I wasn’t well, it was a cool place to be! There were clowns and kind nurses- I was treated so well. I remember my classmates would craft personalized get-well cards on colored construction paper. It made me feel so special. They drew a skinny boy smiling from a hospital bed…with bright suns and seagulls flying around the room.

3. Name four fictional characters with whom you’d be ok being stuck in an elevator. Why them?

James could tell me about his adventure from inside the Giant Peach, and help to scheme a plan to get the elevator unstuck. If that doesn’t work, Sir Toby Belch would be fun for joking and singing to pass the time. Anybody from the unpredictable and fantastic world of Daniil Kharms would be welcome; the situation itself being so absurd. I was always moved by Louis, the Trumpeter Swan. He could inspire us to find alternate forms of communication when words are not enough.

4. Which cartoon character would you be?

Charlie Brown. (Borrowing Linus’ security blanket)

5. When did you fall in love with theater?

At 12 years old, I was cast as Bottom the Weaver in a community production of A Mid Summer Night’s Dream. That character literally plucked me out of all my closets. He was just so outrageous; and taught me that I could be outrageous, too. I think I learned that theatre does that- plucks us out of the closet. I was frightened and enamored by it.

Joshua will be back on the island in a couple of weeks. Make sure you stop in and say hi!

Throwback Thursday

Joshua McCarey in the 2013 “Our Own” production of The Insurgents.

If you haven’t already read, Joshua McCarey is OHA’s new Education Associate! Check in tomorrow to learn more about him in this week’s “Behind the Scenes at the Opera House…”

Behind the Scenes: Sir John Falstaff

It’s always tricky to get the great Sir John Falstaff, arguably Shakespeare’s most comic creation, to stop talking about the ladies…particularly the Merry Wives of Stonington…and his appreciation for said ladies, especially when they wear breeches. Nonetheless, we’ve managed to wrangle an interview with him this week. It was a bit touch-and-go given our Skype connection back to the early 1400s was shaky. But we prevailed and eventually got him to answer our questions – in between gulps of mead.

1. Where did you grow up?

As good luck would have it, I am son to the great England, but there be less interest in where I came of age than in how I managed the feat. Thou knowest in the state of innocency Adam fell, and what should poor Jack Falstaff do in the days in villainy? And now am I, if a man should speak truly, little better than one of the wicked. It is not solely superiority of strength that allows my body breath, but an advantageous mind, which informs when to fight and when on instinct to be a coward. The better part of valor is discretion.

2. How would your comrades in arms remember you?

They would remember my courage and cunning, of course, but if forced to claim a favorite trait – if such a task is achievable – I suspect they would hold in highest esteem my wit. I am not only witty in myself, but the cause that wit is in other men.

*We played a range of twentieth and twenty-first century songs for Sir John.*

3. Which of these songs, if any, do you most relate to?

Your troubadours perform with appealing verve. If I must favor one, I would cast my heart toward the tune by the string of letters [*I’m Sexy and I Know It, by LMFAO*]. I too understand the feeling of drawing all eyes.

4. We’ve heard that you’ll be visiting Stonington this summer. What are you most looking forward to on this trip?

Do all the ladies of Stonington favor breeches?

We had to let Sir John get back to his…work, but he’ll be making an in-person trip to the Opera House this summer. Our Gala patrons attending the Grand Opening of our new lobby July 6 may get an unexpected peek at the Fat Knight. Otherwise, see him on stage August 13th through the 23rd. Tickets on sale now on the website and in the box office!