If you partake in the local arts and culture scene, you may well be familiar with Marty Rosen. A man with a wide range of intellectual and creative pursuits, Marty is, among other things, a musician, freelance writer, and the former director of IU Southeast Library (2000-2021). When given an opportunity to talk about what activity feeds his soul these days, one might think it would be challenging for him to whittle the list down to one thing.
It was not. Marty has found his way onto the stage at Shelby County Community Theatre. “It’s one of the clearest stories in my life,” Marty says. “I’m having a blast.”
When he was a student at Jeffersonville High School, Marty participated in the school theater program, which was under the direction of Dr. Jack Wann. After an esteemed career working with actors and teaching theater across the country, Jack Wann retired to Shelbyville, Kentucky, and became involved with the town’s community theater. “I reviewed a couple of their plays,” Marty says. “They were outstanding productions – extremely ambitious.” A few months before the pandemic, they ran U.S. Poet Laureate Richard Wilbur’s translation of Moliere’s Tartuffe. “No one puts on this show. No one. It was a rocking production, just unbelievable,” Marty says. As a result, nearly 50 years later, Marty is reunited with his former teacher and finds an unexpected opportunity to get back on the stage.
When the pandemic temporarily closed the theater’s doors, Jack Wann had an idea. He sent out an email inviting those interested to recite Shakespeare monologues over the phone and receive coaching tips in return. Marty received one of these emails and was intrigued. Once assigned his monologue, Marty called in and was coached by Jack. Once the performance was deemed ready, each actor recorded a monologue that was uploaded and shared in a podcast called Shakespeare Sez.
When the pandemic began to ease, Jack began an outdoor series called The Bard in the Yard. The actors presented their monologues in the courtyard outside the theater; people came, sat on the lawn a safe distance from one another, and listened. “This was a lot of fun and gave us something to occupy our time that was interesting,” Marty says. “Because Jack was directing these sessions, we were still getting coached on our delivery.”
These first steps back into acting made it rather easy for Marty to respond to the next audition call that came along. Jack wrote a musical play in 2021 called Jubilee Barndance. They needed a person who could play guitar and sing – two things Marty had been doing his whole life. “I gave it a try and got the part,” Marty says. “The play ran in February of 2022. It was really, really fun.” From there, he was hooked.
It makes a lot of sense that Marty would naturally take to the stage. Theater and music have been lifelong interests, after all. However, it is not only the opportunity to share his craft that has enthralled Marty. It is more than the fact that he found a meaningful activity during the challenging days of the pandemic. In fact, Shelby County Community Theatre caught him by surprise.
“I had these notions in my mind about what a community theater might be like–the egos and the jealousy–and there was none of that,” Marty says. “There is an amazing variety of people. You may be in a play with someone who has done more than 40 plays, as well as with a high school student for whom it’s their first time on the stage. There are lawyers, factory workers, and teachers. It’s intergenerational and representative of all walks of life. It’s incredibly stimulating.”
Marty was struck by the fact that possibly a third of the people in each cast, whether on stage or working behind the scenes, have never been involved in a play before. Yet, they work companionably with those who are long-timers on the community theater scene. “Their mission is to bring people in and get them started on the path,” Marty says. “They get you started doing something where you’re more comfortable. They want you to feel successful and to keep coming back. By bringing in people at all different levels, they really give them a chance to find what they enjoy and work toward getting better. It’s very much a teaching and learning experience.”
In a time where we are too fraught with division and turmoil, Marty has found an opportunity to use his gifts, to stimulate his intellectual and artistic juices, and to work together with others on a common goal. “Theater is a team effort,” he says. “When you work with someone else, you have a responsibility to each other. No matter who you are, whether you’re a big star or a newcomer, you cannot do it without interacting and trusting one another. It’s a dependent relationship and a very stimulating environment.
“I’m in my fifth production now, and I’m just happy to be there. I don’t care if I’ve got five lines or if I’m in five scenes. In fact, generally speaking, the more lines you have, the more work you have to do!” he says with a laugh.
“If someone said to me, your house is going to disappear in a minute, I would grab my guitar. It’s a Lowden 025, made in Northern Ireland. I bought it 30 years ago in Lansing, Michigan, at a place called ‘Elderly Instruments.’ With very rare exceptions, I take it everywhere I go. I play it first thing every morning when I wake up, before I do anything else. Now that I’m retired, I can play more often throughout the day.”
By Megan S. Willman
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