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Mike Moser Despite our loss, we should
Fairfield Glade has lost a neighbor. Channel
22 has lost a patron. Fairfield Glade Baptist Church has lost
a dear member. Cumberland County Playhouse has lost a talent
and a champion. And I have lost a friend, and while Jean Curley's
passing demands commentary, I find it one of the harder columns
I have been charged to write. All of us in the Cumberland County Playhouse
community are saddened and numbed by the shocking news from Georgia
that Jean died following an aneurysm and series of strokes. I suppose in one sense it should be a time
to celebrate Jean's vibrant life and we should find comfort in
knowing that she was stricken while doing what she loved and
dreamed of doing most ... acting on a stage. Yet, the irony of
the circumstances surrounding her passing, and the selfishness
that is nothing but human nature rising up when we lose something
so dear and treasured at times cannot be stifled. Jean was that kind of special person. The first time I can remember seeing Jean
on stage was in a role in the Homestead Album at CCP.
I was quite taken with her stage presence, grace and dignity
with which she carried herself, particularly in a song and dance
number with Don Bollinger about red tape of the administrative
bureaucracy of the Homestead project. Who is this actress? I asked as I found myself
mesmerized by Jean. And then I learned she was a volunteer. Not
just a volunteer, but the standard for volunteers at the Playhouse. Soon I joined the ranks of so many in the
community by volunteering on stage and when I finally got to
work with Jean, my awe of her talent only grew. She could sing
(I struggle), she could act and make it look so easy (I labor
at it) and she could dance (I won't even go there). With the opening of each new production that
we appeared in together, I only grew to respect and love Jean
that much more. And I really came to appreciate just how much
the Playhouse meant to her. More so, how much she meant to the
Playhouse. During this time I also came to know Jean's
husband, Bill. You could not be a member of the Playhouse volunteer
corps without knowing Bill and enjoying his encouraging word,
ready smile and supporting presence. If one had to sum up a word
to describe Bill and Jean, I guess I might choose the word "solid."
They were solid, bedrock people whom you could depend upon and
who were always the same, every time you saw one, or the other,
or both. It is only a common metamorphosis for those
who get involved in theater to long to be "discovered,"
or to make your niche, and Jean was a source of encouragement
as I struggled to make my place. Volunteering at the Playhouse
for me is freedom for my wandering soul, a place of solace and
escape from this rat race and Jean appreciated that for me. When Bill suddenly passed away less than a
couple of years ago, the turnout of love poured on Jean, not
only by the Playhouse family, but all facets of the community,
gave Jean the encouragement and support to move on to a new level
in her life. Jean had just started acting in venues outside
of CCP and in the past two years had pursued her dream of acting
with renewed vigor, traveling from Wisconsin to Georgia as she
shared her talents for others to enjoy. Most recently Jean appeared in a production
of <I>Three Tall Women<I> at the Springer Opera
House in Columbus, GA. Her latest role was a lead in a play about
three women. Jean's role was centered around a character of her
approximate age who faces life after suffering a stroke. Two weeks ago on a Friday night, fellow actors
in the production did not realize that when Jean slowed and dragged
her leg in the proximate time when the script called for her
to collapse on stage, that she might be in trouble. Jean did
collapse and moments later reality that it was no act set in. My first thought when I heard the news was
sympathy for Jean, who I am sure would have been horrified at
the thought of prematurely bringing down the curtain. Then I
learned just how serious her episode was. Monday evening word arrived that Jean had
died. After much reflection I can only surmise that
we all should be so lucky as to go out of this world doing what
we want to do most, and I don't say that flippantly. Jean loved
the stage and there is some comfort in knowing that this tall,
graceful lady who carried herself on stage with such dignity
was happy doing what she loved. She would never have been happy
being inactive. This week as I have gone through my paces
at work I have fought back a bout of melancholy brought on by
the self-pity of the loss of Jean. Her service will be Saturday
and I know that now we must prepare to celebrate her life. Just
like Jean celebrated life. L'chaim. |