Rumplestiltskinning It In The Big D !

Rehearsing a scene from the Dallas Children's Theatre production of Rumplestiltskin in 1997.


Me and a fellow actor whose name I don't recall. I didn't keep a program for this one so too bad for me! I can't tell from the costumes where the story was set. It was either in the medieval period of some planet of the original Star Trek (third season) or judging by the actor next to me maybe in Argentina where the Blue Meanies fled.


I played the comic relief character named Rollo. Surprise! Surprise! Rollo wasn't in the original tale but I played the role so well it might change the way the story is told forever.

I appeared in a few plays at the Dallas Children's Theatre (DCT)in the mid nineties. The people there were nice enough and the shows were fun to do. Rumplestiltskin was the last play I appeared in at the DCT.

My first was playing the title role in Lyle the Crocodile. I was covered head to toe in a crocodile costume that looked just like the drawing of Lyle from the book. The only way for me to see was through a thin dark fabric at the end of the snout where Lyle's mouth was. I had no peripheral vision at all. Naturally my blocking had to be precise so I wouldn't bump into a set piece, actor or fall off the stage.

It was also very, very,...very warm. I wore a body tights and on the tights was sewn foam padding to give Lyle that plump cartoony look that the girl crocs really dig. Yes, I said dig. I can't help it. I'm a child of the seventies. Anyway, I felt sorry for the wardrobe person in charge of cleaning my costume. Every Sunday for a month after the matinee performance he would show up right after the last actor got to the dressing room to gather our sweaty garments. I think I lost a few pounds for that month.

Despite the minor discomforts I found it to be a very enjoyable role because I relied entirely on pantomime to bring the friendly, reptilian character to life. I put all my clowning and acting experience to the test Unfortunately I never took any pictures of myself in costume. I was not documenting things so well at the time mainly because I didn't own a camera.

I forgot to note that the role of Lyle the Crocodile was my first acting job in Dallas and it was in an Equity house. I learned a lot about contracts and equity scale and other things every serious actor should know if he wants to succeed and thrive and not be at the mercy of unscrupulously individuals within the theatre community. I put that knowledge to good use to this day. If given the chance and the contract looked good I'd play him again in a New York minute.