dolly_sickles's blog

bah humbug! behind the scenes with ira david wood iii

 abuse

On December 4, Ira David Wood III took the stage for the 33rd year in a row as mean ol’ Ebenezer Scrooge, the miser we all love to hate … or more likely, he’s the old miser we all hate to love.

Either way, there’s no denying that Wood’s original adaptation of the Charles Dickens tale of redemption, A Christmas Carol, is a theatrical classic and Triangle tradition. When he’s out of character, David is still as interesting. Actor, playwright, father, husband, JFK assassination expert, producer, musician, novelist, political pundit, raconteur. But it’s his sentimental nature and fun sense of humor that continue to draw me as a friend. In this holiday season when he’s lauded as the meanest man around, I thought it would be interesting to get a backstage view of one of North Carolina’s greatest sons, Ira David Wood III.

DS: When you came to Raleigh and Theatre In The Park in the early 1970s, what was your first play?

IDW: Hamlet was the first show I wanted to do with the Children’s Theatre, as Theatre In the Park, or TIP, used to be known. I was homesick for The Lost Colony—I needed something to take my mind off of it. I was young enough not to know how challenging it’d be to direct and star. Royalties were very expensive, so we turned to Shakespeare ... at the time, we were told people wouldn’t cross the street to see Shakespeare. We had $127, so I said we’d do it in modern dress. We had permission to use the amphitheatre over at Raleigh Little Theatre. Carol (my sister) and I used to drive around town at night and check out scrap wood and building materials at construction sites for the set pieces. We eventually gathered enough to build a simple set, though at night graffiti was painted all over the place. 

Do you know we played to 6,000 people? We had to extend the show by three or four performances, but the space was needed for another production so Helen Crisp became our first patron and paid for indoor space at RLT. That year, we produced a whole season of Shakespeare: Macbeth, Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, Richard the III. It was great.

DS: Obviously Shakespeare was a smart move. Nowadays, though, you’re so well-known as Ebenezer Scrooge. Why the move from one British storyteller to another?

IDW: Again, we were looking for something to do. In the early 70s, theatres were dark over the holidays. Families were all together. But Shakespeare hadn’t written anything for Christmas, so we went to the next best thing: Dickens. 

I wanted to do it in period style, but I didn’t want it to be morose. I wanted the medicine to taste good. We wanted to create something with a multi-level approach to get whole families to spend time together … to go to the theatre. It had to have cheeky humor that would grab adults, but would also captivate children. 

DS: Did it work? 

IDW: Oh, yes. We were delighted with the turnout [when it premiered in 1974], but not surprised because it seemed to me that if you fill a void, people are going to come. We staged A Christmas Carol in our space at TIP, which was the old NC National Guard Armory. It was so popular that we were up to 18 performances. Even then, in my 20s, it wore me out. So we said, let’s go down to Memorial Auditorium and play it all weekend, to as many people as would see it in two weeks at TIP. 

When Dee Ann Jones and I rode down there the first time, nobody had the key. But we had bolt cutters in the trunk, so we used them. When we opened the door, and light filled that cavernous space, a rat the size of Snuggles (our Beagle) ran across the floor. It had just been used for wrestling and things like that. But the space was perfect for our needs. 

During those years, IBM bought seven additional performances just for their employees and families. And the City and other arts groups saw the potential for having performances over the holidays in Raleigh Memorial Auditorium, and the local merchants were shocked to have people downtown during the holidays. Once we realized A Christmas Carol was going to be an annual performance, we met with those downtown merchants to encourage them to alter their hours, so we could advertise to our patrons to shop or dine before or after the performances. They didn’t know what to do with that. It hadn’t occurred to the downtown merchants that the arts could be a boon to the economy. 

A few years later, I put out the call to other arts groups in town the idea of an arts sampler—they’d put together a five or six minute piece as part of the greater program. We wound up with a solid two hours. People were knocked out—they didn’t realize Raleigh had that caliber of arts. 

DS: The concept of the arts being a big economic boon to our local economy is very interesting. It must make you proud to know that the work you did in your early career helped form the foundation of the Triangle’s strong art presence. 

IDW: We have come light years from where we were. If you had fifty people, half of them understand the value of the arts and its importance in defining a civilization; the other half just looks at the arts as a spreadsheet. The arts attract income that everyone benefits from, from a financial perspective. We’re lucky to have the NC Symphony, NC Theatre (NCT), the NC Ballet, the NC Museum of Art. These groups bring attention to our region, and attract artists to visit and participate. I like to think that things we have today might not be here if two crazy people hadn’t had a pair of bolt cutters in their car. 

DS: Do you think funding is the most important element of the arts, both to the arts organizations, and to the supporters?

IDW: Money—profit and income—is important, but it’s the heart and souls of the people who support the arts who really make the difference. Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina gave us financial support for our beautiful backdrops; but without the arts supporters filling the seats, there would be nobody to play to. 

With expensive gas prices and all of the issues going in our lives, you have to feel the need to support. The need to get in the car and come to the theatre and spent your money on the arts. There’s a great filter back to season members, also, who fill out a check each season and a promise of interest and support. That’s the lifeblood. 

DS: How is our area equipped for talent? Do you see a higher caliber artist coming through your doors to audition, or does the pool seem a bit diluted? 

IDW: If you see the faces of young people who come through our doors and the doors of other arts organizations in our area, I’d say they match the talent in major metropolitans. Though, we’ve come through a shift in the arts, where artists aren’t as quick to volunteer anymore. NCT started paying artists, and once people knew they could get paid it caused other groups to up the ante. Now there’s over 60 performing arts organizations in Raleigh. It’s a performer’s town. 

You have someone who puts out the call, “I need a Hamlet … oh, you’ve never acted, that’s all right. Come on.” I know I had to go to school for five years to learn our craft. How to breathe. How to move. How to drop my southern accent. The training is important. The good thing about theatre, as opposed to, say, dance, is that you don’t have to start so young. Life experiences actually help you. 

DS: What steps can the Triangle take to better train artists? 

IDW: The void I see now is to really have some quality instructional classes and workshops, where we continually train the next generation of actors. Theatres have a vested interest in combining forces to create this workshop environment to train artistic talent. Then every theatre will benefit. We need to shore up the ground—otherwise we get product heavy, and run the risk of losing the craft. Let’s make sure the talent is trained and excited. 

That’s why I enjoy working with NCT—I work with brand new people, and people from NY, because it keeps me on my toes. I take that back to TIP with me. It’s also a nod to audiences who felt that if it’s local, then it’s no good. 

With A Christmas Carol, it’s Raleigh’s own. The City has embraced the concept that ‘it’s one of our blessings.’ They are a part of the show, and after three decades, it’s like visiting an old friend. It’s as much a tradition as putting the star on the tree, or the wreath on the door. 

DS: After so many performances through the decades, can you pick any favorite moments? 

IDW: In A Christmas Carol, it’s always the lullaby that Bob Cratchitt sings to his son, Tiny Tim. I lost my dad at age 12. It’s always a gift to any artist to know they can take something sad in their life and turn it into something that helps others. I remember seeing three generations of men—a grandfather, son and grandson—in the lights from the stage one night. They put their arms around each other and I realized they knew what a treasure shared moments are. I was proud to make that happen for someone else. I would give everything to speak to my father—so while there’s a chance to communicate you have to take advantage. 

In Cyrano de Bergerac, while standing on stage, I remember when it was announced that our forces went into the Persian Gulf. Or another time during A Christmas Carol when John Lennon was shot and we started the show off with Juanda Holley singing Imagine. And right after 9/11, Eric Woodall had directed Pageant, and we were the only theatre in town with a comedy ready to put on stage. We had to add extra performances for that one. Oh, and at the end of A Christmas Carol, we used to bring out the babies (my children Ira and Evan) at the end of the show to sing lullabies. Watching them grow up with a love of theatre and the craft is amazing. We kept sleeping bags in the prop room, and they’d wake up to watch their mother die as Desdemona in Othello and Evan would say, “Mom died good tonight,” and then go back to sleep. 

The greatest moments on stage are like great moments in our lives. It’s not when Romeo says I love you; it’s that moment before when he realizes it. Those are gems. 

DS: Any parting thoughts? 

IDW: Our job is communication. But words aren’t always necessary—to me that’s the greatest tonic, the greatest good—that we are drawn together. Not because of our differences, but because of our similarities. We’re told everyday how different we are—we go to war, we have race riots. When we perform in different countries, it’s so obvious that human beings are all the same; we all know the joys and sorrow of loss. No matter if you’re Al Queda or a soldier, if only we could find the similarities. 

We fight when we don’t try to use words first. In theatre, everyone has dignity. Kids who grow up in theatre get along with everyone—race, color, creed, nationality. And the more people we touch like that, the more people can go out in the world with that feeling. Once you take away a person’s dignity, they fight.

~~~

I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my life. My wife, Ashley, has been such a blessing to me. Not a day goes by that I don’t laugh. She is just a ray of sunshine. When I turned 60, I took a bottle of scotch and my dog and said, “Just give me a moment.” Sliding into 60, you’re closer to the end than the beginning. A Christmas Carol has so defined the majority of my life. I’ve got two novels I’m working on, and they’re a delight. I’ve quit smoking, though I was allowed a cigar on the day I got the hot tub for my 60th. I’ve just released fifteen years of research I’ve accumulated on President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Now history’s thrown me a curve and I have to incorporate the newest findings of Anastasia and Nicholas into Galatea (I’ve converted the play into a novel).

~~~ 

Life is certainly busy at the Wood household. But David’s right: laughter is important. It keeps you young and happy, and settled. I laughed when I first saw him as Scrooge as a young child; I laughed when I worked with him as the Marketing Director for Theatre In The Park; I laughed with my son, to whom I’ve passed on the holiday tradition; and I laughed when I sat down with David last week to reminisce. 

I hope you’ll face this holiday season and the coming new year with laughter and happiness, and the right attitude to carry you through life. Bah Humbug!

• A Christmas Carol plays at Raleigh’s Memorial Auditorium through December 12. Click here for ticket and performance information.
   
• A Christmas Memory plays at the Ira David Wood III Pullen Park Theatre from December 14 – 16. Click here for ticket and performance information.
   
• To learn more about David’s chronology of the assassination of JFK, click here.

• Read WRAL anchor, Bill Leslie's take on this years performance.

• Click here to see David being featured on WRAL-TV.

Filed under: Theater and Performing Arts