By Judi Straughan
Someone must have waved a magic wand over Janet Bailey at birth and whispered, “You will lead a charmed life.”
Bailey is living the actor’s dream in so many ways.
“You know,” she whispered while telling her story, “when I tell you these things, I can hardly believe they happened myself.”
Bailey plays the role of Mrs. Muller, the mother of Donald, in Doubt: A Parable, now playing at the Sudbury Theatre Centre (STC).
Bailey was trained by theatre master Sandy Meisner and has worked with the likes of Salome Bey, Sonja Smits, Christopher Reeves, Robert DeNiro, Dennis Hopper, Alan Alda, William Hutt, Paul Gross and Brent Butt.
“The thing I’ve noticed about the great actors I’ve worked with is that they are generally all kind, humble generous and are all about the work,” she continued.
“The room changes when DeNiro enters it, yet he is so very shy and humble.”
Bailey worked with DeNiro on the film Godsend and with Dennis Hopper on the film The Spreading Ground.
“Alan Alda is so kind and humble as well, not at all like the character Hawkeye on Mash,” she added.
“I find that people who do amazing things are usually amazing people, and he’s one of them.”
Her training lead her from her first childhood role as Fagin in Oliver and Captain Hook in Peter Pan to a series of great summer drama camp experiences at Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan.
“We were exposed to such greats at Interlochen that I couldn’t help but be effected by them.”
Her acceptance into The Neighbourhood Playhouse was facilitated by a letter of recommendation by none other than actor, singer/songwriter and composer Salome Bey.
“That’s when my real training began,” Bailey continued.
“I had spent some absolute quality time at the Leah Poslun’s Theatre in Toronto before that, but my two years at Neighbourhood Theatre with Sanford Meisner were the most unbelievable experience.”
Meisner is considered to be one of the greatest acting teachers of the 20th century and has taught literally thousands of people.
“I was with Sandy Meiser from 1983 to 1985. He was filled with fire, even though be had a special machine to help him talk. He would never let you get away with a moment of performance dishonesty,” Bailey recalled.
“On the first day he told me I would never be an actor. I was trying so hard to impress him that I was not real at all in my monologue and he called me on it. I bawled right in front of him and said ‘Yes I will!’ He told me never to do that again and we moved on from there. He was such a good and decent man. One of the most valuable things I have learned is to be real and to be truthful.
“When I auditioned for Slings and Arrows (with Paul Gross and William Hutt), I couldn’t believe I was sitting there across from William Hutt. He was such a huge presence — so kind, so sensitive.”
Bailey said she is looking forward to playing the role of Mrs. Muller in the STC’s most recent offering in Doubt: A Parable.
“I have such feeling for that role. It speaks to so many women who have had to make incredible decisions on behalf of their children to move forward,” she said.
“I felt I could understand what these women were reaching for. I understood some of that through my own family.”
Bailey spoke about “what a gift it is” to be working with STC’s artistic director David Savoy.
“He is so sensitive, so intuitive, so unbelievable in his directing,” she said.
“He makes us all feel safe to be brave and vulnerable in rehearsal.”
Doubt: A Parable won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for drama. The production runs Nov. 5 – 15 at the STC. Phone 674-8381 for more information.
Judi Straughan is education co-ordinator at the STC.
