Paul Baker, Preston Jones and My Time at the Dallas Theater Center

When Preston Jones died in 1979 at the age of 43 he left behind a legacy in writing that is so rich that is remains as relevant today as it was in the 1970’s. That was one of the overriding impressions that struck me as I viewed Contemporary Theater of Dallas‘ production of Jones’ THE OLDEST LIVING GRADUATE this past weekend with a group of the other ‘first citizens’ of Bradleyville, Texas.

This article is not a review of the current production. For the truth is I simply don’t think I can be fair, certainly not impartial, to this production.

I was one of the lucky ones. One of those who was at the Theater Center when Preston Jones was writing the Trilogy shows, one of those who became an ‘original citizen of Bradleyville’, one who has Jones’ handwritten pages and rewrites; one of those who was in the rehearsal room as Randy Moore, under the direction of Mr. Baker, gave voice to a truly remarkable and literally unforgettable character, Colonel J.C. Kincaid in THE LAST MEETING OF THE KNIGHTS OF THE WHITE MAGNOLIA and subsequently in THE OLDEST LIVING GRADUATE.

To anyone near Dallas over the next several weeks, do yourself a favor and book a ticket to THE OLDEST LIVING GRADUATE at the CTD. You won’t have the same bias I brought to the show and you will see a solid production of a play that remains brilliantly funny and one that will leave you a bit breathless and misty-eyed at the end. That’s how good the writing is.

A little background:

In 1973 I entered the program at the Dallas Theater Center on the recommendation of my old college professor, Dr. S. Walker James who had studied under Paul Baker at Baylor University.

My wife Jane and I had two college friends in Dallas, Mike Russell and his wife, Pat. Mike Russell had entered the DTC program a year earlier and, on a visit back to Beaumont, had suggested I check out the Dallas program when I was looking for a graduate program in theater. I was accepted into the Theater Center apprentice program solely on the basis of the recommendation I received from Dr. James. To Dr. James and my old friend, Mike Russell, I owe a large debt of gratitude.

I arrived at the Dallas Theater Center at what I now see as something of a ‘golden age’ for the program there.

There was an acting company in place and some of the actors, designers and others involved in the running of the theater operation had been in Dallas with Mr. Baker since around 1959; others were there since 1963 when Baker split with Baylor University in a dispute over his staging of Eugene O’Neill’s LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT.

Incoming students or ‘apprentices’ entered a graduate program that was then affiliated with Trinity University in San Antonio. The pace for an entering apprentice was demanding.

By day we students would take the various classes one would expect to find in a theater school: acting, voice and diction, movement, mime, writing, directing, design, etc. Classes were taught by Mr. Baker, Mary Sue Jones, Ken Latimer, Randy Moore, Norma Moore, John Figlmiller, Randy Tallman, Judith (Judy) Davis, actor/playwright Sally Netzel, Mona Pursley and other members of the acting company and by Trinity University professors such as playwright Eugene McKinney and other longtime Baker associates.

The group of apprentices attended classes during the morning hours and during the afternoons rehearsed for an upcoming show or worked on sets or costumes or lighting or sound or other production elements. The apprentices also formed the core of the crews that ran each show at night. Mixed in with these activities were rehearsals for scenes for acting and directing classes, studying theater history, etc.

If it seems like the theater students and company members were at the theater 24/7…that’s not too far from the truth. If this sounds like work, it was. If it sounds like fun, it most definitely was. In this way it was much like a typical college theater program.

The difference was that one could be immersed in the workings of a professional theater company and earn a graduate degree from Trinity University. I earned an MFA with an emphasis in acting from Trinity University, San Antonio but performed literally all of the degree work at the Dallas Theater Center. It was a very good arrangement.

There were two theaters in the DTC plant which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The main stage was the Kalita Humphreys Theater which seated an audience of around 400 as I recall. The other theater space was in the basement, a sectioned off portion adjacent to the scene shop area and called Down Center Stage which seated 50-60 patrons.

If you were an incoming apprentice and you were lucky, you might be cast in a supporting role in one or more of the season of shows. Of course every actor wanted to be in a show that played on the main stage but landing a role in a Down Center Stage production was nothing to be disappointed in.

So then, this was the environment I entered when I arrived as a fresh faced and skinny 23 year old from Beaumont, Texas. I had never heard of Preston Jones. That would soon change.

Part 2 - The Bradleyville Trilogy - Coming Soon