Mark Jeffries is a lawyer in real life, but in What The Bellhop Saw he’s an author being stalked by a terrorist much like Salman Rushdie was. This is his first venture in to the world of theatre. We’ll let him tell you how he decided to take to the stage.
I had never thought about doing community theatre. In fact, I considered actors to be pretentious, egotistical, self-centered snobs. Although I like to play around at home, doing characters for my kids when they were little—Ralph the Manly Hairdresser and Chuki, the Japanese know-it-all—acting on stage seemed about as likely for me as going to the moon.
But then my daughter got cast in two shows her senior year at Liberty High School. I helped her work on her lines, and it was fun! And everyone else seemed to be having a lot of fun, too.
So when I noticed an ad in the newspaper that ACT 2 was casting a comedy, I thought it might be fun to try out. What the Bellhop Saw is very funny, and I’ve had a blast learning the art of acting with the help of the rest of the cast.
I’m very honored to be selected to play Roger Fish in my first production with ACT 2 (or anyone else). Although this is my first role, I hope it’s not my last. And I hope I don’t turn into a pretentious, egotistical, self-centered snob.
We hope so, too, Mark! And if you get too pretentious, egotistical, or a self-centered snob, we’ll let you know. LOL!