They call themselves the Call Me Bob Players. You remember Bob – Bob Henry, that is.
From 1958 to 1979, he taught drama at Everett High School. He was so beloved that in August his former students, two decades’ worth, organized a reunion at Everett High’s Little Theater.
“He is one of those teachers you remember the rest of your life,” said Wendy Bowdish, a 1973 grad.
Henry soon will turn 80. He didn’t remember Bowdish.
“I was completely unremarkable in high school,” the Everett woman said. Now, at 48, she’s ready to make her mark.
Something happened at that reunion beyond typical reminiscing. One-time drama students and their mentor decided to give acting another whirl. After swapping Mr. Henry stories, about a dozen alumni began getting together for acting workshops. With Henry, they read scripts and performed scenes.
There was one condition. They had to stop calling him Mr. Henry and start calling him Bob.
So the ensemble adopted the name Reunion Theatre Group, featuring the Call Me Bob Players, said Steve Ward, of Edmonds, class of ‘73.
Their world premiere, “The Dining Room,” is Thursday at Normanna Hall in Everett. Bowdish plays several characters in the comedy. Also in the play are Henry, Ward, Jay Cochran, Janette Cochran-Reilley, Les Lewis, Bonnie Miller-Ronan, Nancy Noack-Moore, Chris Phillips and Lisa Schrueble-Levinson.
The difference between then and now is “they’re 25 years older,” Henry said. “I’m just one of them.”
Henry was 55 when he quit teaching to try acting. He was in commercials and had a role in “The Fabulous Baker Boys.”
Ironically, the reunion coincided with the start of a school year with no full-time drama teacher at Everett High School.
“We no longer have a drama class,” principal Pat Sullivan said. Drama is an after-school activity. Academic priorities dictated the change.
Lori King, a U.S. history teacher, gets a stipend as drama adviser. The curtains go up this weekend in Everett High’s Little Theater for the spring play, “Arsenic and Old Lace.”
“No question, we’re in times of financial challenge in education,” said Sullivan, adding that demand for a drama class was declining.
To Henry, that’s more than a shame. “It’s an atrocity,” he said.
Joanne Buiteweg spent 10 years as drama teacher at Everett High. “If you don’t open the curtain, nobody sees the show. There’s a space and place for everybody to feel capable,” said Buiteweg, now a curriculum specialist. “That’s what drama can do for people.”
Bowdish didn’t act in many high school plays. With Henry’s help, she has a second chance. She recently had a role in “M*A*S*H” at the Everett Theatre. “I wasn’t this person back then,” she said. “I missed out on a lot.”
Columnist Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460 or muhlsteinjulie@heraldnet.com.
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