L e
G allienne
A Teacher to the Stars!
and his fear of failure had
always stopped him. He had been holding down a mundane job as an
efficiency expert in Hartford, Connecticut, but when he learned LeG
was going to conduct acting classes, he knew he had to enroll. "I lied
and went to the course. I was supposed to be a professional actor but
went anyway. I wanted to be in proximity to other professionals."Rather than take a two-week vacation during that summer, Falk convinced his employer to let him miss one day a week for the entire summer. Because of the drive, he was always arriving for class a few minutes late. One day, LeG's patience boiled over. "Mr. Falk," she barked as he entered the theatre, "why are you always late? An actor must learn discipline." "I have to drive here each time from Hartford," he explained.
"From Hartford! What acting job can you possibly have in Hartford" she challenged.
When he finally admitted in front of the class that he did not have
an acting job and that he was not a professional actor, LeG stared him
in the eye and said very pointedly "You should be!"
Before that day ended, Falk drove back to Hartford and quit his
job. "No one else but her could have done it. Only a few words from her
mouth meant more to me than anything." In ending his letter of thanks
he offers, "My very, very best and love from an old student to the lady
who changed his life."
As Queen Marguerite, 1968
Exit the King
Eva's achievments during the 10 years of running the Civic Repertory Theatre were amazing (1926-1936):
- Won a Pulitzer Prize for her production of Alison's House by Susan Glaspell.
- Produced 37 plays in rep, in 10 years
- Shows played to 94% capacity
- Heralded in Time, Nation and American Theatre magazines
- Directed the New York premiere of Three Sisters
- Revived many classics:
In Cherry Orchard, 1944
with Lois Hall5 Ibsen
2 Shakespeare
1 Moliere
4 Chekhov
1 Rostand