Two of my favorite high school teachers, Frank Robertson and Margaret McClatchey, are retiring on tuesday night at 7pm in the Auditorium. They taught Drama, Speech, and English at Shawnee Mission North.
Mrs. McClatchey taught drama to me during my senior year (1982-83). She told me about an audition for a role in a video. The county outreach department was looking to cast a family in a short drama called the "The Pain Games" and Clancy Hathaway directed it. I got the role of the son caught in the crossfire of his parents' divorce. We filmed it over Christmas break, in part at McClatchey's house. I slammed a bag of groceries down on the kitchen floor in my big scene. I was green and it showed, but it was a great experience.
I didn't think much about it until a couple of years later I ran into the sound man and I was shocked to learn that it was still being shown. Apparently in Johnson County when you file for divorce, they make you watch this show. We made it in 1982 and they're still screening it today. Once in a while, I'll run into a friend who says, "I got a divorce recently and they made me watch this video..."
I theorize that it's so bad that people come out of there going, "what a crappy show - my divorce, not so crappy afterall!" I like that.
I don't think I'll ever win an Academy Award, but if I do, I'll be thanking Mrs. McClatchey and Mr. Robertson. Hey, maybe that's the speech I'll make on Tuesday night.
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