These Are My JOTtings...

Jade Amber Jewel & Jay O'Toole Perform Together

Today's blog post is basically another photo album of our acting exploits.

During the first week of June, 2016, which is almost a year ago now, Jade Amber Jewel and I performed in the very emotionally intense show of The Miracle Worker. This is the story of Ann Sullivan as she spent so much of herself teaching Helen Keller, the young girl who became both deaf and blind after a terrible illness in early childhood.

Jade played the part of one of blind school girls at the Perkins School for the Blind in Boston, Massachusetts. I played the part of Mr. Anagnos, the Headmaster of the school.



Ann Sullivan was introduced to the audience during an exit interview with me, her headmaster and friend. Annie was a feisty young lady with plenty of spit and fire. She had to be this way in order to survive her ordeal of initially getting through to a very angry, frightened and headstrong Helen Keller. The end result has been a great blessing to the world, but the blood, sweat and tears of the two combatants and learners was inestimable, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.



Three years ago about this time of year Jade and I were putting the finishing touches on our performances in The Music Man in April of 2014. Though there is not presently a photo of Jade in this performance, I do have a photo of me as the second tenor in the School Board Barbershop Quartet from the show. I have always enjoyed both singing and acting.



In December of that same year, 2014, Jade & I performed in Miracle on 34th Street, the Musical. Here we had more singing, acting and dancing. Jade was part of the ensemble and I performed the part of Martin Shellhammer, the Toy Department Manager of Macy's Department Store. I had the privilege of giving the real Santa Claus his chair in the store.





Thanks for sharing this trip down memory lane!
Acting is a great deal of work, but it is a whole lot of FUN, too!

by Jay O'Toole
on March 30th, 2017