Talent like bush

The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear:

Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,

And waste its sweetness on the desert air."

Thus wrote Thomas Gray in his poem "Elegy written in a Country Churchyard" more than two hundred years ago. Wherever I conduct drama classes, I always marvel at the "gems" and "flowers" that abound everywhere. The old adage, "Actors are a dime a dozen" is so true.

As acting drama officer for Mrs Jean Sue Wing at the Division of Culture, in the sixties and seventies, I had the pleasure of teaching creative child drama at seven Teachers’ Training Colleges. Many teachers were quite shy to perform very simple improvisations and mimes but the majority were brilliant, very imaginative and were able "to get into the skin of the character" quite easily.

I always ended my class at these colleges with a question time. At Naparima, a teacher asked, "Sir, this girl wants to know if you are married?" The student-teachers all laughed and waited my response. "Yes, I am. I have one wife and two sons — Richard, the first and William, the second." To my surprise, there was a spontaneous burst of applause.

For six weeks every year, in October and November, the Division — under the direction of Mr MP Alladin, organised the Weeks of Arts all over the country areas. I had the opportunity to take my company, The Strolling Players to remote places such as Lopinot, Blanchisseuse, Matura, Toco, Mayaro, Cedros and many more.

After my group performed, I would ask the villagers to come on the stage and perform an improvisation or mime or act with members of the cast. A man came up and asked me to give him one of those things "without talking." I knew he meant a "mime." From my book 100 Exercises in Creative Drama, I explained exercise 16 — "The Kite."

Believe me, he was "most excellent." That’s the only way I could describe it. That was the best performance I have ever seen of this exercise. And I saw the great Marcel Marceau perform the same mime at Piccadilly Theatre in London in 1963. The Cedros fisherman heard the word "mime" for the first time in his life that night.

In Matura, there were no lights in the community centre and we had to perform with flambeaux and a few kerosene lamps for illumination. In Lopinot, mothers were quite comfortable breast feeding their babies in the audience which was really one big happy family.

I have found "gems" and "flowers" in abundance all over Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, St Vincent, St Kitts and Curacao where I have conducted drama classes. But very few of these talented persons, ever got a chance to appear on stage, radio, television or film.

One "flower" did not "blush unseen" but entertained thousands throughout Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Grenada, Barbados, St Vincent, St Lucia, St Kitts, Curacao, Brooklyn and Queen’s in New York, Hamilton and Brampton in Canada.

This lady was born in Point Fortin, grew up in Enterprise Village and lives in Cunupia where I met her at the Weeks of Arts. Her name is Mrs Shirley Veronica Francois-King, but I christened her 31 years ago and gave her the stage name "beulah."

Here is an anecdote about another christening. Once a priest was annoyed when he saw the handyman eating pork on Good Friday. He said, "John, how can you do such a thing?" John replied, "But Father, this is fish."

The priest stated emphatically, "What you are eating is not fish but pork!" John replied," It was pork. My name was Jojo. You sprinkle water on me and call me John. I sprinkle water on pork and call it fish."