Farewell Iowa

And so it is, and so it goes. After five seasons at the Riverside Shakespeare Festival I say goodbye, and a better final season could not be wished. The final line I had the pleasure to speak on the festival stage during Richard III (which was the motivating reason for me to be there this summer and was the project that took ninety eight percent of my attention) was, “A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!” arguably the third most famous line in the cannon. But to cap it off, my final line of the season, and so THE final words I spoke were in the comedy, which ended the nine weeks, fittingly “adieu, adieu, adieu”. And indeed it was.

It is a wonderful thing for an actor to make the acquaintance of a theatre company that then continues to offer you opportunities. It happens to many, it is not unique, but it is rare enough to be remarked upon and cherished while it lasts. I have been able, at Riverside, to participate in five seasons and to have played some of the most challenging and rewarding roles along the way. The capstone of course was Richard in Richard III, but Benedick in Much Ado, Angelo in Measure for Measure, Leontes in Winters Tale, Petruchio in Taming of the Shrew, Malvolio in Twelfth Night, Antiphilous of Syracuse in Comedy of Errors and (surprisingly) Flute in Midsummer Nights Dream fill out the top of the list. Antonio in The Tempest and Berone in the ill-fated The Imaginary Invalid complete the resume’.

So why put an end to it you say. Well, assuming that the artistic leadership would continue to offer me a slot (and you know what ‘assuming’ makes of us) I would still and all have to acknowledge the wonderful and growing time it has been but admit that it had run its course and there was little else to be mined. And so it is, and so it goes.

Relationships come and go, both professional and personal. At some point there is the inescapable “I have to move on”. And it’s only healthy. People, institutions, organizations, communities, clans, groups, tribes, what-have-you, are all growing in separate ways, at different rates, with unique goals in mind, and so it is understandable that paths diverge.

Ron Clark and Jody Hovland, who over twenty-five years have managed to sustain and grow a theatre company should be rewarded in some afterlife that I wished I believed in. The rewards in this lifetime may be sufficient but it’s hard to know from the outside. They certainly need to be paid more, that’s for sure, and I sincerely wish them the best.

So raise a glass to Riverside Theatre and it’s Shakespeare Festival. May it thrive, may it find it’s way to growth, may it fulfill its potential in every way.

All the best from one of its principal players.

Dennis.

Ps. If the mayor pitches a fit that I’m not coming back, tell her EVERYTHING changes, including her term limits!