Many of “us” in the arts had our own successes that we saw as not at all appreciated the way every little thing “they” did was heralded as the greatest thing ever.

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I wish I could remember this more clearly.

Of how the whole… students of the art building having their own version of the “stud bench” thing went down. I wish I could remember how I felt. But I don’t.

I do have a memory of it going down though.

It happened during a mandatory assembly that was scheduled at a time when the entire cast of Brigadoon, was getting ready for dress rehearsal. My somewhat unsure adult brain tells me that we may have been a bit miffed. That some of us may have felt we had not been properly considered.

This assembly (my brain tells me) was scheduled at a time when we of the art building needed very much to focus on things very much other than what this mandatory assembly was about. This assembly had something to do with honoring the hockey team or some such thing or… who knows? I really don’t remember and I really don’t care! Didn’t care… mandatory assembly indeed! They didn’t make it mandatory to attend the opening production of the biggest musical JM had ever put on. Ever!

Well… I’m not sure it was the biggest ever but…

Sheesh!!

That whole part of the story is more than a bit of a muddle in my brain. I actually had a pretty minor (and easy) role in Brigadoon.

The part of the story that I DO have a very clear memory of (and the one in which I did play a more significant role) is the part about how the entire art building got together and had our own little art festival kind of thing going on at the same time as the opening of Brigadoon. It was planned that way so that the entire art building could have a big deal event thing of our own.

It was cool. The painting, sculpture and ceramics studios turned into galleries. There were musical acts and art displays in the hall and I got to set up my potter’s wheel out there too.

Very cool!

All that year my interest in pottery had grown considerably. So much so that the ceramics teacher (Lanny Milbrandt) gave me the run of the studio and even asked me to assist some of the beginning potters when they needed it. I had my own wheel in one corner of the studio and so when it was time for the festival, Mr. Milbrandt signed off on letting me out of all my other classes so I could do wheel throwing demos in the hall all day.

I loved doing this! Not just the throwing pots part, but doing it to an audience. Getting attention showing people something I could do. Especially something that was a bit unconventional, out of the ordinary. It made me very happy.

I would have no trouble getting cleaned up and ready for dress rehearsal later that day and make it to the assembly. I was in the chorus for Brigadoon and I had one solo in which I wore a big hooded cloak and sang while Lancelot fights to escape after being caught with Guinevere. That was an easy costume change so I don’t think I was miffed at all.

But the principals had a lot of makeup to deal with and many costume changes to prepare for. They were probably upset that the assembly (announced that day) was mandatory. It was not a good time for them. It’s very possible that the administrators thought it would help us with school-wide exposure for the opening of the musical. And since we were having our festival at the same time, they might have seen it as a way to publicize the entire art building as well.

And they may have been right… but many didn’t see it that way.

Like I said, my memory of anything other than my pottery demos in the hall that day, are a bit muddled. It’s very possible that I’m not remembering the feelings of the cast correctly at all. That no one was really all that upset. It may have been that the art building “stud bench” happened spontaneously, and simply as a revenge for the jocks stud bench. That it had nothing to do with the timing of the assembly.

I really don’t know. I don’t remember that part. I only remember that the result was quite dramatic.

As it got near the time of the assembly, students from other parts of the school started filtering in. I remember coming out of the ceramics room, having put all my stuff away. I had cleaned my area but was still going to have to change out of my clay-caked clothes. I saw a few cast members moving towards the entrance to the main auditorium, in their smocks and colored tights. They would not have time to change from their regular clothes after, so they were going to wear their costumes to the assembly.

They didn’t go in. They stood outside the doors and watched, and waited. Soon other cast members showed and joined them. By the time the flow of students into the auditorium was pretty steady, there were at least fifteen to twenty men in tights, flanking the doors. They made a kind of gauntlet. Two rows of men in tights that the students entering the auditorium would have to walk between.

At first it was all pretty fun and congenial. Many students took it as a “welcome to our world” kind of thing. And as long as they took it that way, it was. But then some of the jocks began showing up. The jocks sneered and complained of having to go to this part of the school at all. Ever. And when they saw all those men in tights… Heh. Well… some tried to laugh.

But this was NOT their world, and they were NOT welcome. And when the twenty men in tights started giving them a taste of their own behavior. It was clear that this part was not meant to be funny.

“Hey, look men… there’s Ricky Speck.” Ohhh… what a hunk!” The taunts came from the group so Speck couldn’t really see who it was and so he had no way to target where it came from.

“Hey Ricky, you can throw me a pass anytime!”

“Ohhh… Ricky, I’ll get down and hike you the ball ok?”

“Hut… hut… hut…”

Ohh… watch those hands Ricky.”

My adult self knows this was not ok. That this exercise in revenge was not (and will never be) the answer to what happened every day on the stud bench. Just as revenge is not the answer to harassment of anyone, anywhere. I saw Ricky Speck and many of his fellows looking very, very uncomfortable that day of our art festival.

Like I said at the beginning of this story, I can’t remember why it went down. I only saw that it did. And I also don’t remember how I felt about it. I only know how I feel about it now.

I do however, remember how I felt when I saw a movie about revenge at the Chateau Theater that fall. Halloween 1977.

I think I’ll write about that tomorrow.