Ghosts of Friends Past

I was looking at my old address book tonight. I was trying to figure out who I would send Christmas cards to. As I was looking page by page I was wondering what happened to these people who were important enough to write their names in the address book.

People I met while pursuing an acting career. People I trained with in London and San Francisco, some I met while doing theatre in San Diego at the Globe and the Rep. The faces and voices which accompany the names were easy to remember for most everyone. There were a few names I couldn't place. A number of people had died. Some years ago, some more recent. There were a lot of old defunct addresses. And some people had moved a multitude of times.

2 people had their own pages in the address book. Both front and back because they moved so often. One was in the Army and subject to the whim of his employment, and the other was a vagabond until he married and moved to Culver City.

I went on the internet and took a list of  20 or so names to delve into. These were people I was closer to or we had trained together.Which for actors means long hours, parties, and drinking and shenanigans. Some were girls I liked but never connected with.

What did I find out? A lot of the actors trained in acting then did something else entirely. There were a few who continued to work in some capacity. The searches were intersting because as actors we tend to have a bigger footprint on the internet then your average person. We do plays and shows and there's IMDb. There are pictures, headshots, and reviews of our work. Some people I didn't need to look up. They are Tony award winners. One teacher in London has an Oscar for the music to Shakespeare in Love. Another teacher (director) was Oscar nominated for Billy Elliot. One director from San Diego has been directing on Broadway for the past decade and has won Tonys. The famous are easily found.

Some names didn't register a hit at all. Like the person disappeared or was a figment of a fever dream. Some people segued into jobs in the same area, but as teachers in colleges. Some people were in pictures, but not on websites. One person was gay. Which now makes more sense when I think back on it. Maybe he didn't know it then or didn't admit it.

It was an interesting exercise in the passage of time and the evolution of people, friends, acquaintances, fellow students, co-workers.