And you know, a time it is 707. It is time to talk theater, not movies, not television,
but the theater. I mean, what's called the legitimate theater? Like, is there illegitimate
theater? I mean, I don't think so. I would say this is the legitimate theater as opposed
to the illegitimate one that's down the block. Jocelyn Fitch is here, marketing, you have
a longer title list, but marketing director of marketing and development and development.
That's the development part. And Shep Mohamed is here, one of the people who are new brand
new production in this corner, can't just click. That's becoming a chef. Yeah. Thanks for
having us. But we'd start with the show. Let's get a little background on Shep here. Now,
did I hear you say assistant principal before? Yes. We were, we were assistant principal.
Triple high school and Kenosha. Oh, wow. Okay. So this is your 28 and education formula.
She still do that. In general, yes. And then you're moving into show business.
Because it's more stable. What made you decide to work out with the show? Quick story.
We got an hour. My daughter, 21. So she in school for theater. And so she's been trying
out, trying out. And she tried out for this play. And we laughed and said, ah, it'd be fun.
That's your try out too. And I said, no, never mind. That's your, your gig, your thing. So then
our friend, Melissa Capri and I recommended me to the theater guild for their board. And some other
things that I get an email saying, hey, we need more male actors, more black male actors,
would you like to try out and read for the play? Why not? All right. To my daughter.
To my list was like, hey, if it works. And somehow they said I did good. And so now I have
the part as the narrator, but this narrator's on stage all the time. Yeah, this is like,
remember our town with a narrator was on stage the whole time. There's a couple of other
shows like that too with the narrator, narrator always stays on stage. Well, that's great. Now,
you didn't have your first performance yet. That's it. This Friday Thursday Friday. This Friday,
we opened the public. Yeah. Friday, a little nervous. Most definitely. See, this is the thing I
never understood how people remember their lines for a long show. I have one thing I've got to say
every break, local news and timeless hits. And it's got to be written in front of me. They actually
put it on a label. So I wouldn't forget it. One thing I got to remember and I can't remember that
without looking at it. I remember lines. And I think that the scariest thing is your line is
depended on the line. Well, you're a narrator, but when you're acting two people,
if the person across of you blows their line, your lines got to change because it won't make sense.
It's all about listening and responding and yeah, yeah, but Shubb has a lot of monologues. I mean,
that's pretty much what he's doing is monologues. And it's really cool because he's kind of representing
Muhammad Ali looking back on his childhood. Oh, is that what you're doing? Yeah. Okay.
Yes. And so he's speaking in the kind of that pattern that Muhammad Ali was kind of famous for,
that almost spoken word. I guess that's what you're calling nowadays. Okay. So the show is in this
corner, Cassius Clay. Yes. For people I know Cassius Clay later became Muhammad Ali, but do you know
I saw a movie. I actually have it on DVD with Jackie Gleason, Mickey Rooney, Julie Harris,
and Anthony Quinn. And the movie starts off from you're watching the boxing match from Anthony
Quinn's point of view. And he's being beaten to a pulp by Cassius Clay 1962. And on the poster
in the background says Cassius Clay against mountain Rivera. Yeah. That would have been right
after where this play ends, I think, because we're about the 1950s to the 1960 Olympics, I think.
Yeah. And this, yeah, he was in the movie Requiem for a heavyweight. Only at the beginning. Yeah.
And he has one line. He leans over and says, you okay? And he pulled it off.
So, and there were other shows called The Greatest based on Muhammad Ali's life. And he's,
I mean, he's larger than life. Yes, he is. He's the champ. Yes, he is. Okay. So with this play come
from. So this is written by Idris Goodwin. Idris is he actually does a lot of plays in breakbeat style
and rap style. So the spoken word that's kind of woven throughout this production makes sense in
Idris's style production, but it was created. I believe for a Kentucky theater where it started
because Cassius grew up in Louisville. And so it's about his life in Louisville, Kentucky in the 1950s.
And what the world was like at the time and the division and the segregation, but also about
this young boy that just like finds this passion for boxing after his bike is stolen. And that's
all based around the true fact is his bike was stolen and a local police officer kind of took him
under his wing and took him to the boxing ring and taught him what he knew. And so it's him from
about 11 years old to 19 or 20, I think. So we actually have two actors playing Cassius as he's
growing up as well, which is kind of great. And he looks so much alike. That's tough. We have
to find two people to look similar to each other. It was not going to work. So this runs. Let's get
the logistics. Yeah. So this run, it opens Friday, the 21st runs through March 2nd.
Because I have tickets for this and my wife said it's for this weekend.
Yes. Yes. So this is a two week run. So we call this one of our bonus shows. This is also a show
that we're going to perform for local schools. So we have four outreach performances where
students from different schools are going to come watch the cast. And then they get to have a
talk back afterwards, asking about all kinds of difference coming from your school. So I'm not
in a school right now, but I did drop it off to the old schools. He's better. Yeah. Okay.
Well, there he is. Let's just shoot here.
Well, this sounds exciting. Now if people take it still available, take it still available.
Now I have to warn people because this comes up. And I don't know how this started.
But if you want to buy tickets, buy it through the receiving theater guild. Not a secondary broker.
Because that's crazy what happened. People are paying over a hundred dollars for a ticket
when tickets are what? For this one, the top price is $20.
Yeah, $20. So if you're going to buy it, you buy it either directly at the box office or the
receiving theater dot org. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
Don't go to any secondary brokers or anything. Don't put in there and Google it. Just
receive theater dot org or schlep on down to the box. I'm sure these steps have been cleaned.
Yes, they have. So you can get up there.
I'm not clear. Okay. More to come up. We're talking to our guest,
a jaslin fish fish from the receiving theater guild and chef Mohamed, the narrator, one of the
stars of the newest production in this corner, Cassius Clay, more coming up in the moment.
It's 719 local news, timeless hit to WRTN on this president's day today. Sunshine with a
high near eight. Part of cloudy lows minus six tonight, sunny with a high near 10 tomorrow.
Right now, believe it or not, believe it or not, it's warming up since I got in here.
It's now zero with sunshine here at Radio Park.
I was going to say something and I'm not going to say it now. Okay, coming up, we'll give
you a ticket to Herman Termits and the association, the eight o'clock hour this morning,
so be here for that. Jaslin Fish is here right now, marketing director and director of development.
Yes, I got it. We received and we were righted down for the receiving theater guild and
chef Mohamed is here and he's one of the actors in the latest production in this corner,
Cassius Clay, which opens up Friday night, runs Friday, Saturday, Sunday, right?
And then runs another weekend, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Now, are you saying these lines in your sleep?
I did dream about it last night. To be honest, I was nervous about being here,
didn't make sure I had to lie.
I'm nervous about here. Yeah, you might ask me to recite a lie. I don't know.
Yeah, I'm going to ask you a trick question.
Now, we were talking during the break here about bit parts.
My next though neighbor is in a couple of bit parts in Chicago,
Chicago, Med and Chicago fire. And you knew that immediately when I said that.
Yeah. Are you in it? No.
No. Okay. No.
Any of your actors, your regulars in it?
We have some volunteers that go down and do that.
And actually, you know, it's interesting that you kind of talk about that because with this show,
we have 14 actors involved. And I would say about eight of them are involved in a lot
of different areas. And then there's like the other six are really supporting
characters that help shape different moments. So those people play multiple different roles
or are kind of even just like spectators and scenes because, you know, you think of
Cassius Clay was boxing in these giant arenas at the time or small crowds.
And so they're kind of there to support all the aspects of the show as well, which is great.
You knew that one did a bit part before. I've never done a bit part.
My aunt and uncle when they were tired living Las Vegas.
And they were in a ton of movies and TV shows because they film a lot of them out there.
They were in con air in a crowd scene. They're in the movie The Hangover.
Remember The Hangover? Yes.
No, they were seen there and when Bradley Cooper takes the car police car and he's riding it
on the sidewalk. My uncle and aunt have to get out of the way of the car. So we freeze frame
this so we can see that she filmed a bunch of scenes only one made it into the movie.
So they were in that their big scene was in a horrible movie with Johnny Depp.
Oh, I forget the name of the picture. It was the one where he played the writer.
I can't think of anything without thinking of it in just a second.
Anyway, Johnny Depp gets out of an elevator and my aunt is crying and he goes up to her and
you hear him thinking, I wonder what she's crying about. And he leaves over my uncle who's playing
at the cart table. And he leans over and says, huh, I wonder if he's got a winning hand.
So they're on big screen with Johnny Depp. That's their big claim.
But they were in a bunch of others too.
I saw a movie getting filmed once and I've told this story before. It was back in the 70s.
I was sitting up on the, this is in the Columbus Circle of Central Park West by Columbus Circle
of Manhattan. I'm sitting there on a bench and they see a big banner going across
the opening the central park and it says Palantine for president. And it was 1975.
Somebody may be running for president called Palantine. I see a bunch of cameras,
a bunch of people milling around and they're filming a commercial for Palantine.
What do I know? And I'm watching and I go about my business later on in the leave.
About six months later, I'm watching TV and they're reviewing the movie and I see Palantine
for president. I said, wait a second, Palantine for president. That sounds familiar. I can't,
where do they see Palantine? I know we didn't see the movie. It was Taxi Driver with Robert
Geniro. They were filming the scene where he's got the mohawk and he's got the gun sliding down
and say, but he wasn't a star at the time. And it over there was Albert Brooks,
Sybil Shepherd, Martin Scorsese, they were all there. But I didn't know any of these people.
They were pretty fresh people. But that's it. My father was on the set of Ghostbusters,
Manhattan screaming because they're causing traffic jams. But that's about it. You see occasionally,
you see movies. Okay. So I want to talk about this again. Now this takes place. This is if you're
just tuning in in this corner, Cassius Clay, beginning this weekend at the Racine Theater
Guild, tickets available. It runs for two weekends Friday, Saturday and Sunday. And that's your
only chance. Don't miss it. I didn't find it for this weekend. My wife said, so this takes place
from when he's a little kid up until he gets into the Olympics. Yep, Olympics. I think it ends
right around the 1960s Olympics. And you know, one really great thing about it is even though it's
the story of Cassius Clay, I personally did not know who Cassius Clay was until I read this script.
I didn't know that name. I did not know Cassius Clay. I was before before my time.
So it's been interesting to learn the history of Muhammad Ali, obviously. But also I think this
is a pretty universal story. I don't know if you agree with that, Chad, of what people might
kind of walk away with in the story itself, like that they can learn something from this story.
Oh, definitely can learn something from the story. I just his history and who and what and how he
became himself, but just out of times and what Black people had overcome. Yeah. So he grew up in
Louisville. Yes. No, they didn't say Louisville. I said, Louisville, like they say in Louisville.
He grew up there at normal family. Yeah. So his father and mother and younger brother actually
characters in the show as well. So yeah, they're there to support him. His father was a painter.
His mother was, you know, the homemaker, but she really supported. They actually really did
support his dreams overall, which was really interesting to fight in the ring though. He couldn't
fight outside the ring. He had to fight in the ring. Yeah. I remember I don't know why,
but when Cassius Clay fought Sunny Liston for the championship, we all went out to my father's
car. When they're listening, why didn't they know why we did listen to the radio in the house?
We all crowned in this car. And I remember it. And it was the first Friday I ever heard.
That was a little kid. And I heard him. He's bobbing and weaving. He's bobbing and weaving. He's
got a lot of tokens. And it was over and you could hear Muhammad Ali screaming or Cassius Clay at
the time. I am the greatest screaming it over and over. I am the greatest. He beats Sunny Liston.
Yeah. And I heard that on the radio. And up until a few years ago, when I told the story to
somebody, they said, why are you and you fall on this car listing? I said, I have no idea.
We had radios all over the house. But we went in the car. We got, well, crammed in there to
hear it on the radio in the car. I am the greatest. And that stuck with him for life. We got a lot
more to talk about him. I've got two Muhammad Ali stories to tell you. I've got, we're going to talk
about the next show coming up at the receiver theater. We got the children's theater. We got
jeans jazz. Well, you guys are busy. We're always busy. How's everybody rehearsing all at the same
time? We got three rehearsals. We got a stage or green room and even the lobby right now.
You do the lobby. So if I go there to the box office, I'll see a preview of the show in the lobby.
Well, it's like an eight o'clock night, but sure. I don't want to fall away. I live five minutes away.
I have to be over there and watch it in the lobby. Yeah. All right. Jocelyn Fish is here. She is the
marketing director and director of development at the receiving theater guild. Shabb Muhammad is
the narrator, one of the new stars, one of the new stars, one of the stars of the new production
in this corner, Cassius Clay. The latest production at the receiving theater guild opening
Friday in this corner, Cassius Clay. We've got one of the stars of the show. Shabb Muhammad is
here and also the marketing director and director of development for the receiving theater guild,
Jocelyn Fish is here as well. Talking about the show, I got to get my Muhammad Ali stories in.
Let's go. Yeah. By the way, the show is about Cassius Clay. Before he became Muhammad Ali,
this is leaning up. Does it take part when he's going to the Olympics or does he already?
He actually gets to the Olympics in the story as well. All right. So okay. So here's my
Muhammad Ali story and two of them. We're in Louisville. We went to the arc. You know what that
arc in the was arc, the actual replica. Okay. So we have some time to kill. So we go to the cemetery
in Louisville. And it's huge. It's 65 acres. It's gigantic. And I didn't know where I was.
So luckily I bumped into somebody who had an extra map. So we're looking for Muhammad Ali's
grade because he's buried there. And my wife found out that he wanted a very simple marker. He
didn't want a big elaborate thing, but his family didn't fulfill his wishes. And they built
this elaborate garden and everything. It's pretty big. And it's really nice. I mean, I was there
and that's where he's buried in Louisville. Also buried there not far from him is Colonel Sanders
from Kentucky Fried Chicken, Curlin, Han, Colonel Holland Sanders. Also buried right near him is
a woman named Patty Smith. Have you heard of her either? Patty Smith, Patty Smith and her sister
Mildred wrote a song. Happy birthday to you. And she's got a very simple marker and she's buried
right there. Does make any mention of the song. But if you see a movie where that song is sung,
you'll see Patty and Mildred Smith at the end of the film. As a simple lady, she was a school
teacher, one of your, your profession. And that's what she was. So that's pretty neat.
So the show is there and you're the narrator. So you were basically Muhammad Ali,
your cash is clay. I can't get used to that cash is clay from being a little kid on to
now you an adult. I'm an adult. You've seen it all. I'm looking back at retrospect. So
it's a reflection in a sense having a conversation with myself telling the story.
And that's good. That's like our town and there's a couple of shows that have narrators that
are on stage narrating the whole. And I think I've seen some of your shows like that before.
Yeah. And I think Shubbs character, especially in this story, you do not have to know boxing
to come see this show. I think that's one thing that it's about a person.
It's about a person. And I think Shubbs character especially helps tie that in together
of kind of the commentary about perseverance, about overcoming obstacles, about again,
the history of the world at the time and how different it was, how far we've come, how far we've
not come. And you know, just kind of that reflection on things is really great. And it makes it,
again, a little more universal than having to know a jab crosshook. Is that what it's called?
A jab is one punch across is another punch. I don't know the boxing world. I had one fight in my
entire life with a kid, one fight. And I'll tell you how it ended. I was in fifth grade.
The kid's name was Mickey Strange. That was his name. And for some reason, and we were good friends
at one time, you know, we went classes together and we got a picture of him on my phone and my
class picture. And one day he's telling everybody he's going to beat me up in the playground after
school for some reason. I don't know why. And he's, I was much taller than him. I do not think he
was going to fight me. And I was a, I was the school crossing monitor. So I go out there and
there's all the kids by the basketball court waiting for the big Vinauze school. Is this the
grammar school? I think we were 12, the 11, 12 years old. And he's waiting. And I see him there.
And he has his puts his school books down and I charge him. I don't think he had him. I just
charge him and push him right into the chain link fence and he starts crying and walks away.
That was it. I didn't want to punch him because I didn't want to hurt him. But I just
charged him and knocked him off his feet. He lost his wind. And that was my only fight.
That's it. There you go. Now you're a radio host.
I'm a lover not a fighter. What am I going to tell you? Here's my other Muhammad Ali story. Now
this happened a couple of years ago. My cousin is James Rosen. He used to work for Fox.
We're one of their correspondents in Washington. And he's coming out late at night. He sees this man
trying to cross the street. He's a little shaky. And he sees him crossing the street. He recognizes
him. And he comes up. He says, Hey, champ. Lots of help crossing the street. He goes, thank you.
When he took his arm and he walked the champ across the street. And he says, where are you going
to? The hotel? He said, yeah, they said, do you want me to walk you? He said, now I'm good from
here on. Thank you. It was Muhammad Ali. He recognized that he was all alone. And this is when
he just started to get the Parkinson's shaking and everything. So he was walking kind of slow.
My cousin recognized his champ. I'll walk you across the side. The champ, the greatest,
the Louisville lip. I have a few nicknames. So those are my two Muhammad Ali stories.
But so I always play this one degree or two degrees or three degrees of separation. Yeah.
And I I can you it's amazing how many degrees of separation. Now just by knowing me,
you're two degrees away from separation from Muhammad Ali. Because you know, I know my cousin
puts me one degree of separation away. And you're just two degrees. See how close it is.
Now your daughter, she's three degrees away. She knows you. I know my cousin.
Amazing how you can do something like that. Okay, so this show is in this corner,
Cassius Clay, and it runs two weekends starting this Friday. And you would never put on a bad
show. No, we were talking off the air. My wife and I saw over the river and through the woods.
We were, it's, we never heard of it before. Right. And a lot of these shows you never heard of,
like legally blonde, we've heard of, but you never heard of some, the big musicals you've heard of,
never heard of it. We loved it so much. We went home and she looked up on YouTube and found
two more productions in the show. Yours was much better. But there was a high school production,
which really pulled it off pretty well because, you know, 16 year old kids pulling off, you know,
old grandparents was pretty tough. They did it. And we saw another community theater production.
But I'm, I'm just blowing smoke here. Yours was the best. Great. I love it. And the actors
are used. You had one of the actors here in the studio. Yes, I did. And Venni. And Venni was
here. Yeah, that was great. Let's talk about some of the other shows coming up because I don't
want to run out of time here. The next show up is, oh, but by the way, when you had little women,
yes, I had never seen little women before. I've never seen it. I heard about it. So we watched
the production and then I had to go home and watch every version of the movie, even bought my wife
for Christmas, a leather bound version of little women. Yeah. And she likes the, what's it?
Shoshie Ronin, Shoshie Ronin version. She loved that. So I bought her that on the DVD.
But a good guy. I want to do that was inversion. I thought that was great. She didn't like this.
She thought it was too MGM-ish. Yeah. They really. Yeah, I kind of like that one the best though.
But you've got one coming up now. Always a bright. Always a bright made opens in April. So that's in
rehearsal right now. Michael Clickner is directing that one. And then actually this weekend, we have
auditions for legally blonde the musical. So right after we open cash is clay, we have legally blonde
auditions. So just like, I mean, one of the really great things about cash is clay is it is
almost everyone is new to the theater guild and or new to acting. So shamelessly,
lead blonde, you do not have to have done a show ever before. You can come in audition and then
that goes up May 16th through June 1st. You have to sing in dance, don't you? You can learn.
No, I can't learn. Come on, let's do it. My wife is teaching me the piano now. And I never realized
how difficult it was. Now I can play with my right hand. I can play with my left hand. I can't
do it together. I can't because I'm concentrating. And the notes on the treble clef and the bass
clef are in different positions. So the C and the G on the it's not in the same position on the
bottom. And I'm trying to analyze it. Now I can I can play the piano without looking at the keys.
But I can't play both hands at the same time. She said get you're getting there. So I now have to
play with my left hand. I play the right hand, but I can't seem to get it together. And I watch
people now. The guy at church who plays a piano on stage. I watch his hands. I say, this is
amazing. I said, how do you do it? And he said to me, I don't play well with my left hand. So I
keep it simple. So I don't have to concentrate on it. But you watch pianists on stage. Even lady
Gaga was she lady Gaga is an amazing pianist. And you watch her on stage for two hours. How
she getting these two hands to do the right now. Yeah, I then throw in the foot. Now when you do
legally blind, you can have a live. No, we will have tracks with that one. Yeah, sometimes you do
have like this summer, we were able to do a live band for first date. So that was nice because
it was like a five piece band. So but legally blind, we will have a track on that one. Okay, good.
We're talking to Jocelyn Fish and Shabohamed from the latest production of in this corner,
Cassius Clay. In this corner, Cassius Clay tickets are available right now. And I'm going to,
if you're just tuning in, the only way you should really buy it is if you go to the box office
in person. And what do you box office out? You open a lot. We're with Monday through Friday,
12 to 6 and then 90 minutes prior to each production. So yeah, so you can get the tickets
per cent or go online to recene theater dot org. Yes. Don't buy it to any third party people
because you're going to pay out of five times. Five times the amount. Yeah. And I can't believe
people do that. And it's it's all a scam. So yes, please, please, please buy from the receipt
that are killed. What do you hear my mother's story about the ticket scalping? Okay, I'll tell you
this thing. My mother, you know, when she lived in New York, she used to go to Broadway musicals a
lot. Broadway shows. And she was going to see the sound of music with Richard Chamberlain playing
on Broadway. And they're waiting at the tickets booth for the tickets. And the line is from
here to Kingdom come and to make sure she gets the ticket. Some guy comes up to her and says,
you're going to see the sound of music today. I have two tickets for the matinee.
And my mother says, listen, I live here. I'm here all the time. If these tickets are no good,
I will find you. And you're going to be sorry. I guarantee my mother worked for the department
to consume her affairs. She takes down corporations. She doesn't need this little scalper.
He says, no, these are good. He says, I hope they are because I will find you turns out
they work good. But a lot of times they aren't. But you know, you get these visitors to New York.
They don't realize it that there are mean people out there. I think picture my mother, I will find
you. These tickets are no good. And he said, no, that's good. Now it's good. I scared to death.
But so only buy them through the recene theater.org website or through the box office.
Don't go to any third party people to buy them. Correct. Because you're going to pay five times the
amount. Yes. Yes. Okay. The latest show. But before we get to the recap of the show, let's talk
about the children's theater. Yes. So children's theater, March 7 through the 9th. We have
a little red riding hood. It's a Panto coming up. So they're in rehearsals for that, which will
be great. And again, those are nice because those are $7 to take it an hour long. And then the kids
get to meet the cast and crew or the cast afterwards and take photos. And it's a lovely little
day out for kids. Now you went kids. You went kids in the Christmas page and show we did. And
actually two of those actors are in cashless clay. Oh, wow. Yes. Yeah. They I can't believe
these kids really know how to. I mean, that's amazing. I do pull that off. So that's the
red riding hood. That's a children's theater. March 7 through the 9th. Yes. And again,
they can get tickets. We got a whole bunch of shows coming up. Children's theater.
Actually, that's our last one of this season. Oh, that doesn't say June. That's a Juney
bees. I thought that's a June. That was in January. That's fine. I know. I know nothing.
Yeah. Okay. So that's that you got legally blonde coming up. And you've also got the
always bridesmaid always the bridesmaid. So people can buy tickets for that. Now the new season
begins in September, right? Or is it before September? July technically. So we will be announcing next
year season, March 11th. So you will be on this radio station. I assume. Yeah, probably the day
after a couple of days after the couple. No, no, no, no. Okay. I guess I'm here. March 12th.
Probably a couple of days. Everybody knows. I don't want a couple of days. I'm doing a couple.
They got jeans. Jazz coming up. Yes. Our next one is the extra crispy brass band. So that's
New Orleans Jazz style coming on April 5th. That's your crispy March 15th. And then April 19th is
Janet Planet is coming back to town to close out. Oh, that's right. Janet Planet. I can't
and that's a real name, huh? Yeah. That's her stage. Yeah. Oh, it takes them. Okay. Janet Planet.
Okay. That's what a great name that. Yeah. Okay. In this corner, Cassius Clay, for people just
tuning in because of people tuning in about all morning long, this is the latest show from the
Racine Theater Guild for the next two weeks. It takes place of Cassius Clay as a little boy
leading up to the Olympics. Yes. After the Olympics. And stops just before it becomes a heavy
weight fighter. Pretty much. Yes. Yeah. And so it's been a really great production to come together
because again, we have a lot. We have a first time director with us. Sean Holmes. He's been on
stage at the theater guild and he's taken on this crazy challenge of this show because with
so many new people, there's just extra learning curves to things, which is wonderful because
everyone's on the same page of we're all trying something new. We're all on this together.
We're all a team to support each other, but it's a little chaotic. But it's been on. I don't know.
The Habit Ali is such an interesting figure and to see him captured in reality, I think is
really interesting. I don't know if you have anything else to add to that.
Yeah, I could add.
By this newness. Now, Shed Mohammed, you're the narrator of the show. You're on stage the entire
time. And this is your first acting job. And I'm looking at your person. Well, okay, we did find
that. We did do a bit part. Small bit back in college with the Corey's. Corey's.
Corey, Corey, Corey and Corey. Well, we found that.
We found that. Thanks. Hey, man, Mario Lopez from St. John. Okay. And the track team had to race
Corey. Hey, man. We got beat by the guy. And we's like, nah, but to one scene was like two hours.
Yeah. For 20 seconds. My name is up in the credits. A little one of my friends. Do you
know where you convincing in the role? I believe it was. To pull it off, pull it off, pull
it off, pull the hamstring. Yeah. Okay. So you're the narrator. You're on stage the whole
time and you are looking back at your life. It's the reflection looking back, telling the
story from afar, but in the conversation. And so like you all said, this newness, Sean
is the new director. This has had me and many of the actors out of our, out of my realm,
from being a leader in education to being the student. And like I said, Melissa, a friend
my lady, she's, you got to practice this way. You got to do it there with anyone that
know how stubborn I am. This has been a humbling experience because you, you have to look at,
this is somebody else's image of what's going to, this show is going to be. They have
an image of how this show is going to play out. And it's not necessarily your image.
And so they have a vision for this show. And your vision better line up with their vision.
It's not even my vision better. What is your vision, Sean? And Jocelyn and the whole
video team has been gracious, very helpful. We get rehearsal reports. And then you know,
you read it every night and just been on the stage with my daughter and watching her. And now
she's saying, Dad, you should try it this way. Is she in the show? She's in the show.
Oh, okay. Oh my goodness. She getting criticism from the director and the daughter.
And Melissa, I take piano lessons with a 12 year old girl. And she's doing, she's, she's,
she's got musicality. So she can figure this out real quickly where I don't have musicality.
And she sits there at the piano. Let me show you how to do it. Do it this way. And when I'm
practicing, she look, I can see her looking at me. And she's very judgmental on how she's,
she's a wonderful kid. I love this kid. But she's, she keeps her eye on me all the time.
And so I can imagine when it's like, how old is your daughter? 21. Oh, 21.
She's really judgmental. Young Muhammad Ali played by Skyler. And sometimes I give him a ride
from Kenosha. And he's like, you should try it this. Have you? That's what that's what my piano
lessons are like. It's Skyler Blue. I think it's his first play. He's only done musicals before.
And then a Quill who plays a little older, a Quill is a student senior at Case High School. And
so he's done a lot of shows at Case. When you find these young actors should be able to
activate before they came out to audition. We did have to do a little bit of recruiting with this
one. But we've got a lot of one of the great things about our board and a lot of our volunteers
is we have a lot of great connections. So like Nate Stanford, for instance, who is the drama director
at Case. He's done a lot of shows at the theater guilt. So he was able to get us connected with
the one when I watched the show. And I see one of the actors who was in the studio. And I
want to know that guy. I met that woman. I know that woman. I met that woman. Look at her. She's
on state. And it's I know you're like different people. Because you're actually is simply you've
played different people before I came in this morning. I was getting dressed and they had dog day
afternoon on Turner Classic movies. I was watching it while I was getting dressed this morning coming
in at like four in the morning. They had it on. And I'm watching out the chino and
the gazelle, John gazelle on there. And I'm saying, these guys do it. They're different in every
movie. They're in. I mean, I don't know how they pull this acting off. And I'm watching
the chino. You know, he just plays the bank, right? It's a real life story too. He's playing a
real life bank robber. The chase Manhattan bank in Brooklyn. And I don't know how these actors
do it. How they become different different people and everything they do. And you you know,
you're seeing theater gold veterans there. Yes. I've seen a lot of shows and they're never the same.
Yes. It's it's pretty incredible. And that's why we love talented people. And they all give you
know again, they're all giving their time and their dedication to this. They're all volunteers.
They've got other things happening in life. And then they come and they've got a show to concentrate
on for a couple of hours a night and and a month of rehearsal. And then it's going to open
in the public on Friday. Everybody, anybody ever chicken out at the last minute.
Not not that I know if I hope it doesn't happen soon.
And it's not like a regular stage where you can, you know, duck behind the curtain.
Right. There is no curtain. Yeah. So it didn't around almost. Yeah. And it's you know,
it's not only the acting we were just talking about when Shab got here this morning. It's
now the props are being added and now the costumes are being added and all the lights, all the sound
effects. And so not only are you remembering your lines and then all of a sudden you have these
other external stimuli coming into the scene. Yeah. It's like you can't speak until the light is on
you. Remember, poltergeist? Now I can speak into the light. You know, it's funny. I saw the movie
Red White. What's it? Green and gold yesterday. The green and the gold. And it stars Craig T Nelson.
And all I kept picturing during the entire you move the cemetery, but you didn't move the
bodies from poltergeist. Well, quit review now. The show opens up this Friday. It's called in
this corner with two weekends actually Friday Saturday Sunday. And in this corner, Cassius Clay.
It's a story about Cassius Clay, Muhammad Ali from Boyhood up until the Olympics before he was
known as Muhammad Ali. And the narrator of the show is on stage the whole time. And that's
Cheb Muhammad. He's going to be in the show. Jocelyn will not be in the show. Jocelyn is the
director of marketing and also of development for the Racine Theatre Guild. And Doug
Instantance, who puts us all together, because he's the artistic director of the show. He's been
there for, he's he's over a hundred shows, like 104 shows and three shows now over 30, almost 32
years. And you recently lost one of your veterans. Yes, we did. We lost, well, actually we've lost
a couple in the three in the last few months. So Normic Fee are. Yeah, no.
The artistic director from 1969 to 2000 passed away in November. And then we actually lost one of
our life members. So we have volunteers who have dedicated years and years of service to the
Theatre Guild. And one of our life members, Ron Helverson passed away at the end of January.
Yes. And Ron was in a lot. A great actor. Oh, really? He was a lawyer in his real life and
was an actor from the 80s, too. He was in a ton of shows. Oh, I'm sorry to hear that.
Yes. And Normic Fee was in here many times. Yes, I heard you said. Oh, man. But, you know,
time moves on. Time moves on. And they left their mark. They left their mark. And, you know,
again, we're we're always building
