Seth Truby

In the 2009 Irish Revels, the old wiring in the Scottish Rite Theater got overwhelmed by the demands of our lightboard and during one show we lost all of our stage lighting. The house lights came up and all the magic of a live performance was suddenly drained away. Without missing a beat, Robert addressed the audience in full character with a very convincing Irish brogue “You just can’t count on this newfangled electricity – it’s always going out since we had the wires put in last year!”  (The show was set in 1935). He turned around and enthusiastically started the chorus right where we had left off. We brought the audience along with us for the ride for the rest of the show, and our energy from the stage made up for the lack of lighting. It ended up being the most memorable performance of the entire run.

The main thing almost anyone remembers about Betsy’s performances in the Revels is her brilliant smile that just fills an entire theater with her love of music. What they may not realize is how many different roles she filled behind the scenes for 20 years to make the Revels magic happen: choosing band members, researching repertoire, arranging music for both instrumentalists and the choir, providing live music for dance rehearsals, making sound effects for the mummer’s play, managing seamless transitions between stage action, dialogue and music, and making new and returning Revelers feel welcomed into our community with her warm, fun, and loving presence.