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diversions
Carr drives to
land of retirement
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By Cynthia Tom
On-line Forty-Niner
Once upon a time,
Ashley Carr, Jr. was a bunny.
That was when he
was eight, and now, at 62, he's set to retire as theatre arts
professor and head of acting and resident actor/director of
California Repertory Company after 18 years with Cal State
Long Beach.
Born in El Dorado,
Arkansas, Carr remembers his first taste of show business
at a local elementary school.
"When I was
in third grade, I played a bunny," Carr said. "I
remember hopping around and giving everyone else their lines
because I knew the whole thing. I guess that was just the
actor/director in me."
At the time, though,
Carr was more interested in playing the trumpet, something
he had enjoyed since the age of six. It wasn't until his senior
year of high school when he had to do an acting presentation
that he was re-introduced to acting. Still, during his freshman
year at Hendrix College in Conway, AK, Carr had to be talked
into auditioning for "Boy With A Cart," by the head
of the drama department. He won the part.
Carr was also selected
as a first chair trumpet player for the Arkansas Intercollegiate
Band for two years, but his love of theater began to surpass
his love of music.
"By the end
of [my time at] Hendrix, I knew I wanted to act," said
Carr, who later earned a maser's of fine arts degree from
the Yale School of Drama. "Right out of grad school I
went to New York and worked as a professional actor for seven
years.
However, it was
his role as "Michael" in "Boys in the Band"
at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas that led him to Los Angeles.
An agent and drama teacher from Los Angeles saw Carr in his
role as "Michael" and told him to come to Los Angeles.
Carr did move to
Los Angeles, but he did not like what he saw.
"I started
to ask myself, 'Am I doing what I want to do, or what people
say I should want?'" Carr said. He took a hiatus from
acting and spent the next three years in various odd jobs,
trying his hand as a waiter, a construction work and a dog
groomer.
"I began to
reassess my life, and a friend gave me a tip for an opening
at UCI as a lecturer in the drama department," said Carr,
who spent seven years at UC Irvine before resigning as head
of acting. "I went to Hollywood and had my ego smashed
for two years. I worked as a production assistant on B-movies
and as an assistant set decorator before I decided Hollywood
had too much ego, and I wanted to be a postman."
A three-year stint
as a postman in Altadena followed, during which Carr overcame
alcohol addiction.
"I realized
the only joy I had came from teaching with the creative freedom
to direct and act," Carr said. He came to CSULB in 1984.
During his 18 years
at CSULB, Carr helped develop the Master's program and had
a hand in starting the Uprising Theatre, a campus-based venue.
He estimates he has directed 50 plays and acted in 25 in the
Long Beach area.
Carr also taught
at Shanghai Theatre Academy in China and has won three Drama-Logue
Awards: two for his roles in "Educating Rita" and
"Biloxi Blues," respectively, and a directing award
for "Hamlet."
"There's a
little bit of me in every play that I work on," Carr
said. "Everytime any play is done, it's the creation
of the unique performers. Ultimately, it's individual interpretation.
No two Hamlets are alike."
Though Carr has
directed over 100 productions and acted in over 150 by his
count, there are still a few roles he'd like to play. "I
would have loved to play the father in 'Long Day's Journey
Into Night,' Willy Lowman in 'Death of a Salesman' or King
Lear," Carr said.
Still, he's not
complaining.
"The best
gift has been 25 years in a creative environment where I get
to teach, direct and act." Carr said. "The whole
thing is one big gift."
However, it is
Carr's students who feel lucky.
"I've learned
more in Ashley's classes than I have in the past five years,"
said Wendy Chaves, a junior theater major. "The most
important thing he's taught me is how to bring the 'somebody'
out in me so I'm more than a 'nobody.' He's not only the best
professor I've ever had, he's a great mentor and role model.
I feel so blessed to know him."
Chaves isn't alone
in those feelings.
"Ashley cares
when others don't," said Anna Renaud, a junior English
education major who has worked on three productions with Carr,
including his last with the department, "Peer Gynt."
"He's incredibly
encouraging and he has a special way to inspire everyone.
He's the reason why I got involved with stage managing. It's
a learning experience just to watch him. We're losing someone
with a lot of knowledge and experience."
Carr laughs when
he thinks of how different his life is from what he thought
it was going to be. "I was in love with music, but then
I realized I was more in love with theater. Then, I never
intended to teach; I was gonna be an actor. Something else
was there all along."
As for future plans,
Carr calls retirement an adventure and is waiting to see,
just like everyone else, where that road will take him.
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