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July 29, 2008

Frailty, Yearning and Humor

I did manage to attend Danny's memorial. It was incredibly moving. And packed. There were at least 200 people there. I cried a lot. (A lot.) I laughed a lot. I saw old friends and (partly) caught up on their lives. I heard stories about Danny from some of the people who knew him best.

There were several speakers at the memorial, and despite our each having "our own Danny," the same set of words came up over and over again in rememberance after remembrance. Curiosity. Loyalty. Humor. Openness. Generosity. Humanity. "Lovely rowdiness," a turn of phrase the minister in charge of the ceremony used in her eulogy. These are the things that drew people to Danny, the things that made us love him. But the description I remember best of all came from a letter written by Mark Cuddy, former Artistic Director of the Idaho Shakespeare Festival.

I don't recall the exact wording of his letter, only the three words he used to describe Danny's work and what made it great. What made all of his characters so beautifully, approachably, strikingly human. "His frailty, his yearning and his humor." He brought those qualities with him onstage every day, regardless of whether he was playing a king or a fool, and he brought them to the rest of his life as well.

Until I heard those three words, "frailty, yearning and humor," I hadn't been able to do more than paint Danny's work in generalities. But that description hits the nail right on the head. It captures the vital, living elements of Danny's characters, of his own character. And gives me a direction to shoot for as an artist myself. Which is what I have taken away from my great fortune in working with Danny. It showed in the work I did this past year, it showed in my teaching, and I'm hoping that I'll be able to point to it in years to come and say, "That? That I learned from one of the best people it has been my great good fortune to know and to work with in my life."

I'm so glad I had the chance to work with Danny when I was able to understand how much of a a gift that opportunity was.

Posted by sally at July 29, 2008 03:56 PM

Comments

Hi Sally-
I'm sorry to hear your friend died. It's weird who dying will (or will not) shake us up, you know? I'm ashamed to say I've lost close family members, and it felt---expected, I guess. Then, I'll hear about someone dying that I wasn't close to in the traditional sense, and I feel wracked with grief. I think we choose our own families in the world, and it can be a crushing blow when we lose one of our 'hand picked people'. Still--it's a good guiding light that we're headed in the right direction. I think things like that help keep you on your true path. Ok---I'll hush now. Bye! Laura

Posted by: OohLaLaura [TypeKey Profile Page] at July 30, 2008 09:08 AM

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