Warming Up

BY GEOFF YOUNG, TUFTS STUDENT, 1996-2000, ACTOR, NEW YORK CITY, NY
What a treat to read through these poignant and hilarious memories of Tony. He deserves nothing less. I think his character has been amply and accurately evoked, so I will stick with just a couple anecdotes:

I was a quiet and somewhat invisible theater nerd my sophomore and junior years at Tufts. I'd taken classes, auditioned for some big shows, and got into some small ones. Tony was, of course, an intimidating presence, but i was relieved to detect a certain warmth when he turned those icy eyes on me. There was a mutual understanding, I think, as he found with so many other students... I'm so thankful that he worked to cultivate it with me and everyone else.

Second semester of my junior year was tough for me in terms of acting. I was in a few poorly received shows, one of which was both embarrassing (for what I had to do) and grueling. I had gone up to Tony's office for some official business (i think i had to get a signature), and as i was leaving he asked me, simply, "How is everything?" And he had that knowing, almost impish smirk that we have all seen... always suggesting he has something up his sleeve. I responded, "Not great. These shows I'm doing are not too good." His eyes squinted a bit,and he said, "Well, we'll see if we can do something about that next year."

I knew then he had a place for me in his show the following fall, and that lifted my spirits immeasurably at that moment. He had bestowed on me an acknowledgement of talent... it felt so good.

On the other hand, during that show ("Love for Love") the following year, I felt the burden of his amazing capacity to take you down a notch if you needed it, always in the most subtle of ways. We were rehearsing the very beginning of the show, which we had done a number of times, and after the specified section was completed, he gave some notes to my fellow actor and then, after a pause, said to me, "Geoffrey, I think you want to give Valentine a little more energy right from the top." Another pause. "Otherwise, you're just warming up on our time."

It was harsh, and it was true, and he couldn't have said it better. He has been an absolute treasure in my life.