<< Back 10/9/02 HART’s shooting star By David Teague Rudy Roberson is only halfway through his two-week stint in the Haywood Arts Repertory Theatre’s production of “Parade,” but that’s not the only thing keeping him busy. In the week since the show opened, he has also taught two acting classes and two movement classes at the Performing Arts Center and sung at several area churches. On Sunday afternoon, he thrilled an audience of more than 60 people at HART with a sampling of the show tunes he performs regularly in New York City nightclubs. This week, he plans to visit at least three area schools. For more than 25 years, Roberson, a Greensboro native, has been based in the Big Apple, making his living in the entertainment business, and he takes advantage of every opportunity he can to show people why he loves it. “There are two things I love, my family and performing,” Roberson said Sunday. “There’s nothing about this business that I don’t do, whether it’s theater, singing, dancing, and there’s nothing that I don’t like doing. It’s the only thing I ever wanted to do.” Roberson also is an accomplished musician who writes his own songs and is equally adept at playing the piano or the guitar. If he weren’t in the middle of his role as Jim Conley in “Parade,” in fact, he’d be trying to get rolling on his first recording. “I’m trying like crazy to work on a CD,” he said. “If I could get that recorded, I could send it to Europe, maybe start getting some work over there.” Roberson’s interests don’t end there. If he’s not acting, he’s looking for auditions. If he’s not auditioning, he’s calling up contacts to return to his nightclub gig. He teaches classes, gives voice lessons, does voice-overs for films and pursues television roles. While he may be fueled by a passion to perform, Roberson also knows it’s a business and how much he’s working is directly related to how much effort he’s putting into it. “I am always looking for work; I’m never not looking,” he said. “You don’t go to bed wondering did I do good enough on that audition today, you get up wondering what else can I look for today.” That means always being ready for anything. “If they ask you ‘can you dance?’ — Yes. ‘Are you in shape to dance?’ — Yes,” Roberson said. “You never say I have got to have THIS job, your energy has got to go toward performing when you are doing it. You have to have this feeling all the time that you are in the right place.” Roberson, who has a masters degree in acting, has found himself in the right place several times throughout his career. In addition to his work on Broadway and other theater work, his television credits include hit shows like “Law & Order,” “Sesame Street,” and several soap operas. His appearance in “Parade” is a milestone of sorts for HART. It marks the first time the community theater has hired a professional actor to play a role. The Tony-winning play is about one of the most famous trials in America’s history, when a strong wave of anti-Semitism helps convict the wrong man of the murder of a 13-year-old Atlanta girl. Roberson’s character, Conley, manages to escape detection as the real culprit. HART Executive Director Steve Lloyd said the decision to move in this direction was made largely because he was not able to find actors in this region who were strong enough to play the role of Conley. Working with someone with a professional resume like Roberson’s has helped push the cast of about 50 actors to new heights, Lloyd said. “I think he has helped push the cast to do better work,” said Lloyd. “Nobody in the cast wants to look bad next to him, so he’s pushed everybody into working harder.” For Roberson, the opportunity of playing Conley, and of working for Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre over the summer, has come at a good time, when work in New York has become more difficult to find. Part of that, he believes is a result of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. “There were several shows that were rehearsing before 9/11 that never started back,” he said. “I think it has had a big effect on the economics of New York.” For performers like Roberson, that means expanding horizons to see what other opportunities are out there. He spent about eight weeks working in Boston, then three months in Washington, D.C. Most of the summer was spent working with SART at Mars Hill College, then he came to Waynesville. If the right opportunity comes his way, Roberson said he wouldn’t mind making North Carolina his home once again. “I’m looking for a new base,” he said. “It kind of burdens you, not being with your family. But the people here have been wonderful.” “Parade” ends its run this weekend with performances at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 11-12 and 3 p.m. Oct. 13 at the Performing Arts Center at 250 Pigeon St. in downtown Waynesville. Tickets for the show are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and $4 for students. For more information call 828.456.6322.