About the Author
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Tom Loughlin
I have always been fascinated by that quote from Shakespeare’s MacBeth. He has so many quotes in his plays which relate to life on the stage, it is hard to choose among them, but this one seems to me to be the summation of them all.
Basic biodata: I am Distinguished Teaching Professor of Theatre Arts/Acting and Chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance at the State University of New York at Fredonia, which is located about 50 miles SW of Buffalo NY, and is as far west in the state as you can get. I have been at my current position since 1988, and have had several roles within the college. I took a yearlong sabbatical and from June 2005-June 2006 I toured and was in residence with the American Shakespeare Center (see below). I also work as a professional actor in the city of Buffalo NY on occasion. Born in New York City of an Irish father and a Puerto Rican mother, I have spent my adult life as a teacher of acting mixed with whatever acting opportunities I could get. My wife and I have raised three children, the youngest of which thinks he wants to become an actor (the sins of the father…). I have a particular expertise in Shakespearean performance, and an abiding interest in computer technology. My initial homepage appeared in February of 1996, but with the advances in technology, I have shifted my emphasis in homepage design to the blog format. You may see my academic vitae here.
This blog had its origins in August of 2005, when I began a blog designed to document my experiences as a member of the American Shakespeare Center’s Blackfriars Stage Company Atomic Fission Tour. When that job ended in June of 2006, I decided to continue my blogging as a way to develop my writing skills and start setting down many of the thoughts and musing I have had about theatre into a more concrete form.
This blog is my poor attempt to reflect on my own journey over 30+ years of a life in the theatre. I have been acting in some fashion or another since the age of 7, and while I cannot say I’ve ever made a living at it, there is no question that the theatre has been the predominant activity of my life’s journey thus far. I have mixed the life of an actor with the life of a teacher of acting, and over time I have developed a backlog of thoughts, ideas, techniques and opinions about the state of American theatre. Here you may read about them. -Tom Loughlin
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