Bob Long On Wednesday, December 21st at 1:00 pm, many Belleville Theatre Guild members gathered together at Burke's Funeral Home to honour and celebrate the life of Bob Long. Dave Henderson spoke on behalf of the Guild. Below are some of the thoughts he shared with us. People would always marvel about how Bob was involved in so many aspects of the Theatre Guild. He has been on the Board for countless years, he was a fixture in the box office and a pillar of the Guild, offering advice and suggestions about how to increase subscriptions, remembering technical wizardry from past productions, and taking the time to get to know something about the individuals who make up the Guild. A common quote from so many people was, "What would the Theatre Guild do without Bob? How would we ever manage?", not thinking that it would ever happen. I suspect we are about to find out that it will take the work of a very dedicated committee of people to even attempt to do everything that Bob did. If you have ever helped with set painting on the weekend, you would have no doubt received a pop-in visit from Bob. He might have been worried about declining subscriptions-he was always worried about declining subscriptions-or he might have been very upbeat about individual ticket sales for a certain show. I remember just a few weeks ago when he approached me about 'Little Women'. His face was beaming as he told me that a private girl's school visiting Belleville for a tournament had just bought out an entire row at one of the early performances. That was the sort of thing that made his day. During those visits or at Board meetings, he would love to tell old war stories about past great, or not-so-great productions-he often mentioned Oedipus and The Critic as something we shouldn't revive-and he always loved to talk about the little things that can go wrong in a production that make live theatre so thrilling and memorable. Bob just loved those stories! Having been a Stage Manager and a Technical Director, Bob knew about many aspects of a production. Moira told me that he was her first stage manager for Pirates of Penzance. Apparently, in Bob's earlier days as a stage manager, he would get frustrated if an actor missed a cue or jumped a whole page or scene. "Why can't they just get it right?" Then he went on stage in Jamie Boy. When he returned to Stage Managing, apparently he was much more forgiving of actors who mess up! In 1988 he tried to combine Stage Managing and Acting in Bye Bye Birdie. Unintentionally, he became part of one of those theatre legends he loved to talk about so often. Racing from the booth to appear on stage as the mayor, he suddenly became ill during intermission. In Act II, Mayor Bob became Mayor Phil (who just happened to be sitting in the audience), and the show went on, as it always must. Perhaps this isn't the most heart-warming example of life in the theatre, because it involves him becoming ill. But he did recover, and it is a good example of how we all pull together and help each other when times get tough. Bob concentrated his efforts on helping to run the theatre by taking over the role of Box Office and subscriptions on the Board. Over the years, he has taken on an enormous amount of responsibility. He organized the seating for subscribers like a jigsaw puzzle. He knew everything about our subscribers, who couldn't climb stairs because of arthritis, who needed special assistance, and who liked to sit with whom. He was also good about encouraging others to join and get involved in the Guild. He successfully cajoled Joan into helping out with opening night receptions and with many other activities. He co-chaired, with Pat Gray, the very successful Theatre Ontario Festival held at the Empire theatre. This was a huge project, but typical of how he would go above and beyond to do things for the good of the Guild. For his contributions to theatre in Belleville over the years, another pillar of the BTG, Jim Alexander, nominated Bob for the Quinte Arts Council Award noting that "the success of our operation was due in large part to Bob, even though it's the actors who get the standing ovations." In her testimonial, Lise Lindenberg said that Bob "keeps the Guild on an even keel...he is kind, patient, and extremely hard-working. He has a keen mind and...works all summer for no compensation in order to get the subscriptions ready for September." All of us on the Board have titles and some sort of job description, even if it doesn't always match what we actually do. Bob's title was Member at Large for Box Office and Subscriptions.But of course, he was much more than that. I was talking to Lise last night and we tried to come up with something that better described what he did and what he meant to us. Not the "CEO", not the "Business Manager"; we thought of "Gatekeeper", but none of these seemed quite right, although all were true. Perhaps remembering his role in Bye Bye Birdie, Lise concluded that Bob was the Mayor of the small town that inhabits the Pinnacle Playhouse. He was the type of Mayor you might see on stage in a heart-warming musical or in a old-fashioned movie — the Mayor who knows everyone, the Mayor who is the public face, one who knows the needs of the citizens, a master of finances, and, most of all, a mayor with a vision who can learn from the past, but who is always looking forward to and caring about the future. We will all have to do all that we can in order to carry Bob's legacy forward at the Guild. We have very big shoes to fill. Even though it will be difficult, the show must go on, as he knew. Joan, thank you again for the opportunity to speak on behalf of the Guild and to let you know how much Bob meant to us and how much we will miss him, and we want you to know that we hope you will continue to be part of our family in the future. Dave Henderson, President, BTG   close