University of Virginia Library

THE CENTER

Shooting For The Hattan Trick

WELLS

INCLUDED IN THE VIRGINIA SWEEP
at the regional competition in Greensboro was a personal victory
for third-year drama major Mark Hattan, who walked away with
"best actor" honors for his portrayal of Corbaccio, the decrepit
raven of Volpone. Along with the prestige of being selected came a
$500 Irene Ryan acting scholarship and the right to compete for
a $2000 Irene Ryan Scholarship during the ACTF at the Kennedy
Center.

Irene Ryan, in case you've forgotten, played Granny Clampett
on the CBS television series, "The Beverly Hillbillies," for many
years, fixing such "vittles" as possum bellies and hog jowls for
Jed, Elly May, and Jethro, who somehow miraculously survived
her gastronomic assault on them each week.

Last year she established a scholarship fund for aspiring young
actors, and left specific instructions for its continuance in the
event of her death. Thus, when she died three days before the
finals of this year's competition on April 29, the program
proceeded on schedule.

Thirteen regional winners from all parts of the country –
California, Minnesota, Texas, Rhode Island, Alaska – gathered at
the Eisenhower Theatre rehearsal hall the Saturday afternoon
before their Sunday evening competition to run through their
six-minute presentations for stage manager Chris Arnold, who sat
off to one side, stopwatch in hand.

Hattan didn't appear too concerned about the competition,
feeling that with 12 opponents vying for two scholarships, the
odds weren't too favorable for anybody.

His two scenes —

one from Peter Shaffer's The Royal
Hunt of the Sun, the other from graduate drama student
Ed Steele's The Carrot Shredder – were not the best
showcases for his talent. He wasn't able to achieve a
sense of oneness with the characters he was playing. The
maturity of presence and the meticulous attention to
detail, so finely developed in his Corbaccio, were here
sadly lacking.

"It's not as if I have to win the money to stay in school," he
said gratefully. "If that were the case, I guess I would be tense."

But Hattan was viewing the situation realistically. At best, he
had a one-in-thirteen shot going in. After previewing the caliber
of the competition, though, it was clear that he wouldn't even be
a top contender.

Yet an effort was still to be made.

The Sunday night competition was billed as "An
Evening of Scenes," and tickets were sold to the public
at regular Festival prices. Not exactly the hottest ticket
in town, the audience was comprised mostly of friends
of local competitors (of which Hattan, of course, was
one) and Festival participants.

Hattan (accompanied by grad student David Cupp)
performed his scenes better than he had at Saturday's
rehearsal, but it was still not good enough.

There was some confusion surrounding the
announcement of the winners, as ACTF executive
producer Frank Cassidy introduced Helen Hayes to
present the awards, then proceeded to do the honors
himself as she stood there smiling. Both of the victors
were good, solid choices on the part of the ten judges.
And neither was named Hattan.

Back at George Black's hotel room, the drinks were
flowing almost as fast as the negative comments about
the winners. To anyone who has spent some time around
theater people, this should hardly seem surprising, for
there is never (repeat, never) any decision of this nature
which meets with their collective approval, especially if
they've had a favorite son in the running. And if you say
you liked a certain performance, you can bet that
someone will say, "Oh, I thought he was terrible!,"
unless you're a journalist and the person you're talking
to wants to play games with you as David Weiss did
when he stated flatly, "If you want a quotable quote,
you ain't going to get one," which itself is supremely
quotable.

As for Hattan, he seemed to be less disappointed
than anybody. "We didn't work on the scenes all that
much," he declared. Then, referring to Volpone, he
added, "We had more important things to worry about."

For a second, he contemplated what he had said,
remembering the $2000 scholarship he might have won.

Then a third thought came to him: "If my old man
heard me talking like this, he'd kill me."

Or feed him hog jowls for breakfast.