Published: December 01, 2008 10:21 pm      

Former TWV dancer pleads for solution

Before other space turned up, Joan Mills and her fellow dancers had no choice but to rehearse in the hallway of a Beckley newspaper building.

This was 1961, and the cast of “Honey in the Rock” was gearing up at a dizzying pace for the Civil War drama’s debut at Cliffside Amphitheater, a few miles outside Beckley in Grandview State Park.

For Mills, those harrowing moments across the maiden season of Theatre West Virginia’s first production paid huge dividends in life.

“I could write volumes on the memories and impact ‘Honey’ has had on me,” says Mills, who graduated a year later at Woodrow Wilson High School, back in the days when it occupied a slice of Park Avenue.

“I would have probably achieved my goal of teaching dance in public schools without ‘Honey.’ I just wouldn’t have been as good at it. All the academics, the professors and books can’t match the experience of doing it, six nights a week for 10 weeks for six summers.”

Now, the show is in trouble, with TWV mired in a financial quagmire precipitated by a $100,000 cut in its state funding.

TWV’s board has voted unanimously to close the company and auction off its assets.

Gov. Joe Manchin has offered to help, if possible, and this week, Education and Arts Secretary Kay Goodwin is due in Beckley to meet with TWV officials, first to examine the books, and secondly, to ascertain if the shows can go on.

Is a bailout possible?

Manchin hasn’t pledged anything, only to send a team to see if a solution is possible.

“I hope a solution is found to keep the shows going,” Mills told The Register-Herald.

“I am so looking forward to a 50th reunion.”

Beckley produced two daily newspapers in that era — The Post-Herald and Raleigh-Register — and, under the ownership of the Hodel family, the fledgling drama troupe was given strong support. In fact, the first “Honey” office was at the newspaper plant on Prince Street.

For Mills, rescuing the dramas goes beyond the mere indulgence in nostalgia.

Performing in “Honey,” the granddaddy of the dramas, provided her with experience that carried through a career.

It marked the first time she auditioned, and her initial resume, save for the Beard School of Dance, was a total blank.

“Total incompetency when blocked in my first crowd scene,” she recalled.

“Director Dean Goodsell directed me to move on cue. I was clueless.”

Mills fondly remembers her first experience in working under Maggie Newman, “a truly great dance director,” who inspired the young dancer with words of reassurance that she was ready to hit the stage for opening night.

“Every night, we were encouraged to do a ‘hit your peak’ performance,” said Mills, now a Greensboro, N.C., resident. “I tried every night to do so.”

Audiences hardly realize the frenzy that accompanies putting on a live performance.

“Dancers had 22 minutes to change from full body paint for the Indian dance to the southern belles and gentlemen for the waltz,” the veteran trouper said.

“At the first dress rehearsal we actually thought the show could be changed to give us more time.”

Until, that is, a no-nonsense stage manager exploded into the dressing room with strong words to the contrary.

There were other firsts for Mills — such as her initial appearance before a packed crowd, fully appreciative of the performers’ talent, energy and dedication to the arts.

“Not all houses were full,” she said. “All showed appreciation.”

And it was the first time to repeat a production 59 more times as the summer of 1961 worked to a close.

“As the years went on, we became creative when inventing diversions to relieve the monotony when backstage,” she said.

“One night, when it came time to dress for the Indian dance, the boy dancers found their jock straps missing.”

Above all, the former Flying Eagle cheerleader feels the weightiest impact on her life from the “Honey” chapter was the association with the “wonderful people” she knew in those six seasons.

“Talented artists from diverse backgrounds influenced me daily those six summers,” Mills said.

“Anyone who gives of their heart, body and mind, and unites with others to achieve a common goal, understands the bond that is formed with others who share that goal. I may not remember what I did yesterday, but I remember those artists with whom I shared the pains and joys of all that is ‘Honey in the Rock.’”

Which helps explain why Mills and others from the debut season are looking forward to the 50th reunion.

“A curse on anyone who deprives me of attending that reunion,” she added.

— E-mail: mannix@register-herald.com