Aloha . . . I am currently acting in a production of The Laramie Project. It is staged at Santa Rosa Junior College in Northern California. For me, it raises the whole idea or question that I think many of us should be asking of ourselves. What do we want to contribute to society? This has the implicit assumption that we should or want to contribute and that in and of itself, it is a good thing to do so. So what, as an actor do I want to contribute? Why be an actor at all? What do actors contribute to society that improves it and makes it better?

For the most part, I don't think much. Most actors do what they need to survive. Most of us cannot do shows like The Laramie Project when there is no money involved. I am lucky to be able to do a show like this. Very lucky.

Can an actor go from being a piece of fruit in an underwear commercial to doing Brecht, Shakespeare, Ionescue and still be taken seriously? I do not know but I suspect perhaps not.

Don't we, as members of society, have a duty to do 'serious' theater? At least once in awhile so we can prick the balloon of "everything is ok in the world so lets just laugh our way to hell"! At the same time and in the same breath, I would give a lot to work with Steve Martin on just about anything. I am corruptible, offer me enough money and I might reconsider . . . or would I? Could I use the age old excuse of saying, let me sell out now, make the money and spend it later to salve my conscience! I don't know for sure but I hope not and don't think I would.

Special hello to my Hawai'i gang. It was great to talk with Jim Hesse the other night at 1 a.m. in California while I was slaving away on cultures for my bacteriology lab. A long way from home and a long way from a bunch of very wonderful people.

Aloha