Three decades of acting and counting

Tom Titus

Few things are as likely to remind me of my advancing age as

interviewing an actor I worked with more than 30 years ago.

Fortunately, both of us are still being guided by our respective

muses.

Michael Bielitz and I were pretty much trying on our wings in

community theater back in 1970 when I directed what was only my

fourth stage production, an adaptation of Reginald Rose’s drama “The

Death and Life of Larry Benson” from the golden age of television.

Mike only had a few shows behind him, as well, but he was perfect for

the role of the disturbed ex-soldier returning after a traumatic war

experience.

Actually, Mike was closer to his character than I had realized. He

was recently removed from Vietnam at the time, but it hadn’t sapped

his interpretive talents. He gave a terrific performance in the

central role, and we went on to work together in four more shows --

all in the 1970s.

Mike was responsible for some impressive work at the Laguna

Playhouse and other local community theaters, and our paths crossed

in “Suddenly, Last Summer,” “Light Up the Sky,” “Arsenic and Old

Lace” and “Sunday in New York.” We sort of lost touch until I began

covering theater at Golden West College again two years ago.

There he was, lending his talent and experience to plays like “The

Sly Fox” and “Dancing at Lughnasa.” He’s been retired from his “day

job” with the U.S. Postal Service for the past 10 years and now divides his time between acting in local theater and working as a

part-time tennis pro near his home in Laguna Niguel.

At the moment, he’s rehearsing for one of the most significant

roles of his career, that of author C.S. Lewis in William Nicholson’s

“Shadowlands,” which opens on the Golden West College Mainstage next

weekend.

“In all these years, it’s the first time I’ve played a real

person,” he said. “It’s great to get to play a man of such integrity

under extreme circumstances.”

Bielitz’s character -- an Oxford don who wrote “The Screwtape

Letters” and “The Chronicles of Narnia” -- finds his well-ordered

life thrust into cerebral chaos when he meets American poet Joy

Davidman and the bewildered theoretician of love in the abstract

finally confronts its direct presence.

Joy will be portrayed by Brenda Kenworthy, another veteran of

Golden West productions, who was featured in “Dancing at Lughnasa.”

Bielitz has performed in more than 60 local productions, including

“St. Joan,” “The Foreigner,” “The Nerd,” “Bus Stop” and “Morning’s at

Seven.” He was heralded in this column some years back as best actor

of the community theater season for his title role in “An Inspector

Calls.”

How has he ended up at Golden West College, a bit of a lengthy

drive from his Laguna Niguel home? Having studied theater at

Saddleback College with Tom Amen, Golden West’s primary director,

who’s staging “Shadowlands,” might have had something to do with it.

“We’re certainly glad to have him here,” Amen said.

With all his performing experience, Bielitz has resisted the lure

of professional theater.

“I don’t think I could get the kinds of roles I’m playing now,” he

said. “Or,” he added with a grin, “have as much fun.”

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Independent.