[NEohioPAL]Friends Remember Bill Allman: Roy Berko & John Nolan

[Roy Berko]

FRIENDS  REMEMBER:  REFLECTIONS  ON BILL  ALLMAN

Roy Berko

Bill Allman was a very special person in my life.  He
was a personal friend and a professional colleague. 
He was not only responsible for my becoming involved
in Berea Summer Theatre and the BW Theatre program,
but furthered my son’s theatrical career by casting
him as Younger Patrick in ‘MAME.’   Bill’s passing
leaves a hole not only in my heart, but in the very
essence of the local theatre community.

John Nolan, who was a performer at Berea Summer
Theatre, Bill’s student at BW, and the last Managing
Director of the BST, represented Bill’s many friends
at the memorial service held on Sunday, July 31. 
Following is a brief segment of his speech:

William  Shakespeare wrote in  ‘AS  YOU  LIKE  IT’: 
“All  the  world’s a stage, and all the men and women
merely players.  They have their exits and their
entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts.”

Our beloved Billy did play many parts.  He was a 
much-loved son, brother,  father, father-in-law,
grandfather, neighbor, teacher, director, colleague,
showman, and mentor.

And within--and above--all of those  roles, Bill
Allman was that most treasured of all gifts--a true 
friend.

Although there are many different stories about  Bill,
they all have common elements.   Bill was a warm, kind
 man, with a broad, inviting  smile and an  infectious
laugh, who  never met a person he couldn’t talk with
(and, parenthetically,  probably did talk with).  He
was generous to a fault, with a heart as big as all
outdoors, and our world is a much richer place for his
having been a part of it.

Bill was a  remarkably humble man,  too.  In an
interview he gave in 1996,  Bill  said :  “I’d  like
to think that somewhere  along  the line in my 
teaching  and working with plays, that maybe one
moment I’ve had just a little bit of effect on
somebody, and then that person goes out and there’s a
little bit of me there.”

Billy,  Billy,  Billy.  This room is full of people,
and the many others whose schedules did not allow them
to be with us today, stand as  an absolute testament
to the fact that you did have a profoundly powerful
effect on many of us, and that we are proud to carry
you with us, in our hearts, wherever we go.

No reflection on the life of Bill Allman would be
complete without some mention of  Berea  Summer
Theatre.  In  fact,  the two were nearly synonymous in
the minds of decades of loyal theatre-goers who
remember Bill welcoming them at every performance.

Bill’s  life was one  long, loving, entertaining 
show.  So, in the words of the master himself, please
join me in completing Bill’s most quoted line:  “If
you enjoy the show, please tell your friends!”


Roy Berko's web page can be found at www.royberko.info.  His theatre and dance reviews appear on NeOHIOpal, an on-line source.   To subscribe to this free service via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.fredsternfeld.com/mailman/listinfo/neohiopal.

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