LITTLE WOMEN (1984 Gowana). The March family gather in their parlor: Melissa Duda as Meg, Tammy Brooks as Amy, Breffeny O’Rourke as Marmee, Karen Parks as Beth, and Danielle Joyce as Jo. Direction by Dora Myers and set by Drew Myers.

A LIFE IN THE THEATER

By RON JACOBS

Ron Jacobs: As Dora Sausa, you grew up in Brooklyn and moved to Huntington, Long Island when you were five. When and how did you first realize you were interested in theater?

Dora Myers: I used to do neighborhood plays with my sisters and friends. We used someone’s patio as a stage and a sheet for a curtain. We invited all the moms and dads.

What was the first Broadway show you saw and whom did you go with?

The Miracle Worker, with Patty Duke and Anne Bancroft, with a 8th grade English class. It was NOT an uneventful trip. The ushers traced the fact that some malted milk balls were being thrown at the actors on stage to the area we were sitting in…although it wasn’t anyone in our school group, it was very disturbing.

You graduated from John Glenn High School in Elwood, N.Y. in 1966. What opportunities in theater were available and what did you participate in?

I was in the choir and the Music Department usually did some sort of musical. I was always in the ensemble and/or working backstage. I vividly remember The Pirates of Penzance and Bye Bye Birdie…so do my folks…I practiced a lot at home.

You attended SUNY Oneonta, majoring in English Education and minoring in political science, and graduated in 1970. What opportunities in theater did this college offer?

Well, my interest continued, but it was not my focus. I attended performances and took a set construction course –we worked on West Side Story. It is still one of my favorite shows.

Your first and only teaching job was at Shen, and at the same time you pursued a Master’s Degree in English at Russell Sage, completing it in 1975. When did you start directing plays?

Probably my 2nd or 3rd year of teaching I got involved in advising the Drama Club. I became much more involved when I joined forces with Claire Brown, herself then an English teacher. We did some wonderful things with the kids. I remember a staging of Sherlock Holmes [1977] in the Gowana Auditorium that was terrific. At this point, the Drama Club was becoming a passion.

You married Drew Myers in 1982. What was the first show you did together, you as director and he as set designer, and how many have you done since?

I believe it was Cheaper by the Dozen; we have probably done 50 shows since then.

What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of being married to the set designer?

I can talk to him anytime I want. But, it is hard being his first assistant—I have to carry a lot of tools! I also find it difficult to tell him when I don’t like something…that doesn’t happen very often, though.

In 1988 you did an internship and New York State Theatre Institute? What knowledge and experience did you gain that strengthened you as a director?

That was the best experience of my life as far as learning "the trade." I saw productions from beginning to end and got hands-on experience in many areas of theater from direction to script writing, from costumes to lights, all in a professional educational theater organization. I have the highest respect for the folks at the Institute.

How did you decide to take over the direction of the musical after Carol Leighton retired in 2001 and how did you prepare for this assignment?

I was approached by Marsha Lyons and Marty Zavadil, the vocal and orchestra conductors with Carol…literally hand-picked. It was terrifying; my first comment to them was, "I don’t do musicals." I took a two-week course at the University at Hartford that summer---designed for high school teachers "assigned" to direct the musical. It was what saved me! That and my experiences with NYSTI.

What was it like to open the new theater in High School East with Les Miserables in 2005?

Magical. That year was fantastic…80 students cast, a rotating stage, a special group of highly motivated and TALENTED kids…unreal.

How do you plan to continue your interest in theater after you retire?

Well, we will finally have the time to see some shows! I’ll offer my services when I can to folks that ask. The separation from the school groups will be bittersweet…it has been so much a part of my life, my calendar is very often defined by the shows I have done.

Editor’s Note: Mrs. Myers directed The Miracle Worker in Gowana in 1997 and West Side Story in High School West in 2004 and has had no desire to direct Bye Bye Birdie, with hordes of screaming teenagers.

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Last updated 3/01/2011.