CMU School of Drama


Sunday, October 04, 2009

John Douglas Thompson’s Tragic Heroes, From Shakespeare’s Othello to Eugene O’Neill’s ‘Emperor Jones’

NYTimes.com: "JOHN DOUGLAS THOMPSON was making a comfortable living as a marketing representative for a software company in Wallingford, Conn., when he invited a date to Yale Rep’s production of August Wilson’s “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.” She ended up changing his life, but not in a way that he expected."

2 comments:

Rachel Robinson said...

I think it's extraordinary how he completely changed his course in life because he saw that play. It's situations like this that remind me why I love theatre so much and why I chose it as a career. I don't think I could ever completely change my career like Mr. Thompson did. That would take so much courage and confidence. I'm glad that his dream became reality and he's able to be successful as an actor.

Jennifer said...

Not only is it incredible that he took the leap to switch careers, but that he also kept at it, even when work was scarce. At any point, he could have thrown in the towel and gone back to an eight to five job. However, he ate his ramen and knew that his drive, passion, and talent would see him through. Now, he has taken another leap. The leap away from Shakespeare, from what is familiar ,and he is trying something new. I hope he finds success in this new endeavor - it sounds like an amazing role and a very interesting character.