Three Generations of Memories on Local Stage

How can Virginia “Ginny” O’Brien sum up her 30 years with the Ross Valley Players? By nothing other than singing a chorus of “There’s No Business like Show Business.” 

From the 1960s through the early 1990s, the ebullient Novato diva appeared in about a dozen productions, such as Plaza Suite and Steel Magnolias. She won three Arvey awards, the company's version of the Oscar. Her husband, Richard,  was president of the Players in 1967 and served on many committees.  

Stealing the show in her RVP debut right now, Ginny's 10-year-old granddaughter, Brigid O’Brien, plays Scout in the stage adaptation of Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, masterfully directed by James Dunn, which runs at  through this weekend, Dec. 18.   

A fifth-grader at in Novato, Brigid is already a stage veteran, having appeared in three of Marilyn Izdebski's musicals, Oliver (as Oliver), The Sound of Music (Gretl) and Grease (Jan). Before auditioning for the Pulitzer classic, she worked with acting coach Kristine De Turk to perfect her Southern accent and won the part over 12 kids, alternating the role with Katrina Horsey. 

Did “Grandma V” offer Brigid any advice? “Certainly not!” Ginny exclaimed. “Regular acting is much less stressful than being in musicals,” said Brigid. “You only have to think about your lines, not the choreography or the notes.”   

To get into character, Brigid likes to sit quietly about 10 minutes before the show. Her grandmother often has trouble leaving her characters behind at the Barn after the show.

“A friend once accused me of being snippy, which was not my nature but was a trait of the woman I’d been playing,” she said.

Brad O’Brien, Ginny’s son and Brigid’s dad, whose acting career was limited to high school plays, remembers being told by his father to “steer clear” of his mother on show nights. “He always said ‘the hour before the hour before the show is the worst.’”

After school and before the Barn, Brigid runs lines at Starbuck’s with her mother Lisa, who works part-time at the family’s insurance agency, started by Ginny’s husband, who himself ran lines with Ginny back in the day. Older sister Tess, 13, also acts, but younger sister Maeve, 7, prefers gymnastics and swimming.  

Brigid studies tap, jazz, and hip-hop and already knows she wants to be an actress, a term she prefers to “actor.” She’s dreaming about the next part she’d like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.

To Kill a Mockingbird’s lazy Alabama summer of 1935 appeals to her.

“It was probably better back then,” she said. “Everyone was outside, everybody knew everybody and it was safe. Kids played with each other and used their imaginations more than they do now. Also, they probably had less homework.”   

When she confronts the mob of angry men threatening Atticus as he sits outside Tom Robinson’s jail cell, Brigid is riveting. Pulling herself up to a mighty 4-foot-2, the little powerhouse stands her ground in an impassioned speech. 

“Scout just wants answers,” she said. “She wants to be sure her father will be safe, that these men won’t hurt him. She’s not thinking about herself at all.”

At that moment, both Scout and Brigid O’Brien are fearless, an attribute of great acting.  

That legacy has passed down through three generations of O’Briens. Ginny, who devoted much time to making RVP costumes, didn’t realize it then, but while her four sons played outside the Barn Theatre or sat on the floor during rehearsals, she was able to instill in them a respect and love for all that is theater. “Don’t disturb the actors,” she would admonish.  

In a world where iPods isolate, siblings text each other in the next room, and movies are filled with car chases and things that blow up, it is refreshing to find a family that eschews all that, rarely watching television and seeing only animated films. They enjoy time spent together playing jigsaw puzzles and often attend local Bay Area productions.   

“Community theater gives you confidence you didn’t know you had and prepares you to do other things,” said Ginny, who brought performing arts to COMA, Council of Music and Arts, an early version of what Youth in Arts now does. She also worked with the Masque Unit, Junior Theater of Marin. “Whatever was asked of me, I always said to myself, ‘Hey I can do that because I’ve had all that experience on the stage.’”

Ginny has seen the Ross Valley Players' show several times and beams with pride about Brigid's talent. Returning "home" brought on a flood of memories. 

"I just love that Barn!” she said.  

IF YOU GO

Ross Valley Players' To Kill a Mockingbird has been extended through this weekend. Shows run Dec. 16 and 17 at 8 p.m. and Dec. 18 at 2 p.m. at the Barn Theater at the Marin Art and Garden Center. Tickets can be bought online and range from $17-$25.