Acting professor W. Stephen Coleman reviews lengthy career

For almost half a century, W. Stephen Coleman has been on stage and screen, directing,… For almost half a century, W. Stephen Coleman has been on stage and screen, directing, teaching and earning three degrees. Finally, time is catching up to him.

A full-time associate Pitt professor and local actor, Coleman, 65, said he’s ready to act his age, and he’s looking to retire in 2010.

We’ll see. While professors in Pitt’s theater department are encouraged to act locally, few carry the load Coleman does, and not many can boast as much professional experience.

If he’s anything like actors Harrison Ford, 65, Susan Sarandon, 62, or Jack Nicholson, 70, who are working just as much now as they were in their 30s, he won’t be collecting Social Security anytime soon.

“The key is allowing yourself and your art to age gracefully,” said Coleman. “Good for [actors like Ford and Nicholson] that in an industry which normally prefers youth and beauty, they can maintain careers.

“In my own case, I’ll very happily play the occasional old fart, especially if they are just a wee bit feisty,” said Coleman.

Act 1

When Coleman was a high school senior, he wasn’t the first person that age who wanted to move away from home and test his abilities. Oklahoma seemed like a nice change from Long Island. N.Y. But after a semester at the University of Oklahoma in a taxing science major, he considered dropping out.

When Coleman’s mother got word of his idea, she sent him an “eight-page diatribe” telling him to do anything to stay in college, even join the drama club.

So he did.

After graduating with a 3.61 in acting and English literature, he decided to stay at the school for his master’s. He earned a 4.0 and moved back to New York where he found beginning roles at the National Shakespeare Company. He began applying to doctoral programs and was accepted at Stanford University.

Just as he was about to sign on the dotted line, he casually asked what sort of acting doctoral students did at the University.

Stanford said it limits doctoral students to teaching during their study. So Coleman headed to the University of Utah.

Four years later, with a 3.97 and a degree in theatre history and criticism with a specialty in Shakespeare, Coleman taught for five years at the University of Texas at Austin and went to London to teach and study voice, one of his signature talents.

Ted Pappas, artistic director at the Pittsburgh Public Theater who directed Coleman in the recent productions “Amadeus” and “Comedy of Errors,” loves to cast Coleman for his booming and distinct voice, and also for his enthusiasm.

“He can’t wait to get on stage, he can’t wait to get to the theater,” said Pappas. “Every night is opening night with him.”

His mantra is a sign that hangs on his office wall: “Old Age ‘ Treachery Will Overcome Youth ‘ Will.”

The line comes from “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” one of Coleman’s favorite shows, which he directed at Pitt in 1987. In it, George, a main character, fears losing his wife to a young, handsome professor he invites over for dinner one night.

When the show was over, Coleman kept the ominous sign that hangs on a wall during the play, figuring its words would be his fate.

Act 2

Coleman rides a Honda Shadow Ace 750 CC American Classic to work, and he’s always the first one at the theater for rehearsals. In fact, he said he’s only been late four times in his entire life. He doesn’t waste his time being early, though; always a scholar, he brings a book.

He claims only one of the late arrivals in his professional life was his fault: He stayed too long at his own dinner party in 1967 and hopped on the New York express subway instead of the regular on his way to the Delacourt Theater to perform Shakespeare’s “King John.”

Curtain was at 8 p.m. Coleman was playing a French soldier sent to confront the title character at the beginning of the play.

At 7:50 p.m., Coleman jumped off the subway, called the theater, ran there, jumped into his costume and walked onstage as the curtain was going up.

Act 3

Coleman moved to Pittsburgh in 1981 when he was offered a job as head of the master’s in fine arts acting program at Pitt. He’d held similar top departmental jobs at the University of Texas at Austin.

He now directs undergraduate studies and teaches two classes this term, directing 1 and basic acting.

It was also in the Steel City that Coleman met one of his favorite movie stars.

When Anthony Hopkins came to film “Silence of the Lambs” at Soldiers ‘ Sailors Memorial in Oakland, Coleman auditioned for the role of Sgt. Pembry.

“When I auditioned, there was the question over whether I looked like him; I had to look like him,” remembered Coleman.

“And he came right over to me, shook my hand and said ‘Hello. I’m Tony Hopkins.’ And then he turned to the director and said, ‘He looks like me!’ And that was it.”

The Climax

Coleman said he prefers acting to directing because it takes less energy. But, he said he’s cutting back on the more taxing comedic roles.

The classroom is one place Coleman’s veteran status allows him to pass on advice and life experiences to his students.

He counts down for his first student’s scene to begin and takes notes as it plays out in front of him.

When it’s over, he asks for the student’s thoughts.

At the end of class, he encourages students to schedule appointments with him. Coleman has a list of available time slots on his door. They are almost always filled.

Even during his eight-week-long run of “Amadeus,” students said he wasn’t neglectful as a professor.

Curtain Call

Coleman’s final stage production at Pitt will be “Count Dracula.” He rubs his hands together in delight as he explains the special effects, which will include bats flying over the audience and special lighting. He won’t give away all the details, though.

Coleman said he’s been begging the department to let him do “Count Dracula” for years, and Halloween 2009 worked out perfectly for everyone.

The professor said he’d like to continue acting, if he can find the right roles, and Pappas said he looks forward to many more productions with the actor.

“He’s endlessly curious,” Pappas said. “He loves to watch the other actors rehearse. I find that exciting to watch an actor use every minute that’s available to him to keep finding out things.”

Even if he’s just watching his students in the classroom, Coleman remains both experienced and willing to learn, a director and an actor, ready to poke fun or to give criticism. He leans in, counts down and allows the scene to play out in front of him.