NASHVILLE THEATER 101: The Gurleys and Tamiko

It's a question asked of theater artisans forever, it seems: Why do you do theater? Plain and simple, to be sure, but clearly it's a query filled with portent and gravitas. Is applause enough to keep longtime actors on the job? In fact, is it enough to persuade a neophyte to seek a career onstage?

Why do you do theater? We've been putting that question to members of the Nashville theater famiy for the past month to find out what it is that motivates creative types to pursue an illusory and challenging career, while for others the theater gives them a creative avocation that helps keep them sane. Today, in our latest installment of Nashville Theater 101, we introduce three more members of our wildly divergent, almost prototypically dysfunctional theater family: Tamiko S. Robinson, Nan Gurley and Wayne Gurley.

Our questions: Why do you do theater? And why, for the love of God, do you do it in Nashville, the city most widely known as Music City USA?

Tamiko S. Robinson, who has been emcee for The First Night Honors in 2013 and 2014, is currently onstage as Olivia in Nashville Shakespeare Festival's Twelfth Night (continuing at Belmont University's Troutt Theatre until January 25, then playing Lipscomb University's Collins Auditorium January 30 and 31). She is a past winner of the First Night Award for Outstanding Actress and is considered one of the region's best actresses.

I do theater because the freedom of expression. I'm not limited to what or how I want to say something. I love the effect that is has on people who aren't necessarily artsy. It breaks boundaries and is limitless.

It was birth as to why I'm here (Nashville), and family why I stay. I also have an appreciation for the community. I've been pursuing art professionally for about 8 years.

Nan Gurley is perhaps one of the most beloved actors to be found on a Tennessee stage, lending her remarkable talents and enviable presence to theater companies lucky enough to cast her in a show. She is a past winner of the First Night Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play for The Diary of Opal Whitely and in 2013 was recognized as a First Night Honoree for her onstage achievements throughout her career.

I love to tell stories and I love to communicate to people the things about which I am passionate. Through the artistry of theater I can do that. I began learning to be an actor at the age of 8 when I portrayed Helen Keller in THE MIRACLE WORKER at a local college. Even at that tender age I could comprehend the power and rush that comes with holding the attention of an audience and taking them on a journey. I am a people watcher. I'm always looking for authentic expressions of humanity in the ways we relate to one another. These are keys for me when trying to discover a character and why they behave a certain way. It helps tremendously to draw from this well as I attempt to bring a character to life. I do theater because it feels like play. It is thrilling to stand on a stage and tell a great story and do it with honesty and vulnerability. It is challenging work to be vulnerable in front of people. It can feel scary. But displaying courage frees others to be courageous and vulnerable and by the time the play is over, hopefully everyone is changed for the better.

Why I do theater in Nashville? I was born and raised here. I guess I'm southern to the bone. I love middle Tennessee with its rolling hills and vegetation. I've never been attracted to big city life. I like living in a place where I can know and be known. My big extended family is all here and we are a close-knit group. Also, living in a smaller market has allowed me to be more diverse than I could have been in a larger market. I've been able to participate in the music scene as well as theater and the commercial and voice over market. I've also had the opportunity to write new works and see them produced. I've enjoyed a variety of artistic venues that may not have been possible for me in a bigger market. I've always wanted a combination of home, family life, children and artistic expression. I've been blessed to have that in Nashville.

Wayne Gurley, who is married to Nan Gurley, is a gifted performer, an intelligent writer and a wonderfully delightful comedian whose role in the evolution of theater in Nashville is unparalleled. An integral part of the theater community, he has helped to grow audiences in the region by presenting some of the most memorable theater we've been privileged to witness.

My first acting experience was in high school. I played Principal McHabe in Up the Down Staircase. The show had been oversold. When I first came out on stage, the size and presence of the audience frightened me. They were sitting and - in some cases - standing in front of the stage...in the aisles...and on the stairs leading up to the stage. Today, it would have been a fire code violation, but back then no one seemed to care. I could sense the audience. I could feel them breathing and feel the heat from their bodies. It was clear to me from this early experience that the audience was indeed a huge part of a show. It was powerful to have so many people watching me and to understand that I could, with the proper delivery and timing of my lines, provoke a host of responses and emotions; laughter, anger, empathy, and - always - applause.

There's no other experience that makes you feel so much alive or connected to a story as being in a show. As such, it's an actor's greatest responsibility to be fully prepared so that the few hours an audience spends in a darkened theater with them can be worthwhile. To me, theater is something magical that should transport an audience to a different place and time and connect a story to their feelings and emotions. Theater should never be boring, or done badly. Unfortunately, it often is.

Why here? When I first moved to Nashville, there wasn't much theater going on - only two or three community theaters (Circle Players, Theater Nashville), and the always professional Nashville Children's Theater. As Nashville has grown, so has its theater options. Advent Theater was the first professional theater company here, but it only lasted a few years. Then came Tennessee Rep (now Nashville Rep), and Studio Tenn. There's a host of other smaller community theaters now, like Boiler Room and Street Theater. Nashville still isn't all that big of a theater town, but it's growing. It's been fun to watch its growth as more theaters crop up and more actors and theater professionals decide to make Nashville their full-time home. When this happens, the quality of theater improves. But Nashville still isn't a great place for actors to make a decent living just doing theater. It's getting there, but we're still a ways off.

Since 1975. When I first arrived, I did quite a few shows: Annie Get Your Gun, Shenandoah, The Drunkard, Midsummer Night's Dream and The Last Temptation to name a few. I served as managing director for Nightingale Theater and produced several shows at TPAC including 1776 and The Importance of Being Earnest. I also produce Earl Hamner Jr.'s The Homecoming at the Belle Meade Mansion Carriage House, a dinner theater experience that was truly "magic." Along with my with my wife, Nan, I co-directed the musical Shenandoah for Lipscomb University in 1982. Together, we also directed a video of the Word Records musical, "Friends Forever." That musical won a GMA Dove Award. For two consecutive years, I was a featured soloist in the Nashville Symphony's performances of Handel's Messiah, singing the "Comfort Ye" and "Every Valley" sections. One of these performances was at the historic Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville. I have served as executive producer for two Glory Bugles runs at TPAC - From Box Springs With Love and 800 Miles Off Broadway. I'm also one of the cast members in his comedy group, portraying the role of Farley T. Byrd, III. The Glory Bugles are releasing a new DVD toward the end of January 2015 entitled, The Glory Bugles Public Access TV Show. Look for it on amazon.com.

I'd also like to produce my own show. I'm currently working on a new stage musical that I hope to announce to the public very soon.