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Harper Talks Show 8 - Laura Pulio Colbert (.mp3)
Assistant professor of communication arts, Brian Shelton welcomes director of theatre, Laura Pulio Colbert on the latest episode of Harper Talks. Laura discusses her own journey from Harper to Harper. Colbert was a Harper College graduate, class of 1983, and eventually made her way back to serve the college as a staff member. Join the pair as they discuss Colbert’s own experience with community college and the transfer process, reflect on Harper then and now, delve into college not only being a place for education but also a place for personal development, the value of arts education and one of her greatest revelations had over a buffalo chicken sandwich. There’s so much to gain from Colbert’s honest, insightful and humorous retelling of her own career and life path, all laid out in this months episode of Harper Talks.
Harper Talks: The Harper Alumni Podcast
Show 1: Laura Pulio Colbert — Transcript
[00:00:01.950] - Brian Shelton
If you're interested in theater, you're going to love this episode. I'm Brian Shelton
and you're listening to Harper Talks, a co-production of Harper College Alumni Relations
and Harper Radio today on Harper Talks. I'm excited to speak with Laura Poulio-Cobert,
Laura and I work together in the Communication Arts Department at Harper College,
and she is always a bright spot in my day. Laura has a deep connection to Harper.
She met her future husband here, graduated, left, and then came back to join the faculty.
[00:00:35.400] - Brian Shelton
She currently serves as director of theater. Laura joined me today for Harper Talks
over Zoom.
[00:00:41.300] - Brian Shelton
Hey, Laura, thanks for being with me today. I appreciate you taking the time.
[00:00:44.010] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
My pleasure, Brian.
[00:00:45.060] - Brian Shelton
How are you today?
[00:00:46.290] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
I am fine, thanks very much. It's a little chilly, but the sun appears to be shining,
so all is well.
[00:00:52.830] - Brian Shelton
Yeah. I'm looking forward to one day doing a Harper Talks podcast where someone says,
my goodness, it's so hot outside. But so far,
[00:00:59.450] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
We ain't there yet? Maybe not there yet.
[00:01:03.840] - Brian Shelton
My my family, as you know, lives in Kentucky. And they sent me pictures of about two
inches of snow this morning. And I thought better you than me all.
[00:01:12.540] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
They deserve it, Brian. That's right.
[00:01:16.290] - Brian Shelton
Especially after the winter we've had.
[00:01:18.370] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
That's right.
[00:01:19.800] - Brian Shelton
So, Laura, I've always been interested. This happens every once in a while I meet
someone who works at the college or whatever college you're working at, who went to
school there. And I don't think that's is a common thing as some people might think
that it is. I think it's pretty, pretty rare. But I wanted to go back to how you got
to Harper College as a student. Obviously, you grew up in this area. So then and then
you went to Harper College. But how did that come about? How did you become a Harper
student?
[00:01:47.190] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
Well, I guess we have to start way back in the beginning. And it was quite a while
ago. And, you know, Brian, I'm part of a generation of women that was not necessarily
expected to educate themselves. To be perfectly honest with you. My older sisters
got married and had babies. And when I went to Schaumburg High School and I grew up
in Schaumburg, went K through 12. But when I went to Schaumburg High School, there
was no one saying, Laura Pulio, where are you going to go to school? Laura Pulio,
what are you going to study? Laura Pulio, where where are your passions? There was
no one there saying that at that time.
[00:02:26.450] - Brian Shelton
Right.
[00:02:27.210] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
I was always a performer. I always had a voice. I sang forever. And I started when
I was I started very young, but really performing really performing around 12 or 13
is when that started and the vocals started around that same time. So I always was
active at Schaumburg High School and I did all the shows and musicals and I was in
all the choirs and the swing choirs and I loved it. But I couldn't I couldn't have
cared
less about most of the other subjects in school. I was a very unmotivated high school
student. My grades were not great. I didn't know what my options were 40 years ago
because no one laid them out for me. But now I know what the options are and I know
what the options are for this community. And I know the role that this college serves
in terms of this community. I know the role that it served for me.
[00:03:27.870] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
And I was able to accomplish some pretty remarkable things. And I doubt very much
that anyone in Schaumburg High School would have seen that coming. But I met educators
at Harper College who taught me to love learning. And that's what I learned at Harper,
to love learning because I didn't know how to do that until I went to Harper. And
Mary Jo Willis was my first acting teacher. And she helped me to see that I had potential
and possibilities.
[00:03:56.160] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
And so Harper, for me, was the place where I explored different subjects. My original
major was music with the voice emphasis. And that's not where I went. That's not what
happened with me. But that's what I like to tell my students. This is the place to
explore. This is the place to try new things. This is the place to find your passion
and then so many doors open for you. And so that's that's how I wound up at Harper.
[00:04:26.190] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
I wound up there because there were not a lot of other options for me. But I learned
to love learning at Harper and I'm proud to be able to pass that on to my students.
[00:04:35.250] - Brian Shelton
Yeah, I have that conversation with students all the time because and I've talked
about this on this podcast before. My original major was not communication. I was
majoring in environmental and hazardous materials management and spent two years studying
that. And that was a very costly mistake at a very expensive private school. And,
you know, a place like Harper College did not exist for me. I certainly didn't know
about places like that when I was choosing where to go to school, and I think that
our students in this community, people in this community have an opportunity to go
to an educational institution that is an excellent place to go to school and to figure
out what the heck it is you want to do
with your life.
[00:05:13.100] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
Exactly. Yes. And my son is 18 years old and graduating from high school this year.
And he'll be joining us at Harper starting this summer, actually is going to take
his first year experience class. And I'm proud of that. I'm really proud of it. And
Tom's excited about it, too. I, it's interesting to come full circle this way and
again, because this was never my intention. Teaching was not my intention. And certainly
teaching at Harper was not my intention.
[00:05:42.170] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
But it's interesting how life takes you. And that's the other thing I tell students
all the time. Don't be afraid to change your mind. Don't be afraid to make a new choice.
Your career is going to change at least 10 times in the course of your professional
life. Get used to it and and educate yourself because you're educating yourselves
so that you can make ethical choices in a complicated world, not because you can necessarily
get a job that has makes more money, although that's helpful as well.
[00:06:11.600] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
But I wish kids would understand that. And that's that's where the disconnect is.
I think sometimes. Yeah.
[00:06:17.300] - Brian Shelton
Education really in the last I really think the last 15 years has really been pushed
as as a jobs program. And while that is very important, learning to be a person is
a very big part of the educational process as well. And I think that's starting to
get lost quite a bit in the last few years.
[00:06:34.090] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
Well, it gets lost, Brian, is the arts get lost because you see there is no college
without art on a campus, whether it's music or the visual arts or the literary arts
or theater, my art form, there is no heart without art. And you can turn us into a
place where we where we we teach students how to work on a manufacturing line, which
is great and helpful for some. But there's more to college than that. And I hope that
we don't lose the original intention of the community college.
[00:07:13.580] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
I was lucky. You know, I was I was a product of the community college generation,
my mentors, people like John Muchmore and Mary Jo Willis and Marshall Litenta, you
know, those people, they really brought community colleges to life for my generation.
And I think that our country has moved in a different direction. And sometimes we
focus a bit too much maybe on the jobs market and not as much on education for the
purpose of developing a set of ethical standards that we live our lives by.
[00:07:52.460] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
We've lost that. And I do wish that that we would get back to that sometimes.
[00:07:58.130] - Brian Shelton
Yeah, totally agree with you. So I know this is going to, you know, never ask a lady
her age, so. But what year did you graduate from Harper College graduated.
[00:08:08.150] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
And I don't mind telling you this, Brian, because I'm celebrating, well, I did celebrate
my twenty fifth year full time last year, but I graduated in nineteen eighty three.
So I came to I was at Harper from eighty one to eighty three. I finished my associate's
degree and I transferred to my four year school with junior standing and all my academic
requirements completed, which is another thing I try to explain to my students. Finishing
that two year degree was of great benefit to me because it allowed me to finish my
four year degree in another two years.
[00:08:44.060] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
I'll just give you an example. My brother was in school a little before me and he
went to Harper for one year and then transferred without the degree and he wound up
in school for five years, a total of five years as a result of not getting that degree.
So that's another reason why I try to get our students to understand the importance
of that degree. You are going to transfer into whatever school you select in the state
of Illinois. I know private schools are a little more complicated, but for me it was
Illinois State University.
[00:09:15.320] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
I transferred in junior standing, all my academic requirements completed. No English,
no math, no science theater for two straight years. It was like a real conservatory
environment as a result of that. So there's great benefit in getting the degree. You're
going to save yourself money, obviously, but you're going to save yourself time too,
my brother and I are great examples of one who gets the degree and one who doesn't
and what that means at the end of the day.
[00:09:42.590] - Brian Shelton
Yeah, it certainly does make a difference. Now, I've only been at Harper for seven
going on eight years now. And of course colleges evolve and change over time. And
I was curious, what was Harper like in the eighties? Because, you know, the eighties
themselves were interesting. What was Harper like in the early eighties?
[00:09:57.230] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
Much more. Much? More open, much more much more active, more student engagement. That's
the biggest thing that I notice the difference with. We did shows and musicals and
plays and things like that, and we had really large casts we never wanted for student
involvement. That's another thing that's shifted over the years as the college has
taken on more of a community position because we get, for example, actors from the
community that come in and audition and things like that.
[00:10:36.300] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
There's a difference. And it's a really fine line, though. It's it's tough because
I'm trying to walk this line. I'm trying to fulfill the needs of our students, our
traditional students who are coming from high school and trying to finish this up
in two years and moving on and also the community who's coming back for enrichment
and engagement. So, you know, it gets complicated. But back in the day when I was
a student, there was more focus on that traditional student, Brian.
[00:11:05.610] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
There was more focus on transfer programs. There was more focus on where you went
after this, as opposed to seeing Harper as the end game, which I think the involvement
of business in in our college has changed the way that we we approach it and what
we offer our students and what we focus on. But back then, it was all about the transfer,
I got to be honest with you. And it was very busy and active. Oh, my God, it was insane.
[00:11:38.040] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
You know, the people used to smoke on campus and.
[00:11:42.600] - Brian Shelton
Yeah, I mean, certainly a different place that I think that part of the reason with
student engagement is that students have so much. They they both have so much more
that they can do on their own now, but also so much less. And I see so many people
who would just and this is me being old, but I see so many young people today who
would just just happily sit at home and stare at their phone. Right. And do whatever
it is that they do on their phone rather than go out and actually sit and have a conversation
with someone or walk across the campus with them.
[00:12:12.840] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
Yes. And I'm so I'm so torn on when we say that stuff, because if we do some sound
like, you know, we sound like the old people because we are the old people, because
we don't understand. Well, you probably you're young, so you get it. But we don't
understand the technology. So I try to avoid things like when I was young, you know,
and why don't you and I have to do research papers with a card catalog, you know what
I mean?
[00:12:38.190] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
I mean, I try to avoid those kinds of conversations, but I understand exactly what
you're saying. There is a difference. There's a big difference. We were engaged in
a way that I am watching students now, and especially after the pandemic, Brian, they
they almost expect that a college education is something you purchase, you don't earn.
And that's an issue.
[00:13:05.790] - Brian Shelton
Yeah, that's been an ongoing conversation I've had with many educators is that college
is about collecting a number of credits to get a degree, not about actually learning
something or earning something. And I find that disturbing.
[00:13:19.470] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
Sad. It's sad because my mentors OK, it's 40 years later from the time that I started
college and my mentors are still a part of my life. They've been there for the for
my my marriages and for and for the birth of my children and all of my milestones
on campus. And as a matter of fact, I've got, you know, Mary Jo and John and Marcia
all coming back to work on a project this fall with us for the radio show project.
[00:13:54.990] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
So there's a sense of connection and community that I think contemporary students
are missing and I feel for them. And so I try to help my students find that experience
through my discipline and the best way that I can. And by engaging and and doing projects
that that are creative and and really pull students into this process.
[00:14:26.700] - Brian Shelton
Hey, speaking of husbands you met, what would be your now husband at Harper College?
How'd that work out?
[00:14:34.500] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
I did. I did. It's the best story. It's the best story. We played husband and wife
in a production of Chapter Two by Neil Simon when we were 19 years old. And we were
very good buddies, super good friends. We were we he used to date my boyfriend's sister.
So we double dated a lot when we were young. We spent holidays with his family, with
with the sister, me, with the boyfriend, he was a guest at my first wedding, he's
in my first wedding video.
[00:15:08.370] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
When I married the other guy, which is hilarious with his Harper girlfriend and all
those other Harper people that I met when I was 19 years old. So, yes, Sean and I
met at Harper. Now, what I did not know at the time was that he was secretly in love
with me, which I kind of love. You know, it's sort of romantic now that I realized
that, but I was too young and stupid to understand any of that.
[00:15:32.850] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
So so 15 years after that, after my first marriage dissolved and I found myself back
in Chicago after being in other places, Sean and I had dinner and I found myself falling
in love with him over a Buffalo chicken sandwich at Max and Irma's and I'm not kidding
it literally, Brian, it was like a light bulb, like I had the buffalo chicken sandwich
in my mouth and a light bulb came over Sean's head at, like in front of me. And
I went, wait a minute, I'm sitting here complaining about somebody I'm dating with
this wonderful guy who's saying all the things that I ever wanted to hear. And and
so there you go, full circle.
[00:16:16.550] - Brian Shelton
It's a great story. I mean, we read so many interesting people at work, and I know..
[00:16:20.810] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
I love our story and I don't think many people are aware of it. And as a matter of
fact, they asked us to do a little film for the awards banquet thing that's coming
up. And so they asked those of us celebrating twenty five years to give our fondest
memory. And so I did do a little something and talked about the fact that meeting
my husband, how could you know? Sometimes I still wake up and think, how did I get
here
all these years later? But here we are. It's a beautiful story. And so Harper's, you
know, I'm a product of the community, like I said, K through 12 and Schaumburg. This
was my community. This was my place. And I met my partner and I found my passion and
I'm able to continue my art. And I'm a lucky, lucky woman.
[00:17:12.020] - Brian Shelton
After Harper, you went to to ISU. And then what happened after that?
[00:17:17.930] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
Well, I went to ISU and I studied theater with an emphasis in acting and directing.
And I was an actor. I trained as an actor and I intended to be an actor. When I finished
up at ISU, I actually long story short, I wound up at the University of Minnesota.
U of M, on the Minneapolis campus for a year after I was done at ISU and I was in
their graduate actor training program and it really wasn't what I was looking for.
[00:17:52.460] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
So while I was at the University of Minnesota, I came upon the National Theater Conservatory
and wound up wound up auditioning for the conservatory the next year. And then eventually
I left Minneapolis and I went to the National Theater Conservatory, which was one
of the premier actor training programs in the country. I studied, eventually went
to the National Theater Conservatory, where I got my my master of Fine Arts degree
with an emphasis on acting.
[00:18:23.330] - Brian Shelton
And then how did that lead back to Harper? How'd you get back here?
[00:18:26.210] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
You know, I found myself working. One of the things that happened at the conservatory
is that the company it was the Denver Center Theater Company, the conservatory was
the educational component of that professional theater company. So the company had
the option of picking you up when you were done as an actor, which they did. So I
wound up getting my equity card as soon as I graduated and was
hired by the company immediately.
[00:18:52.280] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
It went right into working as an actor and I did that in a number of places around
the country and across the world. I got to study in Moscow at the Moscow Art Theater
when I was a student at the conservatory.
[00:19:08.090] - Brian Shelton
What was what was that like? What was that like studying in Moscow? And living there?
[00:19:10.640] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
Literally it was amazing. I mean, if you see this right here up on the wall, if I
scan it up a little bit, you'll see April 10 through twenty nineteen eighty nine.
And so I was there the year that communism fell, but before the end. So Gorbachev
was in power, glasnost, perestroika. We were one of the first groups of students that
was allowed to travel to the Soviet Union.
[00:19:42.820] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
And now everything opened up dramatically in November of that year when communism
fell. But I saw the last May Day parade on Red Square. I stood there and watched it
in that May 1st of nineteen eighty nine. So. It was a fascinating, the most amazing
experience and to study with some of the artists that I studied with this long, convoluted
story, but I was there with the entire third year of the Juilliard School. So
were two students from the conservatory, two from UCSD, two from UCLA and the entire
third year of the Juilliard School, which included Laura Linney, Tim Blake Nelson,
all that one who is in Big Love, Jeannie, Jeanne Tripplehorn.
[00:20:32.040] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
I mean, it was it was a remarkable group of folks to be studying with. And we were
all young. We were we were very young people. But and we one of our teachers was the
great grandson of Constantine Stanislavski. So it was extremely exciting. And at
the time, I had an acting teacher, my lovely Tatiana Bellona, Tanya Beloff, who teaches
acting at North Carolina School for the Performing Arts now, but she was there with
us as well.
[00:21:06.840] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
So I was there with my student or my teacher who had defected, you know, a la Baryshnikov,
you know what I'm saying? I mean, back in the day when it was difficult to get out,
and so we went back with her. So it was just remarkable. It's an amazing experience.
I remember watching an entire production of Uncle Vanya in Russian, which I didn't
speak, and I was at the Mahad at the Moscow Art Theater. And I was I
was so mesmerized.
[00:21:37.020] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
It was like I understood every single word, you know, to see Russians doing Chekhov.
I could never wrap my head around Chekhov because it's so culturally specific. OK,
and what I realized, what I learned when I was in Russia was that our cultural heritage
and background obviously impacts us and helps us to understand and wrap our head around
things. I'll give you an example. When I was there, I watched the
Russian students do a production of The Crucible by Arthur Miller.
[00:22:14.440] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
Now, Arthur Miller for us is like breathing. We understand what was happening when
Miller wrote the piece. We know why Miller wrote the piece. We know about the the
Red Scare. We know about McCarthy. We know about everything that comes into play.
Well, when you're in Soviet Russia, they don't necessarily know that information.
So they're playing the crucible with a cultural perspective that they can't even begin
to wrap their heads around in the same way that I'm playing Chekhov and trying to
understand a Russian family drama, trying to understand the makeup, the relationships,
the nature of the family itself.
[00:22:58.540] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
So I always struggle with Chekhov. And then when I got there, I saw them trying to
do Miller. I went, oh, OK, I get it now. It's ingrained. It's inside of us. It's our
DNA. You know, it's why my African-American students have have a connection in a way
to the to say, for example, August Wilson's work that I can never wrap my head around
fully. I'm a product of this culture. But but fully wrap your head around.
[00:23:32.020] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
There's something in the DNA. So that's that was interesting to me to to see Russian
drama done properly, then to understand how to interpret that and attempt to do it
as an American actor. Fascinating. The other thing, Brian, that was really interesting
is that, you know, American actors, what I learned was that American actors had really
bastardized the Stanislavski system. You know, even, you know, Lee Strasberg and Stella
Adler. And I love them.
[00:24:03.400] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
And I did all the I've done all the emotional memories and the recalls and I get all
of that. But I think in a sense, American actors have didn't fully understand what
Stanislavski was trying to say when he said, we inhabit the character. Yes, we have
to obviously have an a thorough understanding of the background of the character in
order to address it. But sometimes, Brian, acting is really not particularly complicated.
OK, there's certain roles that fit you like a glove.
[00:24:39.970] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
And so you don't have to do much but breathes truth into them. And I think that we
work too hard. I think that American actors tend to want to make something right.
And in that desire to want to make something right, you make it wrong. You know, it's
about listening, responding organically and truthfully. 95 percent of what we do is
is based on realism. But there is another five percent where we need that training.
We
need to understand how to use our bodies and our voices to get to those other places.
[00:25:16.840] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
But acting is very easy. Once you make that discovery. It's shocking what you can
do. It's shocking. I don't think a lot of young actors realize that. And I don't think
a lot of I don't think a lot of acting teachers realize that. I think that we should
be bringing our students toward organic truth and simplicity. And sometimes I think
we complicate it. That's what I learned in Russia. Stop complicating it.
[00:25:47.770] - Brian Shelton
Don't don't make it so darn difficult. Right? Yeah. I have to tell you that as a as
a former filmmaker and someone who's been exposed to quite a lot of theater doing
tech and things like that, that one of my absolute favorite things is watching rehearsal.
I love going to. And when I have the opportunity to sit for a week and watch the rehearsal
of a stage play and see the actors doing their thing and seeing them grow into that
role, I mean, and for you as a professional, that just must be and that as a director,
it must be so very rewarding, especially when you get to performance night.
[00:26:21.100] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
It is. And and, you know, the other thing it's so funny, you know, going back to that
idea that our careers change, you know, there was a time that I could never imagine
not acting. I could never imagine. I always tell my students I never needed a shrink
until I stopped acting because I always had an outlet for all of those emotions and
feelings that are part of what makes us human. And when I stop. Acting full time,
I
never I didn't have that outlet anymore, so it did become more complicated to to carry
those burdens that I was able to release in performance.
[00:26:57.590] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
But I've got to tell you, the thought of performing now is, I mean, it literally makes
me makes my heart pound. I don't want to do it. The only the old and especially alone.
I love singing with the Chicago artist, Corral. I do that still and I love doing choral
work. And I will sing any day of the week. But don't ask me to solo. And you're talking
you know, the other day I was sitting with my husband going over. He was like, sing
me this song, see me that song, sing me the song, you know, pieces that I did when
I was young, roles that I played that I sort of forgot that I played. And Brian, I
swear to God, some of these songs were 10 frickin minutes long. I mean, you know,
Mr. Snow from Carousel, it's like a 20 minute song. And I was thinking to myself,
how did I do this?
[00:27:50.480] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
How did I do this? Because the commitment physically was just mind blowing to me.
So it's funny because my husband still enjoys acting and I don't not at all. So, you
know, I'm always looking for the excuse as to why I don't have to do it. Like, for
example, in the fall, I will direct the project. And as the director of the project,
I will be very busy. So I I'm always looking for an excuse.
[00:28:21.080] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
And it's not that I won't, you know, I mean, I you know, I did the voiceover work
on that Zynga game. I mean, I, I enjoy doing things like that, but I just don't I
don't want to be on stage.
[00:28:33.350] - Brian Shelton
It's so funny to hear you say that because I have a lot of former students are like,
well, you're not a filmmaker anymore. And I'm like, no, I don't, I don't do any of
that anymore. I, I take I no longer take any joy in the process of putting something
like that together. Like I enjoy teaching other people about it. I enjoy showing things
to other people so that they can understand it. But I just don't want to do thatanymore.
[00:28:57.080] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
That's exactly right. That's exactly how I feel. And I don't think a lot of artists
get it because I realize that a lot of artists want to continue to do their thing,
their thing, what they defined as their thing. But my thing is different now. I like
the visual picture I am able to create. I don't I don't think of it as me. I think
of it is how can I create a visual through sound and light and movement that moves
an audience that that makes an
audience feel?
[00:29:31.820] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
That is the challenge for me. That is that is the challenge. And that is how. How.
How I work with students and I have such admiration for their bravery, you know, I
guess when you're young, you're just.
[00:29:50.960] - Brian Shelton
Brave or stupid, you know, one of the two.
[00:29:55.340] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
Or stupid, I don't know, I don't feel is brave anymore, right? I don't feel if I had
to do it, yeah, I do it. But I think about even you know, the other day Mary Jo said,
well, are you going to sing something? You know, you can sing something. No, I don't
want to sing something. Don't make me sing something. You know, I'll sing with a group.
But no. Yeah.
[00:30:13.250] - Brian Shelton
You know, a couple of years ago, they asked me to host the Ted X Expo at the Harper
College. And I walked out onto the stage to speak for the first time. And I thought
I was going to just lose my lunch on the podium. And it's like here you stand in front
of people all day long, every day of the week, speaking to them and teaching and demonstrating.
And then you walk out onto a stage and all of a sudden, like all of this wave of terror
comes over you, you know. So, yeah.
[00:30:37.640] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
Well, it's the first moment, which is also. And that never went away, Brian. You know,
I mean, I do remember I do recall like that first moment of getting on stage. And
I always tell my actors, you know, I heard someone say this once and I can't remember
the name of the actor, but he said the hardest part about doing a show was walking
from your dressing room and getting on stage waiting for the curtain to rise. Because
once the curtain rises and you begin, if you're a good artist and you're a good actor,
you're there, you're just present and you live truthfully in the moment, whatever
that moment is.
[00:31:14.600] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
And so you're good. You forget about everything else. That's easy to do when you're
an equity actor and you're doing 90 performances of Henry, the eight parts, one and
two. You know what I mean? It's an easy thing to do to get on stage day after day
after day and give those performances. It's complicated, Brian, when we don't do it
as often and you and I don't do it as often. So, yeah. Can I stand up in front of
a
roomful of people and be charming and say everything that I need to say to make everyone
have the best freakin experience ever? You bet your sweet Bippie I can. But it's not
easy. It's it's not easy. It's a it's something that's that's difficult. It's it's
it's a gift. And I'm glad that I can do it, but I don't think everyone understands
how difficult it is.
[00:32:06.950] - Brian Shelton
Yeah. I've met so many people over the years who are professional speakers or work
in a role that requires them to be a professional speaker. And if you really get to
know them and really get the sit down and talk to them, they're terrified of it. They
hate it. They had every minute of what they do. And I always talk to my speech students
back when I talk speech about that, that, you know, it's just something that you do.
You have to harness that power within you and make it happen.
[00:32:33.420] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
Yes. And most of it is about it's about talking yourself into it. And as I say to
my speech, students never let them see you sweat. I don't care if you're nervous.
I don't care if you're scared. I feel for you. I empathize because I've been there.
But don't tell me about it. Don't tell them about it. Don't walk up to that podium
like you're afraid. Walk up like you own it, own it, fake it, fake it till you make
it.
[00:33:01.730] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
As I tell my students, fake it. And you know, Brian as well as I do that in time with
insight into who we are. And as we become more secure with ourselves, this process
gets a little bit easier for us. So now I can have this conversation with you easily
where when I was a young person, I might have had to think, you know, time heals all
fear in that regard.
[00:33:28.780] - Brian Shelton
I love what you're saying about faking it till you make it, because we say that all
the time. And, you know, I advise the campus radio station. I have students who are
coming there and they're terrified. And I'm like, you know, this is college radio.
It is the safest place in the world to make a mistake like that. That is what we are
all about. Go ahead. Go on there. Screw it up. I don't care.
[00:33:45.590] - Brian Shelton
I mean, try your best. Right.
[00:33:47.450] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
And that's and that is the most important thing that I communicate to actors as well.
You are so worried about doing it wrong that you making zero choices, you'll never
get the job, make a mistake or mess it up. I can't tell you how many actors I've cast
whose auditions were not super. They weren't. But it wasn't necessarily about the
audition. It was about the energy or the nature of the person that drew me to them.
But listen, it's like Michael Short leaves audition book.
[00:34:23.990] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
One of the one of the twelve guideposts is game playing and role playing. Game playing.
OK, as an actor, you better enjoy the audition process. Otherwise don't be an actor.
Don't tell me I hate auditioning. Don't walk in the door like you're petrified. If
that's how you feel, you're in the wrong business and there's nothing that I can do
to change that for you. OK, rejection is part of the game.
[00:34:49.610] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
It's part of. Again, gosh darn it, I love going into a room full of chicks that look
like me when I was a young actor, I loved it. Come on, bring it up. Let's go. It doesn't
mean that. I mean, or or cocky or overconfident. None of that. I know who I am. I
know what my strengths are. Gosh darn it. And I know what my weaknesses are, too.
[00:35:12.110] - Brian Shelton
And I like what you say about making a mistake because it's something that I always
address to students as well. Is that swing and miss. But swing, I mean, swing like
you're going to hit it right out of the park, you know, and if you miss.But you took
the swing.
[00:35:27.320] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
So swing. Brian, a great story I tell my students about swing and miss. Right. I when
I was young actor, I was auditioning for a production of nonsense and I had my song
ready in my monologue, ready. And I knew there was a dance audition. I was always
a pretty good dancer, but I never studied tap, OK, so I was not a tapper. So I went
to the audition and I noticed all these other chicks had their tap shoes with
them and I thought, Oh, did I miss something? Is this a tap audition? Because it's
going to be an issue. And I mean, they were like stretching. They were ready to tap,
you know, so we get in line. There's there's a there's a stage full of people. Generally,
directors create rows. Right. And I position myself in the back row because I figure
I'll have more time. They keep moving the rows forward in the front row, goes to the
back and you keep moving forward.
[00:36:21.860] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
So I position myself in the back row. There's probably five or six rows ahead of me
that are moving up as we're learning this piece and as I'm getting closer to the front
where they're going to really see me, I'm thinking to myself, I can't do this. I,
I, I can't do this. This is not going to be good. This is going to be very, very bad.
I'm going to look very, very bad.
[00:36:41.780] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
So at the very last moment I said, OK, if I'm going to look bad, I'm going to look
so freaking bad that no one's going to look at anyone else. And so I put on a dog
and pony show that was horrifying. It was the worst dancing that you could ever possibly
imagine. And I got the role. So don't don't don't make assumptions about what what
people are looking for and understand that sometimes being brave enough to make a
mistake or to do something wrong is the most exciting thing on stage.
[00:37:24.620] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
It's called truth. That's why it's fascinating. That's why we can't take our eyes
off of it, because it is simply
truth. That's it. And that's why you let go into rehearsals, Brian, because you're
watching truth and you're
seeing actors who understand the character. But every single time they open their
mouth in the scene,
Brian, it's a new day. It's a new exchange. So there's the potential for a completely
different exchange.
And that's what we have to remember.
[00:38:00.290] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
That's the best thing, the best advice I can give to young actors. Yes. Do I need
to memorize the piece?
Yes. Do I need to memorize where I'm moving? Yes. There are things you need to memorize,
but every
moment on stage has the potential for new truths, new truth. And when you find new
truth on stage, oh,
there's nothing like it's fantastic. It's so it's it's so it's so engaging. It is
so thorough and complete. It's
catharsis. And that's theater.
[00:38:38.650] - Brian Shelton
Yeah, I almost think we should sell tickets to rehearsals and skip performance, that's
kind of ...
[00:38:42.790] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
Rehearsals are such a gas. They are just rehearsals aren't absolute gas. And after
rehearsals, when I get
in the car at 11 o'clock at night to drive home from Harper College, I remind myself,
you know, yes, you're
tired. Yes, it was a long day. And yes, you are one lucky lady to be able to do this,
to be able to share
what you love passionately with young people and old people and everyone in between.
There are so few
people that get the chance to have, to do a job that they really love and that's what
I've the gift that I've
been granted and it is a gift.
[00:39:22.870] - Brian Shelton
So you've been at Harper for twenty five years. That's a long and distinguished career
at an institution,
you know. Are you thinking about retirement or are you thinking about doing something
different for you?
[00:39:35.200] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
Oh, baby doll, you know what? I'm I came to motherhood later in life than many. And
so I've got a 16 year
old and an 18 year old and my son's about. So there will be no retirement. So much
for retirement. Right.
So I've got to get my kids through college, Brian. And and then maybe but at the same
time, I don't know.
I don't think I can ever really stop working totally. Because what do you do? It just
seems like a boring life.
So I don't want to stop. And, you know, I thought about I have thought about being
a little more active in
terms of performance, mostly voice over and voice work, though I would like to transition
into voice work.
You know, I've got a lot of chops for that, so that may be something. So there may
be a new career once
this is done, we'll see.
[00:40:29.770] - Brian Shelton
Earlier you mentioned that you have a show coming up in the fall winter, a radio show.
You would talk to
us about that real quick.
[00:40:37.750] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
Yes, as a matter of fact.
[00:40:40.210] - Brian Shelton
Digging up the script in case. Sure.
[00:40:42.910] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
Yes, I have information. I just want to make sure I give you all of the correct information.
So we are in the
process of planning next year's season. And this year was tough because of the pandemic.
You know,
administration came to us last spring and said, what do what you can do? And so, you
know, we we
found a way to keep our program alive through virtual means and different mediums
of of generating
communication, which has been great.
[00:41:13.990] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
Next year, the fall will look somewhat the same in that the college is not opening
up completely until, I
think the spring of twenty twenty two. So next year, season in the fall, I'll be directing
radio play of It's a
Wonderful Life, which will be tremendously fun and will feature Harper College faculty
and staff. Oh my
gosh. I've had know not just the department, but I've had our dean say she's interested
and I've had
friends like Thom Lange say, please count me in.
[00:41:50.050] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
So I've got to find some place for all of these people which I will find. And the
nice thing about this radio play is that it offers you the opportunity to use as many
actors as you need to. So that will happen December 12th and that will be a virtual
presentation so people can be in the comfort of their own homes and flip on the computer
and and watch the gig that way. And then my colleague Kevin Long will be
directing Sense and Sensibility by Paul Gordon, which is based off of Jane Austen's
emotional and beloved novels.
[00:42:30.220] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
And so he'll be tackling that in, I believe, March 11th through 20th of 2022. And
then I will be directing August Wilson's Fences. I'm so excited about this, Brian.
I have tried for the last ten years to get any Wilson piece and I've kept running
into issues and I thought, what's going on? So finally I reached out and said, help.
And they said, you know, the problem is it's a geographical hole because of our proximity
to Chicago.
[00:43:01.540] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
There's a lot of professional productions of Wilson's work that happens in the city.
And because of our location, we're getting stuck in this geographical hold. So I begged
and I told them, we're a community college. We have a unique situation. It's only
six performances and they granted us permission. So I am so pleased and so proud.
I've been teaching this piece the last 15, 20 years, this piece in particular, and
working with Wilson with my intro to theater students, so I'm thrilled about it.
[00:43:36.260] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
And Fences is, you know, for those of you who don't know, August Wilson is probably
the most important African-American writer of the 20th century. He wrote a cycle of
10 plays. Each play represented a different decade in the century, and Fences is often
viewed by some as his most realistic work, his most accessible work. I think it's
easy for people to wrap their heads around that show because of the struggle between
fathers and sons. And but I'm just thrilled.
[00:44:12.990] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
And on top of everything else, we'll be performing that outdoors in the outdoor pavilion,
which was built a few years ago for the purpose of performance, I might add. That
was one of the reasons it was built. And this will be the first production that we
that we we have outside.
[00:44:33.350] - Brian Shelton
So I'm really excited about that. And it's going to be really neat. Yeah, it's going
to be fantastic.
[00:44:38.030] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
And Fences is an outdoor play, too, so it's just perfect. It's a perfect setup. So,
yes, next season promises
to be different with with our pandemic winding down, hopefully fingers crossed this
year, but then we'll get back to it in the spring.
[00:44:55.410] - Brian Shelton
Well, the good thing is, is that we have had to, for better or for worse, adapt to
so many different things
during the pandemic that you can use all the lessons learned from that going forward
and into shows and doing some some other stuff.
[00:45:07.680] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
So that's been and that's been good for me, too. You know, I kid all the time about,
you know, my simplicity when it comes to anything having to do with technology. And
this has forced me to to attempt to use mediums of communication that I'm not as comfortable
with. And there's nothing wrong with that.
[00:45:29.780] - Brian Shelton
So you've given a lot of really good advice over the course of this talk. But is there
any one piece of advice that you'd have for potential students coming to Harper College?
[00:45:39.980] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
I would say what I say to all of my students, please just take advantage of this place
and please know that the people that you meet today and tomorrow, they will be a part
of your lives. They will be a part of your future. You are creating your ethos. This
is the chance for you to change mistakes you may have made in the past. Start fresh
and new. Do it. Take responsibility for your life. Take responsibility for your education.
[00:46:14.630] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
Own it, earn it, enjoy it. Those are all the things that Harper can do for you. And
I hope that our students will take advantage of every opportunity they have on campus,
both academically and in terms of extracurricular activities. You know, like you
said, you know, your radio students that come in and and are actively engaged in campus
life, these things matter, too, and these things future employers are interested in.
So I want all of our students to understand that it's not just about what happens
inside the classroom, but but what you do with that and how you apply that in a more
practical way.
[00:47:03.150] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
So just take advantage and enjoy and learn. And I hope that oh, and know that you
will have some of the finest educators and teachers that you ever have and in your
whole journey right here at Harper College. And you'll thank God for them years from
now when they're writing you letters of recommendation to get you those jobs you so
desperately want.
[00:47:21.710] - Brian Shelton
Thanks so much for being here, Laura. I appreciate it.
[00:47:24.020] - Laura Pulio-Colbert
Any time, sweetheart.
[00:47:25.160] - Brian Shelton
Laura Pulio is a professor of theater and Harper College alumni. If you're enjoying
Harper talks, please subscribe. And while you're at it, rate and review us so that
others might find us. Harper Talks is a co production of Harper College Alumni Relations
and Harper Radio. Our show is produced by Shannon Hynes. Our technical producers are
Eric Bonilla Sanchez and Mary Renner. Our theme music was
created by Aidan Cashman. I'm Brian Shelton. Thanks for listening.