Rogue Playhouse News 12.1.21
Rogue Playhouse News
December 1, 2021
It was a fun run with the radio shows
A talented cast of 12, a fine director mounting the production, gathering the troops, and guiding and encouraging us all the way, and then the wrap party. When it ends on such a high note, there’s a lot of excitement in the air, and talk about what’s next. The possibilities seem many. And the chorus of voices sound ready. Ready for something. Me thinks I detect a new season in the air.
One of the fine voices lent to the production was that of Ty Smith, who does voice-overs along with a multitude of other career choices that have shaped his life and followed him into now semi-retirement here in Gold Beach. He’s in his 2nd or maybe 3rd or 4rh iteration of the life of the talented Mr. Smith. Not looking for being an actor, just having that incredible voice and a new wife who loves theratre, that’s how you sometimes find yourself being on stage. Lucky us.
Meet the talented Ty Smith
I couldn’t write fast enough to begin to keep up with the life and times of Ty. I’m about to pick up my notes from last week, in the hopes I can read them and have them fall into a story line that makes sense and does justice to his many talents.
Where are you from and
How did you get here?
“From a lot of different places” was the answer I received. Ty spent half of his life in Toledo, Ohio and half in Florida. There were ten years spent roaming the Pacific Northwest, part of that time pulling a travel trailer. He says the beauty of the area (south of Port Orford), “took my breath away.” There were also a few years spent in a class A RV, and time spent in the Sun Belt cities of Arizona.
This must be the place
May of 2018 he came here for the summer to check the area out for retirement, spending some time at a Brookings campsite, attending art shows and the Wine Festival in Gold Beach where he was a vendor selling art pieces. This is where he met Lisa Marie, on the first night. Ty says they “hit it off like we’d known each other forever.”
Income stream to Airstream
He knew this was the place. When he hit the road in his Airstream, she followed, spending winters in Arizona and summers here. While he is semi-retired, he seriously began doing voice work about two years ago, creating new income streams. His earlier work career included real estate development in the south eastern portion of the U.S. This involved family housing. He has also run a chain of Florida retail stores. He casually throws these tidbits out there like one would mention a hobby. But how many people do I know who have run a chain of retail stores? None.
Ramping down the pace
This is where I began to write frantically, trying to keep up with Ty’s latent philosophies along with his life experiences, while he wove amazing descriptions into a tapestry of language I’m not accustomed to hearing. Developing a more Taoist philosophy. Not engineering expectations. Extraordinary experiences don’t cost… . I found myself listening, grasping the thought, while forgetting to write at the same time. Listening is more interesting.
Basically he stopped chasing the dollar years ago. Now that he has the ability to live in two different places, he can do more exploring. There are new grandkids with Lisa’s two boys having children of their own.
The art realm
Ty says that while he’s not so involved in theater as Lisa, he would do recorded voice-overs. He loves the people. Just more introverted, private, a homebody. When I asked what aspect of the art world, he mentioned painting, woodwork, writing. The retail store in Florida featured 120 artisans. There were wooden brain teaser puzzles, challenging for adults. He sells these on the road. You would have found him at the recent holiday bazaar at the Fairgrounds.
Renaissance fair beckons
This winter they’ll be part of a Renaissance Fair in Arizona over nine weekends, where they’ll be in character the whole time replete with costumes of the era. They even have a period tent of that era. It runs the first weekend of February ‘til the 1st or 2nd of April. Makes me want to go. Hey, I’m semi-retired. I’ve even been to a Renaissance fair, about a hundred years ago in southern California. Great fun. And a wonder to experience. For me, a fantasy world. Magic. We’ll miss you while you’re away, Ty and Lisa.
See you at Theater!
