I suppose we have all heard ghost stories in dozens of theatres we have worked at. But, there was one that stood out for me. Not because it was scary, but because I felt it. Literally. I was at the Huntington Theatre in Boston doing a play called “Undiscovered Country” by Arthur Schnitzler. Two times while on stage, in the middle of the play, I felt someone tap me on the head. I would turn around and no one would be near me. I thought, maybe something was falling on me from the rafters above. But, it felt like a flick from a finger tapping you once, hard, on the back of the head. I mentioned it one night in the green room, and the actress playing the ingénue in the play said it was happening to her as well. My dresser at the time, said that her mother was a psychic up in Salem, Massachusetts (of course). She asked If I wanted to go up and meet her for a session. So, of course, we all went. Her mother told me that the taps were just some of the old actors from the theatre. She also told us about a man who had hung himself at the theatre. She said, they just wanted to say hello and be a part of the show. Well, I’ve got to say…. I didn’t believe what she told us. It just seemed too easy. I believe our energy goes somewhere after we pass on, but as to its holding together as a soul… well, I have my doubts. Later that night, I was making a quick cross under the stage to get to my entrance on the other side…… and something stepped on the train of my dress. I was pulled backward a bit, and I came to a full stop. I turned. No one was there. An empty room. I got on my hands and knees and felt all over that smooth concrete floor for anything that might have grabbed me, and caught the fabric of my train. Nothing, just the smooth concrete. I looked all over, even at the risk of being late for my cue. I went back later and looked again. Nothing. Someone, something had stepped on the train of my dress. I know I was jerked backward. Something had happened to me. If it was a ghost, it wasn’t just saying hello anymore.
Wendy Barrie-Wilson:
Wendy Barrie-Wilson has performed in over 100 plays, and hundreds of readings, working with dozen's of new writers helping develop their latest projects. She played Sister Aloysius in the European premiere of Doubt in Vienna. Wendy received a SALT Award and a DayTony award for her other productions of Doubt. Wendy was on Broadway in Our Town starring Paul Newman; and in the Tony Award winning production of Arthur Miller's All My Sons. Wendy has six seasons for the Shakespeare Theatre of NJ, Including, The Guardsman (Mama), I Capture the Castle (Mrs. Cotton), The Grapes Of Wrath (Ma Joad), and The Glass Menagerie (Amanda). Variety hailed her Amanda Wingfield as: She is one of the finest Amanda Wingfields in memory, and can proudly take her place alongside the memorable Amandas in this critic's experience: Helen Hayes, Jessica Tandy, Julie Harris and Maureen Stapleton.
Wendy has performed all over the country, at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Actor's Theatre of Louisville, Great Lakes Theatre Festival, Huntington Theatre, Asolo Theatre, Virginia Stage, Portland Stage, New Jersey Shakespeare Festival, River Arts Repertory, Indiana Repertory, Alliance Theatre, Playmaker's Repertory, and Denver Center Theatre Company, Princeton University Guest artist, among many others. She has worked with such wonderful writer's as J.P. Donleavy, Derek Walcott, Soviet writer Sasha Galin, The Red Clay Rambler's, Theresa Rebeck, and Arthur Miller. Roles include: Yelena (opposite Hal Holbrook) in Uncle Vanya, Lady Croom in Arcadia, May in Fool For Love, Masha in Three Sisters, Andromache in The Greeks, Tourvel in Les Liaisons Dangereuses; Mags in Painting Churches, Maud/Lin in Cloud Nine, Nadya Lenin in Travesties, Anna in Old Times, Mrs. Gibbs in Our Town, Sasha in Wild Honey, Olivia in Twelfth Night, Mariana in Measure for Measure, and several times in her two favorite's; Roxane in Rostand's Cyrano De Bergerac, and Stella in Tennessee William's A Streetcar Named Desire.
Wendy played Mrs. Chitwood on “The Guiding Light”. She can be seen on reruns of “Law & Order/ L&O’s SVU and C.I”. On PBS in "Novel Reflections”, and with PBS/Showtime in “Our Town”. Commercials: Wendy was for several years on Japanese TV as the Mom for General Foods “Blendy” Coffee. Many others inc: for Adidas (Europe) starring Anna Kornikova; Wendy also won an Addy award for Z94's Morning Zoo for her voiceover work. Wendy coaches actors and has taught Master Acting classes, theatre history and the "Business of the Biz", at Denison University, UNC-Chapel Hill; The ArtSchool, NC; Northeastern University, Baltimore's School for the Performing Arts, Denver Center Conservatory; Asolo Theatre; Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey; among others. She received her BFA in Theatre/Film at Denison University and her MFA in Acting at the UNC/Chapel Hill.
Wendy’s Great-Great Aunt Elisabeth Risdon and Uncle Brandon Evans were members of the Theatre Guild and worked with Lunt and Fontanne, Helen Hayes, J.B. Shaw, among many others. Elisabeth had a longtime career in Hollywood as well starring along with most of the famous actors of her day.