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Leaving the ranch: The cowboy actor
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Posted by jamesy Wed Jan 5, 2005 13:13:00 PST
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0 responses 0 comments In 1997, The Californian did a story on me regarding my acceptance to a prestigious acting school in New York called The National Shakespeare Conservatory.

What they didn't know was that as soon as I got to New York the school was closed down due to inadequate funding.

Here I am, a cattle rancher from Bakersfield, stranded in the busiest of places -- New York City. I was petrified and yet for some reason I didn't even call my family to tell them what had happened to me. I couldn't. This was my first time away from home, my first time on a plane and my first time all by myself and now my only reason for being there was gone.

But instead of going back home to the ranch, I did what a lot of other actors do -- I got a real job. I actually got a lot of real jobs and that became my life for the next two years.

Eventually, I grew tired of real jobs and I even grew tired of auditioning and began writing a show about my experience, called, "Mammas, Don't Let Your Cowboys Grow Up To Be Actors." It's a one-man autobiographical comedy that highlights the misadventures of a cowboy turned actor, but also the sadness of leaving home.

I love performing this show. The most exciting element for me is that in the context of my life I get to let people think about their lives -- in a funny and sometimes poignant way.

James Beard can be seen at the Spotlight Theatre Jan. 14 through Feb. 6.

Editor's note: Beard grew up on his family's Glennville ranch and performed at the Melodrama on Manor Street when he was a student at North High. He also appeared in musicals and plays presented by Bakersfield Civic Light Opera and Stars Dinner Theatre.
While in New York, he studied at the Stella Adler Conservatory and did stand-up at such comedy clubs as Caroline's on Broadway, Gotham Comedy Club and Stand Up New York. For the past two seasons he's had major roles in productions of Shenandoah Shakespeare, based at Blackfriars Theatre in Staunton, Va.
"Mammas" is the culmination of a routine called "From the Cattle Ranch," which he first performed at Spotlight several years ago. He since has added material and debuted the current edition recently on the East Coast.

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