Many years ago (ages, it seems) I attended Springfield High School, where I participated quite thoroughly in the theater program. So much so, apparently, that the theater director there (Jonathan Seigle) created a special theater award and named it after me. The Tim Shaw Award. I was flattered and a bit intimidated. Though I never won the award myself, many others did over many years... which shocked me in that it went on for so long as well as how coveted the title of, "Tim Shaw Award Winner" had become locally.
One such winner was a young man named, Aaron Jamison. To be eligible and indeed to be named as a Tim Shaw Award winner, one must dedicate one's life to the theater and contribute in ways both large and small to the success and growth of the institution, regardless of the role played. Aaron was recently, within the last couple of years, diagnosed with cancer. He is quite possibly one of the finest, strongest and most faithful people I have ever had the opportunity to meet.
Aaron and I first met when we did the play, "Harvey" together in high school. I played Elwood and he played E. J. Lofgren, the cabbie (as a substitute when we had another actor quit during production). Aaron was a big guy then, to accomodate the amount of heart he had, I'm sure. He's even bigger today, again in accordance to the size of his immense heart and the love he has for so many people, his wife Kristin especially.
Years after high school I met up with Aaron again and he told me that he'd won the Tim Shaw Award. The way he talked about it, I thought there must be some sort of prize like a wheelbarrow full of cash or a shiny new car attached to the matter... but no, it was simply the fact that he'd won that filled him with such pride. I was honored and more than a little humbled.
When I heard Aaron had cancer, that it was quickly eating away not only his life but also his finances... I felt utterly helpless, useless in fact. Here I was, Tim Shaw, of all people and I could do nothing to help.
Finally, however, the answer has come to me... Harvey! If I could re-cast Harvey with actors living today, who would I select and who would droves of people flock to see? It was pretty much a no-brainer that Morgan Freeman would make the best Elwood P Dowd since James Stewart graced both stage & screen. Then I wondered, who was a big enough personality to play off of Mr. Freeman? OPRAH! I'm a genius. (Hey, they don't name an award after you in Springfield, Oregon for nothin' ya know!)
Now comes the hard part... getting the information/request to Oprah (who I would think has the clout, contacts and ability to make this happen) and actually get Aaron and his wife Kristin the relief so desperately needed in their greatest time of strife. Add to that, who wouldn't want to see the cast I have lined up in my head to fill out the play?!?!
So, here's where you (the social networking/internet/six degrees of separation folks) come in... copy/paste/link or whatever this to your Facebook, Twitter or whatever; tell your friends, neighbors, family, strangers you meet in passing... anyone who might know someone who could possibly know yet someone else who can get Oprah's attention and get her this idea/request.
My end goal here is not to save Aaron's life. I've prayed about that to answers other than what I had hoped. What I would like to see happen, for this particular Tim Shaw Award winner, my friend, is that he knows his medical debts and his wife will be taken care of once he's gone... As heartbreaking as this is, it feels 'right' to me.
So please, do whatever you can to get this to whomever it needs to in order to make this project "GO!"
heavily karmically indebted to you,
Tim Shaw
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Harvey - Recast:
- Elwood P Dowd :: Morgan Freeman
- Harvey :: Himself
- Veta Louise Simmons :: Oprah Winfrey
- Miss Kelly - Nurse :: Lauren Graham
- Dr. Sanderson :: Hugh Grant
- Dr. Chumley :: Robin Williams
- Myrtle Mae Simmons :: Thandie Newton
- Wilson - sanitarium orderly :: Steve Buscemi
- Judge Gaffney :: Robert Guillaume
- Cabbie EJ Lofgren :: Christopher Walken
- Mrs. Hazel Chumley :: Kathy Bates
- Mrs. Ethel Chauvenet :: Whoopi Goldberg
- Herman - Sanitarium gatekeeper :: Patrick Stewart
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