Dancing, Forever Dancing in the Waves

I was absolutely blown away recently, upon viewing an episode of "Master Class" on HBO. It's a documentary series in which they have a "master" in some field or another sit down and work with a group of high school-age students who have been identified as particularly gifted in that arena.

This one featured the Swedish actress and director Liv Ullmann, who is around 70 now. She was brought in to work with five actors from around the U.S. -- three boys and two girls.

They were working on a scene from Streetcar Named Desire, and I loved the way she directed them. So much love in her direction. She wasn't "easy" on them by any means; in fact she was often openly critical of their choices, but in such a warm, supportive fashion. Her passion for theatre was evident and you could see the kids soaking it up.

Obviously, it brought back great memories for me of what it's like to be a young actor, bonding with a teacher, and with a group of fellow actors. As Ms. Ullmann says when she first meets her students, "I'm just so happy for you. You are in the best possible work there is. No matter what happens -- whether you 'make it' or not, this is the absolute best job you could ever have. You are together, working as a team."

The show was jammed with amazing pearls of wisdom, but the thing that really got me was when she said goodbye to these five kids with whom she'd just spent two intensive days.

"I want to tell you a story," she said. "I had my daughter with a man who was much older. On his 60th birthday, we had a party for Ingmar Bergman. At one point he and our 9-year-old daughter walked down to the seashore. He asked her, 'Tell me, what do you think your 60th birthday party will be like?'

"'I'll have lots of friends over, and Mommy will be here, and she'll be very old by then.'

"'What about me?' her father asked. 'Where will I be?'

"'I'll come down to the beach, and you'll be here, dancing in the waves. And we will dance together.'

"As you all move along in theatre, and in life, I may not be able to be with you," Ms. Ullmann said, "but I'll be there, dancing with you in the waves."

I like this image. I think I like it better than the more traditional, cottony-cloud heaven we all have in our collective psyche. The next time I go to the beach, I'll stand by the shore and imagine both my parents, dancing together, then noticing me there, smiling and opening their arms wide and welcoming me once more into their embrace.