Chip Purchase & Jay Glerum at lunch in Milwaukee at USITT 2013 |
Today, with the permission of its originator, I'm posting a tribute written just a few days ago by a client of Jay's who became his very good friend. Chip Purchase attended the March 20 USITT Session "Remembering Jay Glerum," in Cincinnati, but didn't get a chance to share his thoughts in the time allotted. So, he jotted down what he wanted to say and sent it to me afterwards. It's a wonderful tale of how a professional relationship turns into deep friendship.
Jay
Glerum
I listened to all the testimonials during the event at USITT and
it struck me how many people had a professional and personal relationship with
Jay and that he had a profound influence on their lives. My relationship with
Jay and with Sallie seemed to revolve around food.
I met Jay when I attended one of his rigging seminars. I had sent a note ahead asking if we could
meet to discuss his doing a rigging seminar in Houston. A short session, it would be a rigging
seminar for managers because most administrators of arts groups
and certainly bureaucrats don’t understand enough about rigging, and
especially the dangers involved. He, of
course, thought it was a good idea and the event was well attended. His classroom was the stage of the old Music
Hall in Houston with the rail as his backdrop.
When Jay explained how rigging worked, the managers listened where as if
I said the same words, they would carry less weight. That first meeting took place over lunch.
For the next 20 years, whenever Jay and I got together, we
ate. We ate lunch, we ate dinner. Sometimes it was just the two of us,
sometimes with Sallie or with my wife Darla and sometimes with both of
them. Those were the best meals, when
both wives were with us. We had a standing
lunch date for all conferences we both attended and of course, you have to take
a lunch break during inspections. Pick
Jay up at the airport, take him to the hotel and then to dinner. Lunch break during the inspection and dinner
later in the evening always followed.
When Jay inspected Jones Hall’s rigging, it usually took two days
as there is a lot to look at so we got to eat often. I would always put on a large crew for those
inspections, not only to pull ropes, but to help inspect and learn and make
minor repairs if needed. Jay would put
one stagehand at the head block and one on each loft block and others could
watch lines and listen. Especially
listen.
A lot of hands learned a lot about rigging from Jay as he never
stopped teaching, and as I heard many people say, he never stopped
sharing. Not only would he tell someone
what to look or listen for, he would explain why and share a story. And he would wait for questions and not treat
the stupid ones with anything but respect.
He never told the questioner that the question was stupid. He didn’t seem to believe there were stupid
questions. Questions were always
important, especially when deciding what to have for lunch.
Chip Purchase
March 24, 2015