Galway Players Eulogy for Sue Lukasiewicz
By: Lisa Hunter
Who would have ever thought that an idea created in 1967 to form a small local theatre group would have become such a large part of our community. For 40 years the Galway Players was a large part of not only Sue’s life but also for many of us here today. I don’t know if Sue ever realized back in 1967 the incredible impact she would have on so many people for the next 40 years. In fact, had it not been for the Galway Players and the joy of theatre instilled in me by Sue, I would not have traveled out to Galway at the age of 16, created friendships, met my husband, moved to the area and raised my children here.
How can you truly sum up the 40 year impact that she had on our lives. Anything Goes, Pippin, Gypsy, Annie, Mame, Hello Dolly, My Fair Lady, Sound of Music, Annie Get Your Gun, Oliver…these are just a few of the amazing productions she brought to this community. Her love of theatre was expressed to all who knew her and has carried on in many of our families. She made us laugh, gave us the confidence to go up on stage and sing, dance, act….some of us could even do all three at the same time. She was our director … always correcting bad grammar in the scripts, teaching us accents that were on occasion mastered by some, putting her vision for set design on little pieces of paper counting on the crew to design and build her vision. She would also have her say in the correct placement of a song, she would correct our dance steps and at times add just one more piece of stage direction at dress rehearsal. And every cast and crew member will tell you, when intermission began and when the show ended, Sue was always the first person in the room with a smile on her face and a compliment for every one of us. She always made us feel special.
We can talk about her shows, our rehearsals, the cast parties…but what Sue really did with this group was create a family. Over the past few days I spent some time talking to some of those who were impacted by Sue through the Galway Players –
Dawn Wheeler - I made a call to Sue when we first moved into Galway to inquire about the Galway Players auditions for the 2002 production of “Singin’ in the Rain.” I was looking in the Galway CSD calendar to find ways I could become involved in the community. She was so friendly and so welcoming during that first conversation with her that I came to auditions. She put me right at ease as a new resident of Galway and as a first-timer in community theatre--“the rest is history.”
Melissa Summersett - Sue was a wonderful woman who brought me into the Galway Players family when I was 17 years old. She was instrumental in so many wonderful memories over my 7 years with the group.
Maria Goldsmith - Sue instilled the love of theatre into the hearts of my family. She is the reason my son Jake started to dance and this changed our lives forever. When my mom passed away, Sue reached out to me and invited us into her family for Thanksgiving. I will never forget Sue and I see her in all of the young people she touched.
Jim & Anne Walrath - When Chrissy, Jim and Anne turned 40, Sue threw them a big combined birthday party. She welcomed us into her family and always made us feel special.
Lisa Hunter - She gave me a chance to explore my creative side in choreography – she took a chance on me without a second thought. She gave me opportunities on the stage that created a confidence in public speaking that I continue till this day to give her credit for… when asked how I can feel so comfortable talking to TV cameras during a press conference or even standing on stage providing a presentation in front of 400 professionals at a conference, I always say it is because of Sue and what she taught me. In addition to that, she made my family part of her family. When I was engaged, she not only threw me a bridal shower but also included my daughter who was 7 at the time and that was truly special. My daughter Cara also notes that Sue was an incredible person with such a big heart and Cara loved that Sue always treated her just like one of her own grandchildren.
Anne Valente sent me a note titled “Life Lessons from Sue” and in Anne’s words, this truly sums up everything Sue has taught us over the years:
No matter how many times she called me “my beauty” she was not going to be able to make me the singing, dancing actress she wanted me to be. I was too uptight to be onstage. All the other people working on her shows seemed to enjoy what they were doing and they were good at it.
Life Lesson: You cannot make people what they aren’t meant to be. But if you can identify people’s strengths and allow them the freedom to be creative in those areas, the sum of the parts will yield a beautiful result.
I always remember Sue standing on the floor in front of the stage, painting sets. She was the director…certainly someone else could be doing this job, right?
Life Lesson: A good leader earns the respect of others without trying. If you work alongside them, people become your partners. Your leadership becomes mentoring and they will learn from you because you worked with them regardless of how small the task.
Sue liked big sets. They were difficult to move and she was a real stickler for timing. She’d say “30 seconds in the audience with a closed curtain is a lifetime and a minute is an eternity.”
Life Lesson: Timing is everything. Anything worth doing is worth doing well. The devil is in the details and taking the time to work out the details is well worth the effort.
Community theatre is a wonderful place to foster a love for the art form. Youth theatre is a wonderful place to introduce children to performing, working as a group or becoming a polite member of an audience. Bring the young children to the shows, but…
Life Lesson: A crying baby should be immediately removed from any theatre. I needn’t say more.
Thank you to the Lukasiewicz family for sharing your mother with us for all of these years. Sue…you are a mentor and a friend. Thank you for the laughs, the tears, the hugs and the memories that will be carried on as your spirit will live on in all of us.
How can you truly sum up the 40 year impact that she had on our lives. Anything Goes, Pippin, Gypsy, Annie, Mame, Hello Dolly, My Fair Lady, Sound of Music, Annie Get Your Gun, Oliver…these are just a few of the amazing productions she brought to this community. Her love of theatre was expressed to all who knew her and has carried on in many of our families. She made us laugh, gave us the confidence to go up on stage and sing, dance, act….some of us could even do all three at the same time. She was our director … always correcting bad grammar in the scripts, teaching us accents that were on occasion mastered by some, putting her vision for set design on little pieces of paper counting on the crew to design and build her vision. She would also have her say in the correct placement of a song, she would correct our dance steps and at times add just one more piece of stage direction at dress rehearsal. And every cast and crew member will tell you, when intermission began and when the show ended, Sue was always the first person in the room with a smile on her face and a compliment for every one of us. She always made us feel special.
We can talk about her shows, our rehearsals, the cast parties…but what Sue really did with this group was create a family. Over the past few days I spent some time talking to some of those who were impacted by Sue through the Galway Players –
Dawn Wheeler - I made a call to Sue when we first moved into Galway to inquire about the Galway Players auditions for the 2002 production of “Singin’ in the Rain.” I was looking in the Galway CSD calendar to find ways I could become involved in the community. She was so friendly and so welcoming during that first conversation with her that I came to auditions. She put me right at ease as a new resident of Galway and as a first-timer in community theatre--“the rest is history.”
Melissa Summersett - Sue was a wonderful woman who brought me into the Galway Players family when I was 17 years old. She was instrumental in so many wonderful memories over my 7 years with the group.
Maria Goldsmith - Sue instilled the love of theatre into the hearts of my family. She is the reason my son Jake started to dance and this changed our lives forever. When my mom passed away, Sue reached out to me and invited us into her family for Thanksgiving. I will never forget Sue and I see her in all of the young people she touched.
Jim & Anne Walrath - When Chrissy, Jim and Anne turned 40, Sue threw them a big combined birthday party. She welcomed us into her family and always made us feel special.
Lisa Hunter - She gave me a chance to explore my creative side in choreography – she took a chance on me without a second thought. She gave me opportunities on the stage that created a confidence in public speaking that I continue till this day to give her credit for… when asked how I can feel so comfortable talking to TV cameras during a press conference or even standing on stage providing a presentation in front of 400 professionals at a conference, I always say it is because of Sue and what she taught me. In addition to that, she made my family part of her family. When I was engaged, she not only threw me a bridal shower but also included my daughter who was 7 at the time and that was truly special. My daughter Cara also notes that Sue was an incredible person with such a big heart and Cara loved that Sue always treated her just like one of her own grandchildren.
Anne Valente sent me a note titled “Life Lessons from Sue” and in Anne’s words, this truly sums up everything Sue has taught us over the years:
No matter how many times she called me “my beauty” she was not going to be able to make me the singing, dancing actress she wanted me to be. I was too uptight to be onstage. All the other people working on her shows seemed to enjoy what they were doing and they were good at it.
Life Lesson: You cannot make people what they aren’t meant to be. But if you can identify people’s strengths and allow them the freedom to be creative in those areas, the sum of the parts will yield a beautiful result.
I always remember Sue standing on the floor in front of the stage, painting sets. She was the director…certainly someone else could be doing this job, right?
Life Lesson: A good leader earns the respect of others without trying. If you work alongside them, people become your partners. Your leadership becomes mentoring and they will learn from you because you worked with them regardless of how small the task.
Sue liked big sets. They were difficult to move and she was a real stickler for timing. She’d say “30 seconds in the audience with a closed curtain is a lifetime and a minute is an eternity.”
Life Lesson: Timing is everything. Anything worth doing is worth doing well. The devil is in the details and taking the time to work out the details is well worth the effort.
Community theatre is a wonderful place to foster a love for the art form. Youth theatre is a wonderful place to introduce children to performing, working as a group or becoming a polite member of an audience. Bring the young children to the shows, but…
Life Lesson: A crying baby should be immediately removed from any theatre. I needn’t say more.
Thank you to the Lukasiewicz family for sharing your mother with us for all of these years. Sue…you are a mentor and a friend. Thank you for the laughs, the tears, the hugs and the memories that will be carried on as your spirit will live on in all of us.