Come Grow With Us

  Preston Jones

 

Preston Jones, born and raised in Albuquerque, graduated from the University of New Mexico in 1960. Two years later he joined the Dallas Theater Center, where he became actively involved with the professional company as an actor, a director, and finally as a playwright.

When A Texas Trilogy was first produced by the Dallas Theater Center under Paul Baker's direction, the three plays broke all attendance records and received standing ovations. The first play in the trilogy, The Last Meeting of the Knights of the White Magnolia, was chosen by the American Playwrights Theatre as its 1975-76 offering, and the play was produced by numerous regional, university, and professional theater companies.

Richard L. Coe, the drama critic for the Washington Post, wrote: "Not since the Philadelphia premiere of Death of a Salesman have I been so profoundly satisfied . . . . The audience stood and cheered and I crouched in my seat fingering the tears from my eyes." (MORE)

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"BREAK A LEG"

Not literally, Uncle Woody.  

It is considered bad luck to wish someone good luck in a theater. In English-speaking countries, the expression "break a leg" replaces the phrase "good luck", which is considered unlucky.

The exact origin of this expression is unknown. One theory is that "Break A Leg" is a very old military term for "taking a knee", or bending down to one knee and breaking the line of the leg. In the theatre it is a reference to "taking a bow". To wish someone to "Break A Leg" is to ask them to give the best performance they are capable so that they may deserve to take a bow at performance end -- or, to "Break A Leg".

This expression has so entered the mainstream that it is used by non-actors toward actors and in non-theatrical situations, however, to say "break a leg" in ballet is considered just as much bad luck as saying "good luck", considering it's a physical art.