Mary Lucy Bivins
“One of the earliest memories I have of loving to ‘tell stories’ was directing my neighborhood friends in the movie my parents took me to see the night before. I owe my childhood arts exposure and involvement to family members, starting with my parents, Bob and Kathryn Hudgens. I would like to add to this by giving additional credit to my mother. She knew, before I did, that I would be interested in theater and encouraged me to pursue acting.
“In a ‘hallmark-moment,’ she refused to take me home from high school one day until I went in and auditioned for the upcoming play. Despite my histrionic protest (confirming what my mother knew; that I had a flair for the dramatic), I auditioned. While I wasn’t cast in that show, something magical happened at that audition, and I knew that being a part of that magic was something I wanted to do. I was cast in the next high school play, and theater has been part of my life ever since.
“During these same childhood years, I credit very important arts’ exposure to my uncle, T.K. Hudgens, and my beloved grandmother, Sallie Belle Wessinger. My uncle was in charge of booking, for Spartanburg’s Memorial Auditorium, all the Broadway shows that toured nationally with their original stars and casts. Not only did I get to see live, professional theater, concerts and dance in Spartanburg, but I also met many of the artists. On trips to visit my grandmother in Atlanta, she loved to take me to live performances and movies all around the city. And I loved that experience. It was not until much later that I recognized how much this early arts’ involvement influenced my career choice,” Bivins says.
Bivins had dancing lessons for many years while growing up and loved performing in the recitals and credits those performances with developing her stage presence. “I thank my mother for nurturing this love, driving me to lessons for years and making countless recital costumes.”
“At Salem College I had four years of invaluable on the job training in every aspect of production.And perhaps, most importantly, I learned the infinite value of a liberal arts education to a career in theater,” she says. Her first professional theater experience was with the Asolo Theatre Festival in Sarasota, Florida, where she developed her love for regional repertory theater.
The summer after she graduated from Salem College, she was called to New York by friends to be in charge of props for an off-Broadway summer theater. She was subsequently cast in the company’s production of a new musical, and she garnered favorable reviews in Backstage Magazine.
She earned membership in Actors’ Equity Association (the union for professional actors and stage management) with two seasons at the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival in High Point, North Carolina. “NCSF was my first dream come true of working with a regional repertory theater. In addition to performances in High Point, the seasons included extensive tours of the Southeast,” she says.
After working as an actor for several years, she chose to go back to school at Wake Forest University.
“I was now a non-traditional student and the mother of two growing boys. Even though I had been a working actress, I wanted further theater training. Ironically, it was the traditional students at Wake Forest who encouraged me to stop auditing classes and go for the graduate degree. Once admitted, I packed up the boys’ toys and took Matt and Evan with me in the afternoons after school. The boys loved their ‘playground.’ The traditional students adopted them and made them honorary members of their theater society. It was a win/win,” she says.
After she completed her master’s degree, she was asked to stay on and teach acting and directing at Wake Forest. She spent 14 years at Wake Forest, while her sons were growing up, and worked as a professional actor during the summers.
“And for three years, I was also lucky to teach in an after-school acting program for young people at the Little Theatre of Winston-Salem. Matthew and Evan were in my classes. And, just as my dance lessons had helped me, these classes helped them develop, not only stage presence, but also poise and confidence in everyday life.
“We also had great fun acting together in productions with the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival, including three annual productions of ‘A Christmas Carol.’It was a joyous way to celebrate the holiday season.
“I believe their early arts’ experience was influential in molding them into the artists they have become: Acting (Matt has acted with companies in Charleston, Chicago and with me in Barter’s 2011/12 season.); Music (Matt and Evan are songwriters, recording artists and musicians with the band, Jump Little Children); Visual Arts (Evan is a graphic artist and designer. His self-portrait, as a high school student at UNC School of the Arts, was chosen to hang in the halls of Congress for a year.) Their love of the arts continues to be a part of their lives and careers today.
“In the years after Wake and Winston Salem, I threw my hat in the ring as a full-time actor and moved closer to Charlotte in Davidson, North Carolina.
“During this time, I became a member of the Screen Actors Guild and appeared in a number of films made in North Carolina,including three productions of Hallmark Hall of Fame. This was indeed a highlight, because my first job out of college as an aspiring actress was to work for Hallmark Cards at their gallery on Fifth Avenue in New York.
“A huge highlight of my wonderful years and acting opportunities at Charlotte Repertory Theatre was being a member of the cast of the Rep’s legally challenged and widely publicized production of ‘Angels in America.’ The court ultimately declared that ‘The show would go on.’
“We then performed this revolutionary theater experience to sold-out houses and an extended run. To support our trials and triumphs, ‘Angel’s’ Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Tony Kushner made an unexpected trip to Charlotte to see a performance of his six-hour masterpiece,” she says.
For the last 17 years, Bivins has been a member of the repertory company at Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia.
“There are countless highlights in my years at Barter. In fact, I would say that all of the shows I’ve had the good fortune to do and see here are highlights in some way.
“But I am forever indebted to Richard Rose for these treasured memories: playing Linda Loman opposite Eugene Wolf in ‘Death of a Salesman’; acting in plays with my son Matthew in Barter’s 2011/12 season; acting opposite Richard Rose in ‘The Gin Game’; traveling west for the first time in my life as actor and director of Barter’s national tour of ‘Miracle on 34th Street’; and, over time, getting to reprise some of my favorite roles in ‘Driving Miss Daisy,’ ‘Lying in State,’ ‘Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks,’ ‘Don’t Cry For Me Margaret Mitchell’ and ‘Holiday Memories.’
“Theater is a collaborative art. It tells stories about, with and to people. No highlight of my career is greater than the lasting friendships I have made and the colleagues I have worked with in every aspect of this art over the years.
“Regional theater, for the most part, is a transient experience. But the world of theater, itself, is small enough to provide continuing relationships with friends and colleagues despite distance. Barter’s unique, resident company experience provides family. Certainly, a challenge for everyone in theater is that there are no guarantees in this business. More time can be spent looking for work than getting to do it. But, as I have told my students, if you are willing to work hard, go for it. As long as you love it, do it.
“I have been so lucky to have always lived and worked in communities where the arts existed and mattered. I am so grateful to Abingdon and neighboring communities for embracing and supporting the importance of Barter Theatre,” Bivins says.
Katy Brown nominated Bivins for the AAME Arts Achievement Award and says “Mary Lucy understands that people walking through the doors of Barter are seeking honest, human connection, and to that end she makes herself available to the audience in the lobby after every single show. No matter how strenuous the role, no matter how short the break between performances, she is there, talking to those who need the stories, making them aware they are the most important factor in the equation of theatrical storytelling: the audience.
She serves as a mentor to the young actors, demonstrating the dedication, hard work and professionalism their craft requires. At one point in her life, she was a single mother who had to juggle raising two young sons with her acting career; when some of the actors in Barter’s company became mothers themselves, it was Mary Lucy they turned to as a role model. She is an integral part of the Barter community, of the arts community and the community at large.”
“First, I would like to say how deeply grateful I am to Katy Brown for nominating me for this incredible recognition; and if I may add, for her being a member of the audition team that gave me this life-changing opportunity to work at Barter 17 years ago.
“Committee chairman and tireless arts advocate, Ben Jennings, can attest to my (almost) speechless gratitude and delight when he shared the news that the AAME Arts Achievement Award Committee had chosen me as one of this year’s winners.
“I cannot tell you how honored I am to receive this award, and to be named in the company of its recipients, both current and past,” Bivins says.
