Carole Costello gleefully recalls the incident outside the Mill River Dinner Theater, where she had been performing in "Rumors," a Neil Simon comedy.
She and a fellow actor, still costumed as the police officers they portrayed, strolled past an unruly patron in the parking lot of the Central Falls theater. "Hey - why'd'ya call the cops on me?" the patron asked before promptly moving along.
Give her a costume and she changes characters. It's all part of the fun Costello, a senior secretary in the Department of American Civilization, has had since landing her first role.
Costello, who has worked in a variety of offices at Brown since 1986, was bitten by the acting bug about a year ago after attending a production at the dinner theater. "I thought I could give it a try - what did I have to lose?" she said. She sent in an audition card, was notified of an upcoming audition, then landed a small part in "She Loves Me."
Although she freely acknowledges that "I'm a ham," Costello says that her relationships with her fellow actors especially rewarding. "They're a fun bunch of people," she says. "They're all ages and from all walks of life."
Acting is just an extension of the performing Costello has been doing for seven years with the East Bay Chorus. A soprano, Costello has had the opportunity to sing on the steps of the Capitol in Washington, D.C., at the John F. Kennedy Library, and at Narragansett Town Beach accompanied by the Rhode Island Philharmonic. The 130-member chorus (which also includes Brown colleagues Joyce Molino, Peg Mercurio amd Barbara Wilbur) is currently rehearsing for its annual holiday concerts on Dec. 3 and Dec. 5.
"It's my stress release," she says of her chorus participation. "I may have had a bad day at work, but then I rehearse a number like `It's a Wonderful World' and, by the end of the song, I really feel like it is a wonderful world!" - Tracie Sweeney