ACTRESS ENJOYS PLAYING VARIETY OF ROLES

Professor built Waubonsee Community College theatre, communications divisions

Maria Bakalis has played many parts: director, mother, teacher, political campaigner, proud Greek-American.

And that’s not even counting her stage roles.

“The first thing I ever wanted to do was plays,” says the petite woman, sitting in her office stuffed with playbills, play posters and photos.

Bakalis, 60, of Glen Ellyn, was promoted to a full professor position at Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove this year but has been building the theatre and communications departments for 26 years.

“She built the curriculum,” said Bill Marzano, dean of the college of communications, humanities and fine arts. “The woman can do everything.”

She acts in and directs several productions a year and has performed throughout Illinois and abroad.

A career in the arts has always been a goal for Bakalis, but she has blended that with a passion for teaching, an appreciation for diversity and a heavy dose of humility.

“People sometimes have a ’star system’ misconception about theatre,” she said. “There are no stars. Everyone is an interconnected piece.”

ALWAYS ACTING

Bakalis’ directing experience started in her parents’ grocery store on the south side of Chicago when she was in fifth grade. To convince other children to be in her plays, she would offer them candy from the store.

Her father was a Greek immigrant and her mother a second-generation Greek-American who wanted to instill a sense of heritage in Bakalis and her brother. Three times a week, she traveled to Greek school to learn language and history.

She graduated from DePaul University with a bachelor’s degree in speech and theatre, Northeastern Illinois University with a master’s degree in communications and theatre, and got her doctorate in adult continuing-education from Northern Illinois University.

She taught at an inner-city Chicago high school before moving to a community college and came to Waubonsee in 1979. She said the high school was an important educational experience.

“Poverty, drugs, security — every issue you could think of was reflected there,” she said. “Some of the students you know overcame a lot just to be in class that day.”

ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE

When Bakalis came to Waubonsee, the theatre department had two classes. She has added multiple classes in communications and theatre in her time there.

She also directs plays and the student theatre group Stage Performers, Etc. She co-wrote a book for one of her classes on interpersonal communication.

She acts in and directs community theatre throughout the Chicago area and has received acting certificates from academies in London and Athens.

Several years ago, she debuted her one-woman show “La Maria,” which she also wrote, about the life of opera diva Maria Callas.

The show runs about 80 minutes, with Bakalis’ acting interspersed with Callas’ singing.

“I spent a year reading everything I could get my hands on about her,” Bakalis said. “She was a very complicated person. She appeared arrogant, but really she was very insecure.”

She’s performed the show throughout Illinois and in Greece, Callas’ birthplace.

Her performances earned her the Twentieth Century Award for Achievement in the Field of Theater from the International Biographical Centre of Cambridge, England, in 1999.

“I wanted to combine her perspective on art and what was going on in her own personal odyssey,” Bakalis said.

She still reads through the script once a week in case anyone requests that she do the show.

Next year, she plans to tour Greece again with the show and perform it in Greek.

FAMILY TIES

In the mid-1970s, Bakalis joined a political campaign without knowing it would change her life.

While working on the campaign of a Democratic, Greek-American candidate for state comptroller, she met her future husband, the candidate’s brother.

Michael Bakalis was elected state comptroller in 1976. Maria married George Bakalis the next year.

Michael Bakalis also ran unsuccessfully for governor against Jim Thompson.

George Bakalis was a teacher before he went to law school and spent a decade as an attorney.

He was appointed an associate judge in 1990 and was elected as a Republican circuit court judge in 1996. He most notably oversaw the Marilyn Lemak trial and sentencing of the Naperville woman to life in prison for the murder of her three children.

“You can definitely tell who’s the judge and who’s the actor” in the relationship, Maria said. “I do things to reveal feelings and emotions, and he’s got to suppress that.”

The couple has two grown children, a teacher and a caterer.

LEARNING TO LISTEN

Bakalis enjoys acting because it allows her to be expressive and promote empathy, she said.

Acting can be a great community at its best and turn toward cliquey at its worst, she said.

“It frees you to express all sorts of emotion that in daily life you don’t always have the ability to express,” she said. “The goal is to make a concept universal, so people see something in themselves.”

One common misconception she said she often has to correct in young actors is that there is a star of the show and that acting is an individual field.

“It can’t be an ego issue because you want to connect to the audience and make people think and feel,” she said. “The minute you start thinking about yourself, there’s a disconnect with the audience.”

Also an important tool is learning how to listen, even onstage, she said.

“When you’re on stage, you’re only as good as the other actors with you,” she said. “Acting is reacting. I can’t express my feelings until I hear what you’ve said.”

Bakalis’ students say she is tough but fair and encouraging. Besides her acting awards, she was awarded the Woman of the Year in the Arts by the United Hellenic Voters of America in 2002 and was the recipient of the Waubonsee Faculty of the Year award in 1998. She is now working to direct a play originally written by Halsted Street immigrants in 1939 about their experiences in Chicago. She is usually busy with a play — or a few — and she likes to keep that schedule.

“I think that to be part of the ballgame, you’ve got to keep active,” she said. “Otherwise, you’re not a participant; you’re an observer.”

(Originally published in the “Daily Herald,” October 2, 2005.)

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DR. MARIA BAKALIS: LAST ACTING HERO

The Waubonsee theatre department has, semester after semester, put out large, well-done ensemble plays that have ranged from comedy to drama. The very active department has a lot to be proud of, but, as is true with any group, owes much to leadership. Dr. Maria Bakalis is that leader, a full-time professor and head of the theatre department. Recently, Insight sat down with Dr. Bakalis, who is both opinionated and polite, passionate and articulate, to discuss not just her teaching, but her views on theatre and acting in general.

Insight Chief Copy Editor Sam Smyth: What is it that drew you to theatre in the first place?

Dr. Maria Bakalis: That’s a very difficult question when you’re dealing with somebody in the arts. It’s usually something within that reflects itself in a passion. So, I would say it’s the desire to connect with people. I don’t look at an audience as a mob. An audience has individuals in there, and I always realize that something in this play, some line in this play may affect someone in that audience. There’s always that moment that I believe someone has connected.

Insight: Have you found that there was anything when you were young that connected with or inspired you?

Bakalis: I always loved Arthur Miller plays. I always thought he lookd at what we need as human beings, what’s our common denominator as people. So I would say probably he is one of the ones that really triggered me as far as saying that theatre does more than put on a play. Theatre is not just about me as an actor getting up there and expressing my own personal opinion. I never look at it that way.

I think it has more to do with how I’m going to affect other people in their lives, than just in my life. I don’t think the arts should be looked at as self-expression. Because if you look at it as only self-expression, it’s a very egotistical perspective on the arts, [and] the arts are not about ego. The arts are about universalities. So I always felt that the playwrights like Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams and August Wilson always dealt with that common denominator that we all have as human beings. So, it transcends. It has nothing to do with me.

Insight: Do you think that egotism is a big stumbling-block for a lot of artists?

Bakalis: It’s a huge stumbling-block and I don’t care which of the arts it is. At some point in time, it’s going to shut down the wall between you and the audience. You may be able to do it for a while, because of the energy and the talent that you have, but at some point in time the audience senses this [sentiment of], “You’re not connecting with me. You’re looking in a mirror.”

Insight: You do hear a lot of artists, be they musicians or whatever else, describe what they do as self-expression.

Bakalis: See, I don’t. I mean, it’s part of the reasons why … yes, you do, you like it. Like, for me, you can create all these different characters, but the only reasons you want to create the different characters is so that all of these different characters finally find their voice. You’re only a vehicle for that character’s voice. And so, what I try to do with the students is get them out of that thinking that, “This is all about me and the spotlight is on me.” The spotlight is on what is being said, not who is delivering it. So, that’s tricky. That’s real tricky.

Insight: You’re a big Charlie Chaplin fan. In theatres or movies, what other actors are you a fan of?

Bakalis: I like people who are very versatile. Robert Duvall, I find, is one of the greatest versatile actors. From The Apostle to Tender Mercies and The Godfather, he’s very disciplined. I love the British actors. I find them phenomenal. Helen Mirren is phenomenal. Judi Dench is phenomenal. And this is the difference I find, since I studied in England and went to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts — it’s not about looks. It’s about the character and developing the character. No one says “I’m an actor” unless they’ve studied it. The problem [with acting here] is anybody says it. Without training, they can say it. They don’t see that it’s a training. Al Pacino is good. He took it as a study. Robert DeNiro took it as a study. Marlon Brando took it as a study. All of them, even though they may be rebels in their own study, they still understood it’s a study. It’s a technique. You need to constantly be working at it.

Insight: What do you look for when you pick the school plays each semester?

Bakalis: I look for ensemble pieces, meaning no one’s the star. I look for big casts, so I can get as many people involved [as I can], because I feel that, at this community-college level, you just want people to try things. And if you shut it down to a play that only has six people, well, you already have shut it down. So I want something where people say, you know, I’d love to be onstage.

Insight: What have you found to be the biggest challenge in teaching theatre?

Bakalis: Getting rid of the star idea, and getting rid of cliques. I think it’s just part of the nature of it … it starts to become a clique, and it’s not necessarily because people set out to become a clique, but once you’ve experienced something together, you tend to [bond]. But that’s not good, because once it’s perceived as a clique, you’ve already, again, shut the door to the student who says, “I don’t think I got a chance, because they all hang out together.” It’s unfortunate, because I’ve had students who are very good who were never even in high-school theatre, because they felt it was a clique.

Insight: We already covered some of this, but is there anything else you want to say on your philosophy on teaching and on acting?

Bakalis: I think it is to approach it with a passion. To approach it with a discipline. And to approach rehearsal as performance. That is, to me, very important, because when you approach it as a performance, you are experimenting.

You’re trying things out that you think an audience would like. I approach every rehearsal with the energy of a performance. I think passion, discipline, rehearsal as performance and … promoting ensemble.

(Originally published in the Waubonsee Community College Insight, May 2007.)

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“THAT’S BROADWAY, BABY!”

Under the direction of Maria Boundas Bakalis, the Waubonsee theatre department performed “Broadway,” an entertaining story set in a 1930s nightclub, on April 12, 13 and 14.

Drama began to unfold when feuding crime lords (played by Will Wilson and Cameron Meuller) paid a visit to the club at the same time, sparking a less than friendly confrontation. The remainder of the play revolved around the cover-up of said confrontation, especially when police detective Dan McCorn (Clint Carlton) showed up. The other major plot twist involved the love triangle between nightclub manager Roy Lane (Michael Hochstetler), crime boss Steve Crandall (Wilson) and cabaret dancer Billie Moore (Christa Foster).

On top of all the conflict between the characters, the nightclub was still a nightclub, and Lane, Moore and the other dancers were constantly flitting back and forth to perform numbers in a wide variety of costumes (props to the designers for the variety and to the actors for changing their outfits so quickly).

With regard to the acting, the award for one of the best performances of the night definitely goes to Michael Hochstetler and Will Wilson. The duo played the parts of nightclub manager and crime boss, respectively, and had a number of excellent scenes together. Both characters were trying to woo the same woman, and they were at odds for much of the play.

The performance of these two was especially interesting to watch, as they played a far different type of role in the fall 2006 play, “Break a Leg,” when they were insufferable comic hounds who had a one-liner response to everything.

Another highlight of the play was the spectacular set. Led by Sean Ream, the set-construction crew built an amazing set that included two sets of stairs, an office, a bar, and very period-appropriate paint scheme. My hat is off to all those that put in hours of work on the set, because it turned out very nice and added a great feeling to the entire play.

While “Broadway” was nowhere near the laugh-fest that last semester’s “Break a Leg” was, there were a few laugh-out-loud moments and a number of smirk-inducing lines, including one said by the exasperated club owner, Nick Verdis (played by Ream), who exclaimed at one point that it “was a free country — almost.”

“Broadway” succeeded in the drama department, however, and aside from a few dragging moments here and there, the play was well-acted, exciting, and definitely another top-notch performance by the Waubonsee theatre department.

(Originally published in the Waubonsee Community College Insight, May 7, 2007.)

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STAGE DEBUT — WHEATON DRAMA OPENS SEASON IN NEWLY RENOVATED THEATRE

Wheaton Drama, Inc. is kicking off its season with a new look, as well as a new show.

“Moon Over Buffalo” is the first show of the season to be staged at the newly renovated Playhouse 111, 111 N. Hale St., Wheaton.

“This is the very first play in the theater,” said Maria Bakalis, director of the comedy. “It’s a wonderful thing for the community to support the theater. The additional seating shows the group is successful and has been doing quality productions for 75 years.”

The renovations of the two-stage project have added more than 50 seats, as well as raising the roof and adding more space for the backstage area. For phase two, additional seats in the balcony are planned.

Bakalis, of Glen Ellyn, a member of the group since 1978, directed about 10 plays and has appeared in a dozen. Although directing requires more responsibilities for the entire production and costumes, she enjoys directing comedy and farce like this one.

“It’s total enjoyment seeing the finished product,” she said. “The vision actualized.”

Asked if she prefers directing or acting, she said there’s no comparison.

“As director, it’s your interpretation of the play,” she said. “You get a vision on stage and it’s complemented by the actors. When you’re acting, you create a character to go with the director’s vision. It’s a whole different persona.”

Bakalis said this farce has a lot of mistaken identities, slamming of doors and scenes where timing is critical for the humor. The comedy originally premiered on Broadway with Carol Burnett.

The show offers a look at a theater company in the 1950s. The lead characters and their family members deal with a plot full of misunderstandings, missing persons and mistaken identities, reminiscent of Shakespeare, Bakalis said.

The show opened last week, so Bakalis has already had audience reaction to the comedy.

“We’ve had a great response,” she said. “We’re getting a lot of laughs, so we’re succeeding.”

(Originally published in the “Daily Herald,” January 27, 2005.)

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BAKALIS PROMOTES BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS

Maria Bakalis plans to spread the word about Big Brothers/Big Sisters of DuPage County.

While the agency’s new board member may have a full schedule teaching communications and theater at Waubonsee College in Sugar Grove, working on her doctorate degree and caring for her family, she plans to make time for the agency helping children of single-parent homes.

“I felt I had something to give to youth beside teaching students at college level who have goals for life set,” she said. “So many children don’t have the mentoring that Big Brothers, Big Sisters and Big Couples provide.”

As a parent of two Glenbard West High School students, Nicole and John, Bakalis knows the importance of mentoring and parenting. Her husband, George, an associate judge of criminal cases in DuPage County, also sees the consequences of children not having the positive role model of a mentor or adult.

Bakalis said she wants all the church, club and city organizations to know she is available to talk.

“I really would like to let them know I am available to come and talk about the organization and how people can get involved and make a big difference,” she said. “People get overwhelmed, but if everyone just did one thing to help, it would make a difference.”

(Originally published in the “Daily Herald,” October 13, 1995.)

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