On the passing of John Belluso

When we lost John Belluso this past weekend I was shocked. He was so young, so talented and - it seemed - so able to successfully beat the odds stacked against him that I never once thought he would ever lose at anything. Yet, it was here, online - of all places! - that I read of our loss of one of the most unique playwrighting voices in America today.

It wasn’t until I sat down to put into words a “proper” goodbye to John that I began to realize the strength of his talent, the power of his craft. You see - I could not find the words. Not on the first day. Nor the second. It is now, in the middle of the night when the thoughts have a sudden clarity, when the memories start coming back to me in chapters - in short scenes.

I first met RI born playwright John Belluso at Perishable Theatre about 9 years ago when his play Gretty Good Time was being produced there, under the direction of Vanessa Gilbert. John was, like myself, a local "Vo-Dylander" and I remember being struck by the fact that this kid from "Wahhwick" had written this challenging, complicated work that combined the seemingly random elements of Hiroshima Maidens, a titular character who was a German paraplegic with a suicide wish and the “This Is Your Life” show complete with host Ralph Edwards! It was a heady, weighty mix of pathos, of humor and of personal struggle and the Perishable audiences were struck by his talent and wit and promise.

He went on to become playwright-in-residence at Trinity Rep and to see many of his later work realized locally and then nationally and then it seemed his name was virtually everywhere from NY to LA. Everyone seemed to know of the playwright from Warwick who told tales of disabilities and strength and challenged audiences to look at things from a new perspective - his perspective. 

A few years later I was asked by Jeannine Chartier at VSA/RI to spend an afternoon with one of John’s playwrighting workshops at the organization, which promotes increased access to the arts for people with disabilities.They had a half dozen scripts or so written by local students under John’s tutelage that needed actors to “bring them to life” in an afternoon of staged readings at Perishable. As John prepped the actors before the reading, he spoke about beginnings. Although he was well aware that these plays were not the polished work of “pros” - or in some cases even finished pieces - he asked us to be respectful of the writers who had conceived them. That although they we may find our selves reading a far from Mamet-like scene, to treat the work with the same gusto. We were asked to just "be good actors" and for one afternoon let these students’ words come to life - and let them be for the first time be playwrights.

And we did. And they (and we) were delighted.

There were vampire stories and tales of unrequited love and many dramatic entanglements were given their moment onstage in the small theater. As the students gave us notes on our performance, it was clear to all of us the impact that this workshop had had on the group as they began to feel their potential and the potential of the written word…the core and passion of which came unmistakably from John. He knew the power of words. He was no stranger to how far they could lift you up, take you for a ride, a ride far from simple beginnings in Warwick RI. Words that could bring you success and accolades and respect  - from artists and critics and audiences alike. Words that when brought to life by an actor had the power to move us and make us think outside of our normal definitions of our everyday life to challenge us to see things from his perspective - to ask the dangerous and challenging questions.

I am heartsick and saddened that John has been silenced at such a young age, yet I am profoundly thankful that he shared with us his body of work. He created stories that will continue to move and provoke and amuse - and give audiences a reason to think twice - for many generations to come. I can find confort in the knowledge that he had the delight and the pleasure of hearing his thoughts and words come to life and become celebrated across the country, at theater after theater - by actors that gave them the power and life they so rightly deserved.

-Marilyn Dubois Busch, Assistant Director of Communications