LOCAL TALENT
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Acting chops Drama class, performing on stage boosted Alan Hickey’s self-esteem as a teen. STORY: THERESA CAMPBELL
≈ PHOTO: NICOLE HAMEL
cting is in Alan Hickey’s blood. Performing on stage has been the Ocala mental health counselor’s lifeblood in high school, college, and community theater groups where he has won outstanding performance awards. In February, he took part in the Gainesville Film Festival, where participants were given a theme and 72 hours to submit a finished product. “It’s a thrill to be a deeper part of the creative process,” says Alan, who also aspires to act on stage of Studio Theatre at Tierra del Sol in The Villages. “I would love to perform in any production of the Studio Theatre,” he says, adding that he’s impressed by the current fifth season lineup: “It has an overarching theme for empowering women. Their tagline ‘Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History,’ is an amazing way to commemorate the centennial of the suffrage movement.” Alan credits drama for enriching his life when he needed it most. He had just moved to Florida from New Mexico after his parents’ divorce when a Forest High School guidance counselor suggested, “Why don’t you try a drama class?” The class and being on stage became the self-esteem boost Alan needed, which
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led to performing in the International Thespian Society Florida District 12 competitions, all thanks to his mentor Chad Taylor. “He gave me pointers on stage presence, the importance of comedic pacing, and most importantly, how to harness my anxious energy. ‘You don’t have to be amazing, just don’t suck,’” Alan recalls of Chad’s advice. “It was such a simple shift in approach, yet amazingly effective at reducing anxiety and stage fright, and widely applicable today to those needing to give a presentation.” Alan also performed Shakespeare in college, “where I developed a deep love for the language, prose, and the iambic pentameter for which Shakespeare wrote.” Alan treasures two drama awards most, for “Best Actor” and “Outstanding Performance,” awarded to him and his co-star, Chip Morris, for their two-man show, “Jump” in 2003. “It was a wonderful exercise in acting chops,” recalls Alan. He cherishes life with his favorite performer, his daughter, Alba, who will be 10 in May. “She’s the most amazing marshmallow-cheeked cutie patootie I’ve ever seen and has a way of captivating my attention like no one else with her stories. She tells me about her dreams each morning she remembers them and I’m in awe of her mind. She’d like to be a director when she grows up, so I would absolutely love to act in one of her films.”
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