Actors Speak With Writing 105 and 106 Students

Students in Charlie Cino’s Writing 105 and 106 classes were treated to two special virtual visits this past semester, featuring three actors/writers who have been successful in film, television and live theatre over the past 60 years.

Mariette Hartley and her husband, Jerry Sroka, met with students on Wednesday, March 5. Hartley is the author of the bestselling memoir 'Breaking the Silence,' which illuminates moments in her career and tackles  issues such as depression, substance abuse and her father’s suicide. Students read and wrote about the book prior to Hartley and Sroka’s lecture, and had a rare opportunity to speak with the author. 

Hartley won an Emmy award for 'The Incredible Hulk,' and was nominated for her critically acclaimed sitcom "Goodnight, Beantown,'" as well as the TV-movie "The Last Hurrah," written by and starring Carroll O’Connor, and the series "The Rockford Files," among others.

Hartley is probably best-known for more than 250 Polaroid commercials co-starring James Garner, as well as the CBS morning news/information series called "The Morning Program,'" which she co-hosted live five days a week from New York City.

Sroka is known for the film version of "Godspell," in which he is featured prominently, as well as voice-acting work and guest work on hundreds of episodics, including "Seinfeld," "Ellen," "Murphy Brown"  and "The West Wing."

Together, they co-wrote the screenplay for, as well as starred in the recent feature film 'Our Almost Completely True Love Story,' which is loosely based on their marriage and relationship. The film has won nearly 50 independent film awards over the past few years.

In addition to answering questions about her movie and television work, Hartley spoke candidly about her book, and told students that despite some of the subject matter, they could ask her anything, including questions about her father’s suicide. The only topic off-limits, Hartley joked, was her age.

Barry Pearl, a native of Lancaster, visited students on Thursday, May 8.  He is best-known for his role as “Doody,” one of John Travolta’s “T-Birds,” in the iconic1978 film "Grease." Students viewed, read and wrote about the film prior to Pearl’s discussion.

In addition to acting and writing, Pearl has directed a number of plays and musicals from coast-to-coast.

The prolific, working character actor has performed in television hits including "House," "M.D.," "ER," "Murder, She Wrote," "Hill Street Blues," "Alice," "Barney Miller" and "Eight is Enough." He was a series regular on the Don Rickles' NBC sitcom "CPO Sharkey."

Like Hartley and Sroka, Pearl answered students’ questions about acting, writing and directing, for more than an hour. Many of the students had communicated to Cino that they were interested in writing as a career (journalism, screenwriting), or acting (stage, voiceover), which was Cino’s impetus for coordinating the special talks.

This is not the first time industry professionals have visited Cino’s classes. In the past few years, students have also spoken with actor/writer/producer Patrick Labyorteaux, actor Glenn Scarpelli and actor/writer K Callen.