Though the Adirondacks is miles from any metropolitan area, our communities seem to be a magnet for creative minds.

My friend Karen Lewis is one of these. She divides her time between New York City and Saranac Lake. For many years, Karen was the pen behind the words of daytime actors such as Susan Lucci, Ruth Warwick, James Mitchell, Jill Larson, and David Canary. Winner of five Emmys and three Writers Guild Awards for All My Children, Karen L. Lewis has been retired from the Soaps for a few years and now spends even more of her time in her Adirondack community. She has contributed countless hours to both Pendragon Theatre in Saranac Lake and The Depot Theatre in Westport.

She has directed plays, produced plays, and has written plays—including her recent, award-winning The Perfect Wife. The Depot Theatre in Westport, NY, was first to give voice to The Perfect Wife almost a year ago as part of The Depot's Sunday Play Reading Series. And that was only the beginning.

Karen went on to enter her riveting play into Wagner College's Stanley Drama Competition and not surprisingly, won. Established in 1957 by philanthropist Alma Guyon Timolat Stanley, the Stanley Drama Award has a long and distinguished history. Past winners include Terrence McNally's This Side of the Door, Lonne Elder III's Ceremonies in Dark Old Men, and Jonathan Larson's Rent.

In early March, Karen was honored at The Players Club in New York City and presented the Stanley Drama Award by none other than Richard Thomas, aka John-Boy Walton. Though it may be his connection to either The Players Club or award-sponsor Wagner College which initiated the celebrity choice, I can't help thinking how apropos it was that this actor who, for so many years, portrayed a writer on TV, should have officiated.

The Perfect Wife will be read in New York City this week (Monday, April 9) at the Abington Theatre. The solid cast of working actors includes: Sherman Howard (Broadway's The Best Man), Maddie Corman (Broadway's Next Fall), Marguerite Simpson (Broadway's Butley), Beth Glover (Off-Broadway's Counselor-at-Law), and Walker Hare (Off Broadway's Flanagan's Wake). The play is a semi-finalist for the Eugene O'Neill Theatre's National Playwrights Conference. It will be read again on October 28 at Wagner College on Staten Island.

Karen is an unusual person--extremely talented and modest to boot. The house she shares with her partner in Saranac Lake was a Cure Cottage back in the day, and it's not uncommon for Karen to get a call on any given day asking if a tour may come through to see the room still preserved in Cure Cottage fashion. She is a big supporter of the local humane society, the Community Store in Saranac Lake, and youth and community theatre throughout the North Country and elsewhere. She is co-founder of Between A & B Production Company, which has brought professional performances to the Adirondacks.

She has many writing projects in the offing—including plays that could work well for schools as well as Adirondack educational venues.

Karen began her career as an actor, becoming a playwright at the suggestion of legendary actress Ginger Rogers whose characters in movies like Stage Door and Bachelor Mother served as role models for the young actor. As Karen tells it, after corresponding for a number of years, the veteran actress told Karen that her "letters were so funny, why don't you try to write a play."

Today Karen encourages aspiring actors to just get out there and do it—to heck with college. We parents don't always appreciate her direct advice but value the truth behind it. 

      --Kathleen Recchia has been enjoying the arts in the Adirondacks for about 20 years—both as observer and participant (acting, directing, and producing). She also enjoys cross-country skiing, juggling, and hosting visitors to the area at her bed & breakfast in Jay.