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Writer's pictureJoanie

Scott Rousseau: A Heart as Big as His Talent

I have struggled for days with what to say. And still, I find words inadequate.


I really only became friends with Scott in 2021, but in that short time, we became very close friends. I cannot think of anything he did not do for MPP and for me, personally. His finger is all over our theatre. Our first production at the Doraville Civic Center, The Fantasticks, was performed in November 2021 and directed by Scott. He didn't just direct it - he designed, costumed, and made props for the show. It was upstairs in that small room of the Civic Center with a drop ceiling and ceiling fans; yet he transformed that space with the magic that he worked. People still talk about that show! I remember one patron said they had very low expectations when coming to see The Fantasticks and were there to support a friend; but after seeing it, they were absolutely blown away. 


Once we saw the space downstairs that eventually became the black box theatre we now inhabit, it was Scott who was one of the first to go down there with me, sit with me, discuss the possibilities with me. I still see him sitting in front of the door that night when we realized what we could make in that space. He drew up the floor plan that we used to create our little theatre there.  


Scott went on to direct two more shows for us, Marry Me a Little in February of 2023 and Baskerville in February of 2024, which was to be the last show he ever directed. It was during the rehearsal period of Baskerville that he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. While he was undergoing treatment, he continued to be involved with our shows as set designer for Good People and sound designer for Anna in the Tropics. He coached me and so many others throughout the process of other shows we produced, whether he was directly involved or not.  There was literally nothing he could not do - costumes, props, set design, sound design, you name it! And he knew everyone! He had directed or been in every show imaginable, was a wealth of theatre knowledge, and generous with his talents and resources despite his health struggles.


I began to lean on him for so many things. He became a frequent guest at our home. And, if I ever had a question about anything, I reached out to Scott. There are some who couldn't handle Scott's honesty (somewhat brutal at times, let's face it); but that's the thing I counted on from him. I always knew he would tell me the truth. And then make a joke...or share an anecdote...and leave me laughing or smiling. In one of our last conversations at the hospital, I was asking his opinion about something, and he looked directly at me with those eyes and replied in his raspy, breathless voice (as it was hard for him to speak due to the cancer having traveled to his lungs), "always lean towards truth". And as usual, he was right.


There are 5 people on my speed dial in my car - my husband, my 3 children, and Scott. And now I am bereft without him. I can only imagine how those who have known him longer must feel, especially his best friend of 50 years, Barry West, who saw him through all of his treatments, and doctor's appointments, and was with him at the end.  There are actors who have been in multiple shows that Scott directed over the past 40 years and can't imagine a theatre world in Atlanta without him.


We had plans, Scott and I. He was to help plan the layout of our new theatre on King Avenue. He was looking forward to directing Assassins for us in April of 2025. All gone. And now I am lost without him.  


I miss my friend. 

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I wish I'd had years or decades of friendship with Scott, but I treasure the few months I had, including the privilege of performing in his last show, "Baskerville." What a tour de force of Scott's creative genius -- a firm but loving directorial hand, a cornucopia of choreography and props and puppets and set pieces of his own creation. I learned so much and was looking forward to many more such opportunities.


When Scott got his cancer diagnosis he gathered the cast around and shared the news, with tears in his eyes. "Make me proud," he said. I hope we did.





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