One of the benefits to attending performances at the Author's Playhouse in Bay Shore has been the discovery that a Brit of major talent frequently graces its stage, inspires playwrights to develop their plots based on her life, and takes the helm as director of several plays each season. This person is British born, Jean Arena.

    Jean's life as a competent actor started in the usual way by being encouraged to develop her talent for the stage. Looking at least 15 years younger than her 75th year, Jean told The Beacon that she was born and raised in Scotland, 5 years before her family moved to London. There she began work as a dancer with Madam Terry Friedman's troupe of young people who once held a command performance for Queen Mary. She recalls the strictness of the training at Terry's. Terry's girls performed at a theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue and were very famous for their chorus line with Rockette-type routines. Going to dance school was a must for anyone who wanted to be trained properly before appearing on a professional stage. The children had to rehearse and also keep up with their regular schooling. She has vivid recollections of her uniform of red coats, red/white checkered dresses, and black patent leather shoes. The pull towards professional performance came naturally to her as her Mom was a professional when she met Jean's father in South America; her father was running theaters and movie houses. He spoke seven languages.

    Performing in London was punctuated by the World War II 1943 bombing of the city. With the future so uncertain, Jean had to look into an alternate way to earn a living besides acting and went to school to become a certified dental assistant. But, it was on the stage where she felt real enjoyment and she performed at the Hippodrome and the London Coliseum with many famous British performers such a Ike Hatch, the Singing Minstrel, well-known English leading many Barry Sinclair, and organist Harold Ramsey, as well as comedian Joey McGregor, Sister Hodgkins, Greto Gay, and other British stars such as Tomy Handly and Claude Horton.

    Jean met her husband, Gasper Arena, who was an Italian-American and she had a happy family life with him and their two girls in the United States, buying their first home in Deer Park on Burlington Avenue. Together they spent 12 wonderful years before illness brought some sad experience to Jean's life. In 1962, she lost her mother, in 1963 her sister, and in 1966 her beloved husband also died. To support herself she resumed her work as a dental assistant, working some 30 happy years with her current employer, Dr. Emanuel Cohen.

    Seeking to rebuild her life after the death of her husband, Jean attended dances at St. Monica's Guild in Bay Shore where she gained many friends and resumed her active participation in the Author's Playhouse and other outlets for her many talents. Some of her ventures on the stage got their rebirth by participation in theatre groups associated with Ss. Cyril and Methodium Church where she performed in "Arsenic and Old Lace".

    It was at Author's Playhouse that Jean Arena's love for the theatre came to maturity and she was acting in almost every type of part from drama to comedy and has convincingly adopted a number of ethnic characters, including Chinese, Italian, and Indian. Visitors to Author's Playhouse will recall her commanding performance as a Native American in "Pow Wow", which will be performed again, by popular demand, on July 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25, 31, and August 1. She will also be performing, with convincing innovation, the lead part as Olga, the Gypsy card reader, in Sal Rainone's musical "Caravan" with a stage run scheduled for July 2, 3, 4, 12, 19 and 26 at the Authori's Playhouse.

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