-Do What You Love, And Love What You Do

Frank Bartolucci, director of “A Raisin in the Sun”

by Christina A.

What does it take to succeed?

If you ask Mr. Frank Bartolucci, the director of Pistarckle Theater, you may get the same answer I did, “Perseverance! If you love something, and you're passionate about something, and you have the talent,” he said -- smacking the table in front of him-- “stick to it! Don’t fool yourself. Make sure you have the talent, that’s the key, perseverance.

He is referring to his own experiences. “I gave up on theater instead of continuing.” He decided to change careers in the 1980s, and get into the hotel business. From this experience, he has learned the importance of perseverance. “Never get out of the boat.” That’s his advice for everyone, especially young people.

Bartolucci came to Saint Thomas for a management job at the Marriott Frenchman’s Reef. But there was something more important than the job that he got. He was able to get back into theater, his first dream.

He worked as a freelance director about four to five years. As soon as he had the chance to become resident director, he grabbed it!

“When the opportunity came up to become resident director; which means I’m on the staff as the person who directs all of the season shows, I took that opportunity. So, that essentially got me back into theater.”

Bartolucci was born in Manhattan, New York in 1953. He laughed so loud when I asked when he was born. When he laughs, it seems like he forgets about everything else in the world. He was raised by his parents in a small town in New York. His parents moved to Ithaca when he was about six or seven.

As a child, Bartolucci always enjoyed performing music, arts, and theater. His father was a painter, so he was always surrounded by fine art. But theater became his passion in high school where he was encouraged and inspired by his drama teacher who helped the students produce and direct school plays. Some of his former classmates even wrote their own shows.

Bartolucci attended the State University of New York (SUNY) at Geneseo, in the region of the Finger Lakes.

Bartolucci visited the Caribbean for the first time as a child. “When I was 12, I visited my great aunt Terry in Miami, Florida for the summer. As a special treat, she flew us to Nassau in the Bahamas for a week. I learned to snorkel and scuba dive there, and I fell in love with the Caribbean.” He describes it as his best childhood memory. “Thirty years later, I was able to move to Saint Thomas, which has been my home for 15 years.”

Bartolucci spent much of his life in the United States. He started traveling worldwide about ten years ago. He visited several countries: Mexico, Costa Rica, Belgium, Italy, France and Canada. He has never been to Asia, but if he has the opportunity to go there, he won’t miss it.

Unfortunately, life is a combination of good and bad things. So, Bartolucci was not exempt. He has suffered under life's rules when he lost both his parents.

“Oh... well”, he said softly, deep in thought, as though his happiness was brushed away. “I would say the worst thing is probably losing my parents. Mom died in 1991, so I was in my thirties. Mom was sixty; she was very young. Dad died last year, so I was in my sixties.”

Bartolucci is not married, but has a daughter attending college off island. Her name is Grace. She is named after her grandmother, Bartolucci’s mother.

Although he has no family in the Virgin Islands, he feels a strong sense of kinship with the theater community.

According to Bartolucci, theater is “pretty cool” because it’s a communal experience where everyone benefits, both the actors and the audience. There are winners and losers in entertainment like football and basketball, but theater is different.

“Theater is as important as going to church service. It is a chance for people to connect, get a communal experience and share ideas. Not like the other sports, they don’t share ideas,” he said laughing. Talking about theater brought back joy and happiness to his voice.

Although Bartolucci sees theater as a religious thing, he doesn’t have much to say about religion. He does believe in God and knows about communal service. He doesn’t think about God as a “Him” or a person, but he knows God exists; he also thinks it is a good thing for people to believe in a higher power

“I think the concept of God is much larger than people think. I do believe in God, but not everybody does.”

Bartolucci? Does this name sound English? He is American? Yes, he is and so are his parents. Here is the secret about his name: “I am known as the second generation American, which means my parents were born in the United States; I was born in the United States, but my heritage is in Italy.”

Maybe he looks like an Italian with his wide, gray eyebrows about ½ inches long. He is light skinned, and he has tamarind-colored eyes, a long nose, and thin lips. His hair is gray and wavy about 2-3 inches long.

Like everyone else, Bartolucci has some hardships that he’s overcoming and learning from. In his occupation, he has faced some challenges, but the toughest one is producing shows. As a co-producer, he always has to depend on his own capability, and look for new shows.

“What are some challenges that I’ve faced, or do I face?” “Huh! That’s a good one,” he said thoughtfully, narrowed his eyes as if he was looking for the right or toughest one. “I guess when I direct shows,” he said. “I have to entirely rely on my ability as a director, that can be quite challenging, you know, believe in a new project.”

One of his recent shows, “A Raisin In The Sun,” was a complete success. The characters were real and alive. What did it take for this show to be such a success?

“A lot of work,” he said laughing and nodding emphatically. According to Bartolucci, this is the challenge: you have to do the best you can as a director because the success depends on you. You have to choose the right person for the right role. You have to read scripts if you don’t write. You have to understand them. Bartolucci doesn’t write the scripts, so he is always reading and looking for new shows.

“When you read a script that touches you, that moves you, you have to understand it, because you didn’t write it. I find that I am in that process, I can visualize it. I see it. Part of that is seeing the characters. What they look like, how they behave, their attitudes. Part of the work is casting actors that can do the role. And the next step is bringing them to life. Put the show on its feet.”

Even though Bartolucci is always working with people, casting actors and more, he describes himself as shy and reserved.

Bartolucci loves theater so much that when he is talking about it, his eyes glow enough to light up the dim reception area of Pistarckle Theater.

His love for theater makes him feel like performing it until he dies. “You don’t really retire in theater. It’s what you do and you love what you are doing. But, there is a point where you can’t do it anymore. I don’t know, probably I’ll travel,” he said with a touch of regret.

As he is in his late years, Mr. Bartolucci is quite satisfied with his overall accomplishments, but for him success comes “show by show.” He means when a performance is a success, he is satisfied; otherwise, he is not. All in all, he sees that his life is turning out the way he wanted. “Since I have a few more years to live... I’m quite satisfied. It’s getting there,” he said happily.