Olympia Dukakis shares career in theater

A funny thing happened to Olympia Dukakis 10 minutes before she walked onto the Schwab Auditorium stage last night. She realized she brought the wrong speech to the University.

It was a long road, she said, before she landed her first substantive role in the movie Moonstruck, for which she won an Academy Award.

"The Goddess gave that (role) to me -- 25 years after I started," she said.

Before that pivotal role, Dukakis, daughter of Greek immigrants, already had a history on stage. As a young child in a production staged by her parents, she portrayed "the spirit of young Greece" -- releasing caged doves, which in turn released themselves on the audience.

"I should've known then what show business was about -- but I stayed on stage," she joked.

But Dukakis's aspirations led her away from the theater. She chose to major in physical therapy at Vassar College, because "physical therapy was practical," she said. Although this profession was the best-paying one for women at the time, Dukakis explained that a random stint as director of some productions at college inspired the actress within her.

Throughout the speech, Dukakis reflected upon several phases in her life that helped to mold her acting and personal life. The first phase, she said, dealt with a competitive spirit within her to be better than other actors and all other Americans.

- Olympia Dukakis
actress

These moments helped her to realize that what had been driving her to be an actress was gone. She was forced to redefine herself.

"It was finally becoming clear to me that my work was about my life," she said. "Working is not a means to an end."

With eyeglasses hanging on the tip of her nose and her wild white hair constantly being pushed to the side, Dukakis spoke about the importance of the arts in everyone's life. Despite the substituted topic, women's issues were never completely absent from the speech.

After the conclusion of her speech, Dukakis encouraged audience members to ask questions about the expected topic of women's issues.

"Yes, I'm a feminist," she proclaimed, when an audience member questioned her. "What the hell else would a person with half a brain be?"

Her take on feminism may evoke surprise from some, she said, because she defines feminism as expressing concern for the health of women and children.

Hunching over to illustrate her point, Dukakis said one issue of concern for women is osteoporosis.

She reminded women to be wary of their usage of cigarettes, caffeine and phosphoric soft drinks because they contribute to the onset of the disease.

"I'm 65," she said, "I refuse to have a body like that."

Sara Jane Kennedy (senior-film and women's studies) said she came to the speech as an ardent fan of Dukakis, but she left with a better understanding of women and their roles in film and life in general.

"It's so important to see a middle-aged woman who is so active and so influential," she said. "She gives visibility to the feminist movement."