Times obit for Tina Packer. Eternal rest grant her. Immediately after the MFA in acting, I jobbed into S & Co. as an electrician for one production to infiltrate & investigate. It was a piece by Shaw starring Raquel Welch, being staged in the Stables, which were actually Wharton's old horse stables, so they needed to upgrade things a bit. (TP directed.) Extraordinary company.
I remember, during one invited dress (I think), a dimmer rack went out, or at any rate some of the lights that were supposed to be on didn't come on. T was sitting right in front of me at the back of the house, and turned with an inquiring look. I was running a fix as quickly as I could, and muttered "As flies to wanton boys are we to the Gods..." I didn't look up to see if the matriarch of American verse theatre was amused.
I remember driving to a nearby town for the cheeseburger grinders on lunch break (not yet vegetarian, shortly after). And wandering the complex, sitting in Wharton's paneled library, looking out over the lawn. For some reason, immediately after thinking of sitting in Wharton's library (surely Henry James often did the same), Belgrade came to mind. Perhaps the closest I've been able to come recently to that level of civilization.
Interesting, her husband, with whom I trained at a weekend intensive training program some years later, was formerly an SJ priest. I still remember working though "Out, out, brief candle" with him. Also RIP, some years ago.