I was a child of World War II. I was six years old when the United States entered the war. The radio was my main means of knowing what was happening around me. The spoken word I could understand. Newsreel images of war, death, destruction at the local movie house were vividly portrayed. Saturday afternoons I took my quarter of a dollar and went to the movies. Tom Mix, Superman, Flash Gordon serials, a cartoon (or sometimes two), the newsreel and a movie.

Winston Churchill

Two figures stand out in my memory from those newsreels. The only man I knew as President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and the chubby man with the cigar from England, Winston Churchill. I knew England had a king, but I figured that this Mr. Churchill must be like our President. Sunday evenings my family would have dinner and then all go to my parents’ bedroom to listen to the radio shows. During the war years, there were many news programs and broadcasts from the White House and England. I didn’t always understand what the words meant but the delivery made it abundantly clear they were important. At age 10 I was devastated to learn that President Roosevelt was dead. I felt like I had lost a family member but Mr. Churchill kept going.

As I grew older I learned who Winston Churchill was and what he did to bring England through the war. In high school I started reading some of his books on World War II. I came to appreciate his great skills as a writer and orator. His death and state funeral in 1965 caused a renewed interest in the man.

My career as an actor preoccupied my life until my marriage. Then fiscal realities set in and I became a workaholic. But, as the adage says, you can’t get an elephant out of the theater. I continued to work at theater, albeit community and regional theaters. Then 25 years ago I returned to a professional acting career. Les Hanson, the artistic director of West Coast Ensemble, suggested I would make a perfect Churchill. This started the wheels turning. I started reading all the material I could get my hands on with the intent of writing a play for myself. Five years of research into Churchill and his life hardly scratched the surface. I realized at this rate I was never going to succeed in completing the work and time was running on (but not out yet).

Edmund L. Shaff in CHURCHILL. Photo by Ty Donaldson

I’m not sure what Winston Spencer Churchill would have thought of the Internet but I’m positive he would have plunged in with both feet, which is what I did. My search finally brought me to Andrew Edlin’s script. Reading it moved me deeply. He incorporates many of the points and witticisms I had originally wanted in my script. Additionally, he has performed the piece a number of times in the Midwest and has worked out a lot of the kinks inherent in a new work.

He was thrilled to have another person working on his play. He has videotaped his performance which my director James Horan and I have watched. I have found, as most actors do, my approach to Churchill differs from his. He will be attending our opening night performance. I can hardly wait to compare notes in person.

My early impressions of Winston Churchill are constantly reinforced as I grow into the role. He was a great orator and writer, his ability to hold the British people together in the darkest days of the Empire are a reminder of his greatness.

Churchill, presented by Portrait of Churchill Productions, opens Oc. 1; plays Fri.-Sat., 8 pm; Sun., 3 pm; through Nov. 7. Tickets: $25. Whitmore/Lindley Theatre, 11066 Magnolia Blvd., Burbank; 800.595.4849 or tix.com. Website: portraitofchurchill.com.