Lights, Action -- Gene!

"I'm doing this because I had to," Gene Washington says, decisively slicing his hands downward. "I simply refuse to be sitting in a rocking chair at 90 wondering what might have been.

Gene Washington with cast members Keia Johnson and Todd Stuart.

" Writing, producing and co-starring in his play, "Love Conquers All," has cost the Columbia, SC, training coordinator $26,000 of personal finances and untold amounts of work, time and sacrifice. "It's been well worth it," he beams, with youthfully rounded cheeks rising from under a closely cropped beard. "Each time we present the play, it reminds us of seeing a child crawl and then eventually going off to college. We feel tremendously proud seeing it all come together."

Washington says he began writing poetry as a young Army recruit during the Vietnam era, sparked by the experiences he had and people he met. "But I always had the ability to write. I was probably the only kid in class who preferred an essay test over multiple choice," he grins. "I could always come up with a story line."

Intensely occupied with a wide variety of community services, Washington has written a novel and two children's books, and says he saves all his rejection letters from publishers as "inspiration."

Washington last staged the show, "Love Conquers All" at the theater in Columbia. His routine, he says, was to complete his graveyard shift and then focus on the production during the day.

On performance days, besides not sleeping, he fasts all day. He says it makes him "sharper, more disciplined" for the performance.

When it comes to discussing theater, Washington's mind seems to almost visibly race as he gushes about the enthusiasm, energy and talent of the 25 or so actors who performed in the play, almost all of whom were volunteers from the acting troupe of the Baptist church he attends.

Set in the stormy civil rights activism of the '60s, "Love Conquers All" focuses on a minister who devotes so much time to African-American causes that he unwittingly neglects his own family. Washington, who played the minister, says the actors, including several children, were deeply moving and absorbing. "This play is more than a play," Washington stresses. In a voice reminiscent of Martin Luther King, of whom he often does impersonations, he expresses his fervor. "It was my hope that families would take positive points from it to heal problems in their own lives. People can identify with this play."

Indeed, the audiences are comprised mostly of families with small to grade-school-age kids, who somehow stayed alert, awake and well behaved until the 2-1/2-hour show ended at almost 11 p.m. On most nights, rather than waiting for attendees to go backstage, the actors raced to the front door to receive enthusiastic embraces amid a showbiz atmosphere charged with excitement.

Washington, who beams with pride that his message has touched the lives of so many, says he looks forward to staging the play again, but for now, he gets his sleep.

Irene Middleman Thomas is a Denver-based freelance writer who specializes in covering minority issues.