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On stage, the ruggedly handsome redhead has made a very good living in recent years pretending to be just that. His "Logger" show has been a roaring success throughout his native Vermont and in big cities as well. He plays 18 "Logger" shows each Christmas season, and his "Logger" DVDs have sold to the tune of 70,000 over the last three years. The stage personality of the logger has a number of things going for Dewees. It spotlights his 6'4" frame and the musculature that seems to bulge from everywhere. There's no doubt that a large part of the Rusty Dewees experience is visual—that's what makes his photo calendars such a hit. This is a physique that stands out from the crowd, a face that stands out from the crowd, and a voice too. Those piercing blue eyes can light up with the laughter of the world, or they can narrow into a vacant, ruthless, almost amphibian stare that can make your blood run cold. Being the Logger also allows him to skirt certain issues of taste and tact on stage, while taking refuge in the audience's understanding that he represents some sort of past, less civilized society, whose raw emotions are a little closer to the surface. It allows him a devil-may-care persona that can put his audiences "out of control with laughter," as reviewer Jim Lowe said after one performance. Perhaps most important to Rusty Dewees, however, the Logger allows him to be in full control of his artistry. As "The Logger," he writes all the material, books all the halls, creates and sells the DVDs, hires the musicians he wants. In person, far from being a backcountry rube, Dewees is an extremely sharp cookie, loaded with a variety of talents that he intends to make full use of. Those talents, along with his tenacity and business acumen, have allowed him something very rare in a small state like Vermont—to make a decent living as a performer. As part of that, he's scoured the state (his words) from top to bottom, doing not only stage shows but lots of free stuff as well. He gives two graduation speeches a year—though this year he was invited to give 12. He reads Dr. Seuss books to kindergarten kids. He visits Adult Education centers, where once he got a tip that led him to the home of a man dying of cancer. He talks to high school kids about substance abuse: For all the loose talk of his Logger character, Rusty says he himself doesn't touch alcohol or tobacco. As a result, he pointed out this week, he has a presence and a voice that is recognized all over the state. (His "logger" accent has been criticized by some for not being particularly authentic, but it is certainly unique.) "If I'm on the radio, I know that if some kid hears me in Brattleboro, he'll know my voice," Dewees said. And advertisers pay well for that kind of recognition, he pointed out. As a result, though Dewees may do free promotional work, if you are a business, you should prepare to pay him top dollar. "Don't try to get me for a couple of hundred bucks," is how he puts it. Even in his commercial work, Dewees said, he insists on total control. The high-profile commercials he's doing for PowerShift Online, for instance, he writes himself. Before "The Logger" Before "The Logger," there was work with community theater, leading to work with professional theater in Burlington and elsewhere, as well as Jay Craven's Vermont movies. Before that, there was work pumping gas and doing concrete work. As Dewees contemplated the future then, he was curious: He knew he had talent, but could he succeed as an actor? He decided to go to New York City to find out. Once there, by luck, he struck up a friendship with William Doyle of Doyle Galleries, becoming his "right hand man" for six years. He didn't learn acting from Doyle, but he learned something just as important. "He taught me the principles of business," Dewees says now. Among those principles: "Always call back." Eventually, he did get into acting in New York, with encouraging results. Dewees found himself on top-notch TV shows like "Law and Order," in movies, and in commercials, rubbing shoulders with Patrick Swayze, Randy Travis, Bill Cosby. He was doing well. However, he was not controlling his career. "Then this 'Logger' thing hit me," Dewees related. He had first played a logger character during the statewide tour of a play by Wolcott, Vt. poet David Budbill, called "Judevine," directed by Rob Ringer. Dewees still remembers that play and that tour as an early climax of his career—"a home run, a grand slam." He played the part of one Antoine, a brawling, profane French Canadian logger who, frankly, stole the show. Dewees says now that he owes a lot of things to David Budbill. "He taught me how to write. His lines were so easy to say. He writes the way you talk. "Also," he said, "I learned from Judevine that a lot of people will come to something that is good." Later, Dewees did logger skits with his friend George Woodward at his "Groundhog Opry" shows. The concept developed. Then he was asked to create a 45-minute piece to play at First Night in Burlington, and he saw it as an opportunity to bring the Logger material to a new level. He was excited but worried. "The material was pretty raw," he admits. "I didn't know how people would take it." His misgivings were magnified when he faced his first audience and saw the mix. "I saw three-year-old kids in the audience, old people, young people, rich people, poor people, tall people, short people." Taking the Plunge But there was only one thing to do. He took a deep breath, said to himself "Here goes," and he becme The Logger. "I did it—and they laughed," he remembers. The laughter showed him that he had created something that was a success. Eventually, he decided to take the show around the state. Then came the DVDs, then the CD of his own band. ("I suck as a singer," he admits, "but they can make me sound good.") For the last three years, Dewees has been adding new material to "The Logger." He approaches this with the kind of care that shows what a craftsman he is. He knows that the first time out with a new story line won't be entirely successful. But if it gets even a decent response, he won't throw it away, but will work on it. The key, he said, is to listen to the audience, and to remember what you heard. "Where your talent lies is in being able to tune it up, to remember how the audience reacted, remember where one word killed it or another word made it work. "It's all about timing." His performances in Randolph's Chandler Music Hall Sept. 23-24 mark an important new point in his career. They will incorporate all the new material—grist for a new "Logger" DVD. The performances will be recorded live on high-resolution camera, and both the performances and the audience reaction will be part of the DVD. (Another part of the DVD will feature a tribute to his dad and a 12-minute movie with his daughter.) On the stage, the action is guaranteed to be funny—depending, of course, on your taste. It will even seem spontaneous—but it won't be. It will be the polished performance of a craftsman who is very serious about what he does. "I'm dead serious," he agreed. "I'm serious—but it's just so gol-darned fun. It beats working for a living!"
Rusty Dewees— in his own words: I first played in Randolph at RUHS, because Duffy Miller taught me drums as a 10 year old, in Ira Allen Chapel. He was a fantastic teacher… Later, when I first played at Chandler, it was clear as soon as I stepped in that door that this was a one-of-a -kind theater… This is different from acting. This is entertainment... Not everybody likes it. Some people hate me. No reason, just "I hate that guy…" I go around the state and people know me, I go into Debbie's and I'm recognized. Vermont for me is perfect because what I've chosen to do here, I couldn't do anywhere else... The trouble with movies is that they make you LOOK good, It makes it so anybody can act… It's not about getting rich and famous… I gotta try it now (comedy clubs in New York City) while I still can go back and forth, while it's still in me… I would not be shooting a DVD if I didn't think it was really funny. Chandler Music Hall is going to be all over the world!"
By M. D. Drysdale
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