Cara Harker must become a ‘pool shark.’ If she can’t, she must at least convince four scrutinizing audiences that she can indeed sink three balls in three corner pockets ‘the hard way.’
The 29-year-old actress from northern Kentucky works harder every day to become a pool shark. She wants to be ready for tonight, opening night for “Three the Hard Way,” a play by Linda Eisenstein and performed by the ETSU Theatre Division “I’ve played pool very socially,” Harker said. “By no means was I a pool shark, or anything like that.”
Harker portrays Kathleen, the oldest of three sisters trying to define their relationship with their gambling father, played by Pat Cronin, head of the Fine and Performing Arts Division of the Honors College.
Harker’s character happens to be a pool shark.
“She just needs to communicate to the audience that she is a professional pool player,” said Director Pamela Adolphi,” for whom “Three the Hard Way serves as a master’s thesis. “What is important here is her stance, how she handles the cue, her body movements to indicate that she is setting up her game and her shots using the English of ‘cue ball control.”’
Harker had “racked them up for fun” on occasion, she said, but needed help looking like a pro. “I went to Newman’s and met with the owner, Jan,” Harker said. “She gave me a private lesson. She showed me how to hold the cue exactly.
“When you see people out there playing pool, there’s a lot of different ways that they hold them. She showed me the way like, ‘OK, this is how a pro would actually do it.’
“Harker gained more experience with every rehearsal. In the beginning rehearsals, she seemed a bit awkward with her cue but now she handles it like a pro. It has become a part of her, as it is a part of Kathleen,” Adolphi said.
Harker learned more than how to hold her cue at Newman’s. “It’s a man’s game, I think,” she said. “Women are the minority. When I walked in there, I felt like I was in the minority.”
The first time she walked into Newman’s a man standing outside shouted, “Hey lady!” in a slurred voice, Harker said. At that moment she felt out of place, she said – a feeling that Kathleen must have experienced.
“Just being in that place, really sort of taught me a lot about the atmosphere that my character must have been in,” Harker said.
That experience, including the feeling of being in a sport where a woman is normally out of place, will carry over into the performance, Harker said. Adolphi believes the experience opens up myriad opportunities.
“There were a number of aspects to consider once we actually entered that environment,” said Adolphi, who appreciates the newfound depth to Harker’s character. “It gave Cara and myself a whole new perspective, another level of character development to consider.
“You hear of big Hollywood stars doing this kind of research and training all the time in order to prepare for a role.”
Harker has acted in a number of recent performances, including “Private Eyes”, “Regarding Joyce” and “The Gut Girls”.
Each of them provided a challenge, she said, but perhaps none of them were as involved, or important, as learning to be a pool shark.
“Pool for Kathleen is her connection to her father that she wants to have,” Harker said. “So for me, it’s really important to at least have the look of a pool player.
“It’s a process. Fortunately, I still have a few days to go.”
With what skill she’s gained so far, could Harker take the whole cast and crew in a game of nine-ball? “I hope to get the opportunity to find out,” Adolphi said. “I enjoy going to the pool hall and shooting a few rounds.
She is, as I had imagined she would, improving her billiard skills as she continues to prepare for her role as Kathleen.”
Three the Hard Way premieres tonight, with subsequent shows on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Bud Frank Theatre on the ETSU campus and on Sunday at 2 p.m.
For those interested in reservations, please call 439-7576.

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