I studied theatre in college...in fact I majored in speech communication/theatre education, but the last time I acted on stage was my sophomore year. After that, I became enthralled with radio and didn't really have time to be in anything outside of the classroom. When I left college I also left the theatre. I haven't acted since. It's not as if it was a conscience decision and I cannot believe it has been that long since my "college days," but life has a funny way of happening.
I don't even know exactly what made me try out for my town's civic theatre interpretation of Auntie Mame. It was pretty much a whim. I saw that they were holding auditions only two days beforehand--which is not much time to prepare. I borrowed a copy of the script and read it quickly and decided that there were a number of characters that I would love to play. Needless to say, I didn't get any of those parts. I did, however, get cast as "angry customer." Not exactly what I expected, and to be honest, I was a little embarrassed. I do, in a sense, perform everyday and did major in theatre. I had to look on the bright side, however and remember that there are "no small parts, only small actors." It has been a long time since I have been on stage and it is my first production outside of a school setting, so I really am excited. And, once rehearsals started, I soon gained a couple of more characters. I play three roles in all and have such wonderful hats to wear!
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| This is the picture that appeared in the paper...a rehearsal night. I'm in the background as a partygoer. |
Last night, I got the sweetest note from my director. This has been such a hectic week! Running back and forth to see my sister in the hospital (which is an hour and a half away), trying to make rehearsals, work, and be a mommy has been rough. Did I mention that my director is also a pastor? She knew exactly what to say to me in that note!
My husband and MIL have also been so wonderful this last week! My MIL has dropped everything to watch the kids so that I could head to the hospital. She even did some laundry, dishes, and vacuumed! God love her! My husband has been making more dinners than I am sure he bargained for and also gave me the sweetest card last night, with the sweetest words from all my guys! Jonathan even tried to sign his name in cursive! I hope they can continue to be so supportive...because Mommy has three weeks of performances to get through!
The coolest thing about this experience is the new people I have met. Our lead actresses are inspiring and I see myself doing exactly what they are doing in my retirement. And the young people that are in this production are just marvelous! I have really connected with my teenage dressing roommates...even though I'm pretty sure they think I am crazy! It's funny that I am roughly the same age as their mothers, but I couldn't imagine having a teenager yet!
To hear that crowd laughing and applauding and to feel that nervous excitement has me hooked! Here's to 11 more shows!
I am so proud of you! I am on a 7 year hiatus from theater and I miss it more than I can say. I can't imagine how brave you felt going back into it at that audition. I am so proud that you are doing this- I can't even say! Way to go!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Amy! I'm pretty proud of myself too...and I am rediscovering things too! Would love to see you at a show!!!
ReplyDeleteDon't be discouraged by not getting the part you wanted. I have a theory that community theatre directors give small parts to new people because you have to prove yourself in the group. If a newbie came in and was handed a major role, the director might get stuck with a flaky actor whose tardiness and unreliablity caused serious setbacks in the production or whose personality clashed so badly with the rest of the cast, they could hardly perform.
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