Has anyone ever been on stage? Well, I can now add that to my list because on Feb. 11,12,13,17,18,19,20 I had the distinct pleasure of "performing" in my first play. Our town has a small community theater and I was cast as "Carl" in the play "Death and Taxes". It was one of the hardest things I have ever done and will say that it was very enjoyable and at the same time very nerve wracking. [url= http://thebacklotplayers.tripod.com/index.html ]
I haven't been in a play since grade school but I can still remember some of my lines and the points at which I screwed up. That was about 50 years ago. Stress? You betcha. I wonder if the pro's in acting and music performance remember their appearances the same way. I play in a band every so often and I remember the stuff that works but the stuff that doesn't work repeats in my mind like a tape-loop. That's probably not a healthy way to approach an artistic endeavor, is it?
I played the soothsayer in a Shakespeare play in the third grade more or less. My only line was to run out on stage and tell Caesar "Beware the Ides of March". Many years later, I met the woman that came to be my wife on the "Ides of March".
James
James - I've got a friend who's birthday is March 15. I go out to her farm every year to visit for a couple hours. She will be 91 this year, and about 5 years ago she finally asked how I always remembered the day. "Well Della, your birthday is on the Ides of March". Della: " Oh, so THAT's what the ides of March means!"
Dan, since our 8th grader is going to be in her first play next month we've made a point of going to a couple community plays this winter and now we are hooked. What great entertainment. And what, umm, huevos it must take to get up in front of all those strangers in such an intimate setting.
Any advice for my daughter before her big debut? She is quite shy.
Mike,
Just remind her to have fun! The biggest surprise was just how easy the play goes "off script" or out of order. Lines will be dropped or said differently than in practice, so be ready because once the play starts there is no stopping until it is over.
Looks like I screwed up the link the first time............maybe this will work.....link
That's funny.
I usually have to explain it also.
James
I admire those who can do that type of thing. Being in front of a crowd of strangers would not bother me one bit. Add several people I know and I would be sweating bullets. I am too much of a perfectionist to handle the stress that goes with memorizing scripts and critical timing of delivery.
Santa Wendell
Reminds me December 1998 when Wendell played "Santa" for a kids church holiday gathering thing. (I got to be his side kick "Angel".) He was VERY nervous and being in that costume just made it harder because the costume was so heavy and warm. Still he was a trooper; he must of heard over 200 kids Christmas wishes that day. The best part was when Miranda got to go sit on his lap. She kept saying "You aren't Santa, you're Dahtee!!!" and trying to yank off his beard. 😛
Fortunately she was the last kid in line!! 🙂