I recently discovered there’s a very good reason why, for all my 54 years, I have chosen to stay “behind the lights” instead of in front of them… Hard to believe, but even after 30 years in the classroom, which is kind of like being “on stage” every day itself, I apparently have a mild form of stage fright.
Last Sunday, during a rehearsal in Raymond for one of my up-coming play productions (see previous postings and/or Willapa Players in sidebar), one of the cast was unable to attend. In order for the rehearsal to be as undisrupted as possible, “someone” needed to hop up on the stage and read her lines and stumble through the blocking at the appropriate times. There was no one there to do this but me.
So I volunteered. I figured it would be a good experience, and it was. I learned a lot. I learned that I won’t die if I go a little out of my comfort zone. I also learned that even with the script in hand, it’s quite a skill to say the right thing at the right time and go through the appropriate motions with the intention of appearing “natural.”
There are 8 cast members in this particular play, and one director. They are all really nice people. When we laughed, we laughed together. We went through the play twice on Sunday night, and we laughed a lot. I missed cues and physically “upstaged” several characters. When this occurred, I was simply directed to do it correctly and we went on.
I got a taste of what it’s like to be an actor. Without an audience. Which is why no one will be seeing me on stage during a performance any time soon. For the time being, I’ll stick to writing. But in the future… you never know.