Limited Perspective

This popped up on Facebook because I posted it two years ago today. I think it's worth re-posting here as a little slice of what they call "actor life."  April 19, 2020 Amazingly alive, creative day today! It started off with an online, group audition for a new show by Dacha called Funfair. I really wasn't sure how it would work on Zoom but it did. The first energizing, magic part is when you break into small groups and create a scene from nothing. You get a few prompts and a few minutes and then they say "go!" Our little group was on fire. We created a whole world in six minutes and presented it to the other dozen or so actors and the creative team. I was so proud of our cohesion and our artistry. The other groups were just as good. Then we moved on to the one-on-one part. I got to create a character, again from basically nothing and have her go interact with one of the members of the creative team. I was this whole other person, Daisy Lansing, on a Disne

This is the second house I lived in as seen on Google Maps. In 1975 there was a Pin Oak tree in the front yard. You can tell where it used to be. At that time, I could almost touch my thumb to my forefinger around the trunk. Over the years it got really big and beautiful. It had to be at least 30 feet tall or more.   I moved away in 1989. My parents sold the place maybe four or five years ago. The tree was still there. I could only ever see it on the internet. For some reason, I checked again yesterday and it was gone. The branches used to intrude on the house and the leaves practically paved the yard and were a chore to get rid of. That’s probably why they cut it down. It’s sad for some reason.

I’m often the first to clap. Most of the time, it is really easy to know when a play has ended. Sometimes, it’s a little less clear. Many of those times, it’s me who starts the applause as I sense the end. This happened just recently at Hotter than Egypt at ACT. It ends, as I recall, with one character peering out across the Nile into a hopeful future. I knew that was it.  Not so tonight. Again at ACT, I saw The Thin Place. It was obvious when it was nearing the end. Then there’s a blackout. Then one of the characters walks back on stage. It seemed like the end. It would be a good place to put the end, I thought. But in the context of the play, there maybe could have been a final monologue from that character, maybe even a whole scene. Then a second character comes out. Again, I wondered if there would be more story. Then the final two actors appear and it’s clear to everyone that this is the curtain call. Show’s over. We all clapped.  Thinking about it, this fit the theme of the show: