O Brother, Where Art Thou?

A couple of weeks ago I thought to myself, "You know, I don't think I've ever been in a play and had an actor not show up for a performance. I wonder how we'd handle that if it happened."

This, my friends, is what we call foreshadowing.

Last Sunday we had a matinee of The Odd Couple. I'd arranged to come later than normal and came in the dressing room 30 minutes before the play was meant to begin. The conversation I walked into concerned me.

"Well, I guess we need to get Stephen (a stagehand) a script so he can start reviewing the lines."

Yep. One of our actors hadn't shown up, and no one had been able to contact him. So a few minutes after 3 p.m., the director explained the situation to the audience, and our fearless stagehand Stephen, script in hand, did a wonderful job filling in.

The actor rushed in the door after Act One, with a deer-in-the-headlights look. He'd laid down for a nap after arranging for his brother to wake him at noon. That didn't happen. His roommate woke him up a little after 3:00, and when he realized the time, he hightailed it to the theatre.

I understand this was entirely unintentional on his part, and to his credit, he felt absolutely terrible about it...terrible enough to probably make sure it never happens again. (Two words: alarm clock!)

As an actor, it was frustrating to me. This was a really good production, the type of community theatre play that is a credit to volunteer theatre. And I know how unprofessional it looked for someone to be onstage with a script, and then to be replaced by the casted actor halfway through the show. But theatre--amateur or professional--hits snags. The show must go on, and it did, thanks to a stagehand who did an incredible job acting for the first time in his life.

Saturday was closing night, and I'm glad it's over. I really enjoyed it, but it was a lot more stressful than I'd realized it would be. I don't think I'm quite ready to leave my baby as often as I had to, but there was no way to know that without trying. I hope to get back onstage, but I'll probably wait several months or more.

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The new blog...
If you'd like to check out my new blog, The One Minute Writer, please do. I'm excited about it! Instead of explaining it here, I'll let you visit it to get an idea of what it's about. If you know any other bloggers, writers, teachers, etc. who might be interested in it, please pass along the link. Thanks!

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Happy birthday (a day late) to my brother Sean, and happy birthday today to my dad! I love you both so much.

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Thanks to those of you who have been praying for our friend who was in the car accident. Brent has had three surgeries and is now in a rehab hospital, where he'll probably stay another week or so. He won't be able to put weight on his fractured hip for about three months, so the recovery may be a long one unless God intervenes miraculously, which we are praying for. His wife Lindsey is understandably going through a very rough time. Please keep praying. Thanks!