Thespian : My History as a Stage Actress

One day I read in the paper about "cold-reading" auditions for the local Performing Arts Theater. We thought it would be fun to try out. We did and now we both have parts in "Love, Sex and the IRS" a comedy. The performances will be the last weekend in January and the first weekend in February.

When I was nine, I was cast in a day camp play as the giant in "Jack and the Beanstalk." It was some counselor's great joke as I was several inches shorter than the rest of my groupmates. I began my only line: "fee fie fo fum, I smell...." and there I stopped convulsed with laughter. I was laughing so hard it hurt! With a patient audience, I tried several times to regain my composure, but each time I could get no further than "I smell".

If you don't count that, I've never acted on stage. In school plays I was the one who painted sets and schlepped scenery. I was an assistant director in summer camp productions where I cued dumb kids who couldn't remember their lines, built more flats and painted more scenery. Always behind the scenes. Never before the audience.

For many years I presented training seminars to adults. Some were work related, like how to use a particular computer program and others were topical, like explaining planned giving programs to the boards of not for profits or the members of the local Estate Planning Council. More recently, I lectured at RV rallies about how to pack, what to pack and how to clean in an RV. I enjoyed it very much.

The thing that scares me, as I embark on this new undertaking, is remembering my lines. I shall post my progress.