Time and Time again...

As actors we get to step into different stories and worlds and become someone completely different. It is one of the best experiences in the world. But often times we never leave those worlds or experiences behind when we leave the stage. I am currently in a production at a dinner theater and have made friends and gotten to know a lot of the cast. But there are just some actors that can't leave the drama on the stage.

We all feel that our tasks are the most important...our entrance, our lines, our blocking, and even our props... but without working as a team the show cannot go on. Our lead, Pam, is such an amazing person. Even though she has the lead in our production she is still down to earth, encouraging to the ensemble. Last night, after a particularly stressful Tech/Dress run she had great words of encouragement for myself and a two of my cast mates.

She said "We cannot expect for the show to ride on the shoulders of one or two people. I am not talking about myself but those people doing the scene changes. If they can't get it done in time or correctly, then it wont be right and we all look like we don't know what we are doing. We all need to step up and help out where ever possible, myself included."

Wow! What amazing words coming from the "Star" of our show. How I wish that everyone in our cast could have a tiny bit of the class that she has.

In a run as long as ours it becomes a challenge to not allow myself to fall into the habit of letting things bother me... allowing venting to become backbiting, creating drama offstage. Forgetting, essentially, that our job is to convey a story to our audience. Sure we may not get along with everyone, we may have conflicts with others, we may have a showmance but it is our job to be professional and to get the job done. One of my favorite AA slogans is: "Fake it til you make it!" We are actors...if we can't fake it, who can? So what if you don't like someone make it work.

Next time on Actor on the Verge: "Quotes from The Music Hall"