This particular blog “Have You Ever?...” is mainly about my experiences from when I was younger and the place I grew up. It is a place where you can get away from big lights of a city and be out in the middle of nowhere with only your thoughts and dreams. I would love to take people from large cities such as New York and let them be alone, miles away from anyone, and let them unwind. Relax, read a book, go fishing in your very own fishing hole on a warm summers day. There are so many wonderful things to do that I plan on sharing. With that said, every once in a while something else comes up that I get passionate about and I feel the need to write about and given I’ve been so busy over the past week getting ready for the play I hardly have time to really delve into much else. Therefore the question is, have you ever been on stage?It doesn’t have to be in a city or a place where people take their acting a little more seriously. There are small towns and smaller productions that only come around once a year and the focus of these productions is to have fun. If you do it on the side, make sure it is a place that focuses more on fun rather than the art of it, especially if you have hardly ever done it before. The right place and right fit will suck you in. I love going to practices and pretending to be someone else along side others who are doing the same. Breaking out of the daily grind and going over lines and making things up along the way. Coming up with funny ad libs or actions to provide additional laughter to the audience proves to be therapeutic when you are on stage. Not to mention the feeling of a job well done, knowing you entertained someone if only for a little while plus the accolades you get when you mingle with the crowd. If you need a confidence boost, the stage can make you feel 10 feet tall.
By the time you are done with the performances you will have likely made some new friends. Every time I’ve done this I’ve met somebody new and am glad to know them. After all, you have come together weekly for the past two months trying to get ready for a production and will likely see each other every day of the week leading up to opening curtain. You leave your work and personal life at the door and check into a new reality that the play brings. For those few hours you are someone else. For those few hours your job is to entertain and when others around you are trying to do the same thing you in turn will be entertained by them, even while you practice. Meeting new friends, stress checked at the door, why wouldn’t more people like to try it?
I have to say performing in the little town of Reynolds, ND has continually been my favorite. Good people. Good laughs. Great crowds that are there to just have a good time (speaking of, Reynolds broke their old record by having 440 people come to the play this past weekend). If wish you could all try this. Want to? Let me know, we are always looking for new actors! It don’t matter who you are or where you are from!
