I apologize for not being around much these last few weeks (months). I have been busy rehearsing and writing and opening myself up to new opportunities.
Let me start at the beginning. I am in an acting group. They convinced me after the last play I was in to sit on their Board and once you’re in you get a part in every play whether you want one or not. I didn’t, but I was told at one of the meetings that I just had to audition and I would be given a short part, something easy to remember. As I’ve said in previous posts, I like the camaraderie. I like the feeling of belonging, of family. Acting is not my strong suit. I picked up the play and read it. It was written locally by members of the group, about the poorhouse that used to exist on the banks of the river just out of town. It was about the people that had lived there. It was extremely depressing and I had a seriously hard time reading it. It took me several days and I had to force myself to sit down and read it through.
On audition day, I figured I would show up and tell them I wanted to do chorus only. They wouldn’t go for it. I read with everyone else and was called at the end of the next week with a part. I was to play Sarah, a simple woman whose father sexually abused her and lived over half her life at the home once her mother found out. All that ran through my mind was that this girl was pitiful and there was no way I could have the kids come see me in the play now. Then I started practicing. I heard her voice in my heart. She spoke to me. I came to love this girl. I can picture her in my mind, not as the older woman I portrayed, but as the girl she must have been when she entered the home. I felt honored to be her. Several times during rehearsal I nearly cried playing her, and now that it’s over I miss her. On my way home from work last night I recited my lines. I don’t want to forget her.
However, because of this play, because it was written locally and because I volunteered to be on the publicity committee, I was able to interview the playwrights and have said interview published in the local newspaper. It was great seeing my name in actual print (although they misspelled it) and knowing that a lot of people would read it! So far, even though we receive the paper at work, no one has actually read it or if they did they haven’t mentioned it. Some people just don’t appreciate art.
I was approached after the play was over to possibly help write a play for later in the summer, possibly a vignette. I’m excited to hear more about this project. I didn’t know that there was a writing opportunity on the horizon through this group. I’m a very junior member. I worked with them years ago but then dropped out of sight. I’m guessing that the playwrights liked the interview and my style.
The town historian also reached out to me on closing night and asked me if I would be interested in transcribing some historical texts related to the poorhouse. Would I ever! I believe that these people and this part of our local history needs to be preserved and available to as many people as possible, and right now it just isn’t due to it being on aged paper in a very old binding. Romantic? Yes. User-friendly? No. Plus, because there is so little known about these people, I get a very basic profile of them. I think if someone stands out I may get some help with my own character development if I ever get back to writing. I’m excited with this new direction!
I feel like I have made my bones, in some small way, and now it’s time to take charge of something.
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