Scratching the Acting Itch

I was in a play last Thursday.  I played James the Greater in a Living Last Supper play at church.  It was the first time I had acted in about forty years and it was a very different experience from my last performance.  When I did my high school plays, I learned each line word for word, and I had to hit specific places on stage at exact times.  It was enjoyable, but it was more rote memorization and more stressful.

This time around, I learned the lines but didn't necessarily recite them verbatim.  There were no marks to hit, and no major rehearsals, because everyone who participated essentially did a soliloquy monologue to the audience.  It was a small audience, consisting overwhelmingly of members from my church, so I never got nervous.

I'll admit that I was a tad concerned for others, who were struggling with their lines even the day before.  However, after the dress rehearsal, I reminded everyone who didn't know their lines that they were the ONLY ones who knew exactly what they were supposed to say, so if they flubbed a word or two, nobody would know unless they gave a visual or verbal indication.  I reminded them that pauses in their lines were okay, because there are natural pauses in human speaking, and pausing for effect is a real thing in acting.  I also invited them to put themselves in the shoes of the Apostles at the last supper.  Jesus dropped a bombshell on them when he said that someone would betray him.  It would absolutely make sense that the thoughts and words of the apostles might be a little discombobulated after hearing the news, and I invited them to remember and lean into this if they got nervous or forgot their lines.  It seems to have helped, because only one guy had problems with his lines.

After we finished, I felt like we did a reasonably good job overall.  I asked my lovely bride for a critique, and she said two things that stuck out: 1) We all did a good job.  2) "You can act!"  She sounded a little surprised at that one.

I guess overall I did okay, because I had a church member come up to me at church Sunday and again tell me that I did a good job.  I had fun, and if I were asked to perform in another play, whether church, community, or whatever, I'd most likely do it.