On Stage

At 6 o'clock on Friday I headed up the narrow staircase of the Richland Players Theater toward the old green room.  It was the opening night of Almost Maine and all of the cast was milling about mumbling lines under their breath and getting out their makeup cases.  We had two hours before the show started and everybody was on edge.  After two months of memorizing lines, stage decorating, and rehearsals in the ancient theater, we were as ready as we'd ever be.

We put on makeup, did hair, and made sure our costumes were laid out for changes between scenes as we listened to the audio feed from the theater.  As the clock approached 8, the crowd got louder and louder and the whole crew gathered in the green room for one last "Hurrah!" before the show. 

I crept down the old rickety stairs that led down to the stage before my first scene. Two other actors and I sat in darkness backstage listening to our friends deliver lines that we all knew by heart.  As I sat behind the curtain, listening to the crowd laugh and sigh, I thanked God for the excitement I felt.  I prayed that I wouldn't blank out on stage but conceded that if I did, life would go on and the world wouldn't end. 

As it turned out, we had a hell of a show. There weren't any huge mishaps to speak of, and nobody drowned in that foreboding pool of stagefright.  My two scenes were in the first Act, and so I got to relax until the final bow.  After the show, the cast, crew and directors went out for drinks and appetizers at Applebees.  We smeared our lipstick on glasses of beer and shared deep fried everything in celebration of a fabulous opening night.

Putting on make up.

Sexy sexy...before make up and costume.



All done up as Villian the waitress.