All shweaty from ze Roller Boogie

  Some nights are just such great experiences that you can’t help but enjoy every minute of them. Here are some of my favorite highlights of last night:

  Just the general atmosphere backstage in the hallways as four classes scrambled to ready their scenes. A flurry of furniture and setpieces moving to and fro, being carried by fully costumed characters: showgirls, 1940’s immigrants, famous authors, cops, Asian businesswomen, and me, the cowboy conman.

  Having all my fears allayed when I stepped out onstage and found my voice still available even during this early recovery.

  My instructor put me and my scene partner up front and had us slow dance, pressed against each other, in character, and had us deliver our lines point blank, never breaking eye contact. The intimacy of that moment and my delivery of the line “I wanted to speak to you…alone,” where I leaned in close enough that the brim of my hat hit her forehead. I dribbled the seduction on so thick that it finally broke the tension and made her laugh.

  Another great moment happened when I changed up my delivery on a line. The line was “Attaboy, Jim, you beat that drum,” to an offstage character, and then I’m supposed to step into the doorway of the house and look across the room at Lizzie in a very flirtatious way. I did “Attaboy, Jim,” then stepped in, stared at Lizzie lustfully and said, “mmm…you BEAT that drum.” The entire class lost it, and I broke too.

  Then, just that feeling on the long Metro ride home. Sitting there, making notes in my script as the train rocked on the tracks. Happy to be acting. Happy to be learning.

  “Falling Slowly” pops onto my iPod as I step off the train and walk alone through the Metro station at 1:00am, literally the last person out. A beautiful moment, if bittersweet.

  Filling my very empty stomach when I got home.

  Finding all the joy I could in the short amount of sleep to which I gave myself fully.