When Exuberance Is a Handicap

"Annie, Can We Have Some Breakfast, Pleeeease?!?!"

No, that's not a line in Living Together.  But it became one today.  Never ever EVER do I want to hear it again. 

On my drive to the theater this afternoon, I thought, "Hmm, I'd like to write something in the blog today, but I'm not sure what to write about."  Lo and behold, I gave myself something to write about - when I missed my entrance into a scene today during the matinee of Living Together! 

I (Annie) am supposed to enter while Tom (the darling David Meglino) and Reg (the marvelous Mark Shum) are talking about the weekend's mishaps.  There I was, at full attention backstage, waiting for my cue, when I was suddenly stricken with curiosity by all of the unprecedented laughter during their scene.  This was new...  What were they doing, I wondered, to incite so many guffaws?

As I'm rejoicing in my fellow actors' success with the scene, I suddenly hear Reg yelling: "Annie, can we have some breakfast, pleeeeease?!"  I thought, "That's strange. He doesn't usually say that --" OH MY GOD!  Realizing what had happened, I immediately dashed out on stage.  As our director Jim later put it, "A millisecond later, and it would have been disastrous."  Turns out, they'd been ad-libbing for a bit, waiting for my entrance.  Did a few more rounds of business with the magazines (the culprit for the guffaws before my scheduled entrance) until Reg finally screamed my name!

In I dashed, altering my lines ever so slightly to make it look as though the entire moment was planned, and the scene continued on course through to the end of the play.

I'm glad Jim doesn't think it was disastrous, but I certainly do!  I was mortified and embarrassed and immediately apologized profusely to Reg and Tom for leaving them flailing without me!

Of course, what theater actor is worth their salt if they haven't made at least one major gaffe in their career?  The great Lawrence Olivier reportedly babbled gibberish during the beginning of every play, and I once heard of a seasoned Shakespearean actor forgetting what comes after "Tomorrow and tomorrow...." in Macbeth.  He just kept saying, "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow...." - until he finally remembered the rest of the line!

Such errors later serve as "war stories" for fellow actors - regaled over a pint of fermented fluid after long rehearsals and shows.  In that regard, I'm happy to have given (and taken) one for the team - though that certainly was not my intention!

Twas the first time in my life I've ever done that - and it better be the last!  What a horrible feeling.   

Truth is, I think sometimes this joy I feel in watching my fellow actors display their brilliance is a handicap!  The sheer thrill of listening to a crowd respond so enthusiastically to their performance catapulted me out of concentrating on mine!  Joy, though a great and welcome gift, is sometimes a hindrance for me, I think.  Not sure what to do about that.  I've always had a child-like exuberance for even the tiniest things.  Is that so wrong?  Is it something I should go back to censoring in myself because it overwhelms others - including me?

When it comes to dealing with adversity and feeling grateful for everything in life, no.  When it comes to missing your entrance on stage - YES!

Here's to every actor that has ever missed an entrance - ever!  I am honored to finally join your ranks.  No doubt it's a lofty lot.  Lawrence, Ian, Derek, Glenn, Meryl....