Newsletter – November 1, 2024
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It’s opening night of Elsewhere and I’m excited to see the performances unfold. The background projections and lights are all set up, the costumes, props, and sound effects were all found, borrowed, or created, and the programs and posters are freshly printed. It’s show time!
I’m always proud to see how far the students have advanced through the years. At an age where they’re finding their place in the world, their theatre experiences give them a chance to experiment in a safe and supportive environment. After all, it’s just pretend, right? So you can express the emotions of your character at full volume on stage and, instead of getting in trouble, you get kudos for “acting out.” What other aspect of life gives you permission to embody that behavior?
That’s not to say there isn’t real depth of feeling to go along with those experiences. A couple of years ago there was a student who had to step into a small role at the last minute. With only about three or four lines to say at the beginning and end of the play she broke into a panic attack on opening night. “It’s all real,” she sobbed in the dressing room, “it’s all so real.”
I reassured her that she didn’t need to go on, that we’d find someone else to do it script-in-hand, but she did it, and did it well. She experienced that crashing reality of pretend where your emotional self experiences the reality of the make-believe and the feelings are all so real.
This year, that same actor is appearing in Elsewhere as the nightmarish tooth fairy commanding her minions, the tooth goblins, to extract teeth from the mouths of the children. She’s deliciously evil and so distant from that younger version who broke down in the dressing room. She’s come so far!
Writing goals, right? What writer wouldn’t want to see their storytelling have that kind of emotional impact, that kind of potential for growth? It’s all in the experience. The only way forward is through.
Speaking of acting out, I hope you had a delightful Halloween!
TTFN
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The Most Amazing Museum of Los Angeles is available through The BookBaby Bookshop at https://store.bookbaby.com/book/the-most-amazing-museum-of-los-angeles
Eric Margerum 