I have been acting since I was 6. My first starring role, the Troll in “The Three Billy Goats Gruff Goes Calypso,” fed the bug that bit me, and since then, I have always felt at home on a stage. Throughout middle and high school, I could be seen with the Drama Clubs, having a role in either a fall play or spring musical.
As I left to go to college, I knew that I wanted to keep acting. After a year of getting my bearings, I tried out for a production of “Mirror, Mirror,” a queer take on the story of Snow White. After that production, I knew I had to do more. That junior year, I directed my first original one-act play, and I had a blast. My cast was strong, my audiences were engaged, and it felt like a true net-positive.
College also saw me start a new stage interest: improv comedy. What started as a freshman year extracurricular turned into a 4-year improv training course, helping me to hone my active listening and timing. I even won the “Drew Carey Award” for my dedication to the group. Improv comedy would come back to me after college, and I became of 2 different groups.
As I left college, I knew I wanted to keep acting, but I had no idea where to start. I was invited by a friend to play music for her acting group’s third birthday. After meeting the group, I felt as if I was surrounded by the people who had welcomed me at such a young age. They spoke with wisdom, musical theater references, and a voice that I could only describe as their truth.
I joined them and starred in my first 1440 project, a 24-hour writing, rehearsing, and staged short play extravaganza. We did these shows, summer series, and other projects, but I was missing the experience of a full-fledged, 3-month long rehearsed play. In total, it had been 6 years since I acted in a major production.
In November 2022, I received a call from a friend asking me to come in and read for a part. The show was “Proclivities,” a surreal, almost time-stopping look at both the mundaneness and spontaneity of suburban life. I read for the part and was accepted by both cast and crew, and I knew that this would be the start of something special. This show was top-notch, helping me grow through the weeks of rehearsal and the eight performances, each performance helping me grow as both an actor and a person.
When it was announced that the final show of the season would be “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,” I knew I had to audition. Written by Steve Martin, this play was one that I was already familiar with. Set in 1904 at the eponymous bar, Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso debate the true meaning of art and genius. Their interactions with the bar owner, his girlfriend, the regular, the ingenue, an art critic, a salesman, a countess, and a mysterious, time-traveling musician attribute to both Einstein’s and Picasso’s growth as thinkers, spurring them to reveal the works that would make them famous.
When I auditioned, I went in wanting a smaller part. “Proclivities” was a big part, with lines that had to be delivered exactly the way they were written. I did not want to subject myself to the memorization process again, so I wanted a smaller part. After a round of what I would call the most fun audition process I have been a part of, I received an email. I landed the role of Albert Einstein. Better yet, the man who directed me in “Proclivities” would be Pablo Picasso.
“A lead?” I asked myself. “Do I have the capacity to take on another lead role?” I made sure to get my script early, telling myself that I would be almost fully memorized by the time the first rehearsal took place. I procrastinated.
I started to research Einstein, learning his mannerisms, his cadence, and his work. I now know that I will never be intrigued by the realm of physics. I’ll just stick to watching reruns of “The Big Bang Theory” at 1 AM peaking off of 25mg of THC.
This was the hardest character I have ever had to play. Whereas in “Proclivities,” where the character Bing could be an everyman, with no set ethnicity, speech pattern, or accent, “Picasso” would be the opposite. I would now have to embody a historical figure, paying attention to the year, where he was in his life and other considerations.
At the time of writing, I have completed 4 more performances, with 4 more to come. After a week of feeling like a self-doubting sufferer of imposter syndrome, I can now say that I still feel like it. I haven’t felt this nervous than back in high school. This time, however, I feel like I have more of my tribe around me. I’ve discovered friendships through a shared love of professional wrestling, a group that can take a roast and dish, and friends I know I’ll keep for a long time.
After this show, I’ll be taking a break from traditional acting until the end of the year. One, it’s the last show of the season, and two, I’ll be venturing into a new realm of acting. I will be a wandering minstrel, traveling back in time to the Renaissance at my local Renn Faire. After that, I think I’ll return. I found a great community that’s welcoming, accepting, and can put up with my esoteric, often surreal sense of humor.
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