Like A Phantom Limb

This is a little funny, watching the Noises Off DVD this past Saturday, I found myself getting nervous right before each of my entrances. I would hear the cue lines and I would think to myself: Oh My God! I Have To Go On!. My heart started to beat really fast and just sitting there on the couch I felt like I was running a race. Weird, I mean, if I had missed a cue on whatever night the DVD was recorded, there'd be nothing to do about it now...thankfully, I didn't miss any.

During the run, I only remember being nervous before that first entrance. I can remember the night that the whole front row was made up of my friends: Jeff, Sarah, Steve Miller, David, Kim, Kris and Bob...and at another performance Amber and Brian and my Dad were right there in the front. I know a lot of people (Jeff, for one) don't like to have that front row full of familiar faces...not me. I love that. That, pressure. That feeling that, 'I've got to do well, they're right there.' To me, there's always more nerves when you've got 'your' people in the audience...I mean, the rest of the audience...they're strangers...they may like it or hate it...but you never really see them again.

It was also interesting to watch all the scenes that I wasn't a part of, to see all the funny stuff people came up with (especially in ACT II - that whole ACT is run run run never look back). I love that show, I would be in a production of Noises Off again in a second. I feel like I could do so much more with Garry/Roger now. Who knows, maybe I'll get another shot at it someday.

I was so impressed with the quality of the DVD. The picture is crisp. The sound is good. There's even a fun little menu page. The only problem with taping a show like that is: The only people who want to watch it are the people who are in it. I've had to sit through enough of them to know. I think it's because in addition to the show, the story...you're caught up in the nostalgia as well. Maybe my mom will want to watch it since she didn't come down to see the show.

Shows I would one day want to be in:
Picasso At The Lapin Agile (either as Freddy, Schmendiman, or if I had the chops, Picasso)
Beyond Therapy (Bruce, Bob, or Stuart)
ART (Yvan, again if I had the chops)
How I Learned To Drive (odd choice for me, Male Greek Chorus)
Lobby Hero (Jeff) (and I've actually been a security guard)

Shows I would love to reprise a role in:
Noises Off (Garry/Roger, and maybe one day as Lloyd)
The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 (Eddie McCuen)

Shows I glad I had the chance to do cause I'll never be cast in that part again:
Private Lives (Elyot Chase)
Oh, I guess that's the only one.

I can say that I've purged The Rocky Horror Show from my system.
I'll never feel the need to be a phantom again. That is over.
This is going to be my final Time Warp, my final jump to the left, step to the right...