Let's Put On A Show

In the house of my childhood, a triangular swath of kitchen light swept into the living room to form a stage and spotlight. My sister and I would step into the beam to dance and act out stories I had scripted, with our dear, weary father as the primary audience. He sat there patiently, enduring our long performances, applauding as though we were wonderful, and I suppose wonderful is how it made us feel. With our bodies twirling and scarves swirling, we transcended the everyday. Speaking lines gleaned from movies and books in strange accents and voices, we were characters and performers, not merely little girls.

Our shows went on and on. There were starts and stops and retakes in the middle, and many ad-libbed addenda and meandering improvisations. Looking back on it now, I can only imagine how bored my poor father must have been, but his patience was breathtaking. Who knows? Maybe he dozed off now and then, happy to be in a passive role. In any case, my sister and I felt indulged and encouraged, and it was my first sense of the magic of being on stage and of narrating or acting out stories.

Anyway, these memories have been coming back to me lately because, amazingly, I am going to be part of a show next week. A SHOW! Honestly, how did I get so lucky? Whose life is this? I am appearing with Jerry DiPego, a genuine local treasure whose imaginative fictional tales have been made into blockbuster Hollywood movies, and Sue Turner-Cray, a dynamic performance artist who has done plays, television, and a knock-out one-woman show called Manchester Girl. How do I fit into this? I write true stories–memoir, if you will—and I’ll be reading a few of those, and somehow, as a trio, we seem to work well. The event is called “Tell Me A Story” and it’s going to be an evening of good, old-fashioned fun, a recognition of our mutual humanity and sense of community, and a fundraiser for a worthy cause.

I’ve been trying to step out of my comfort zone lately, and I’m definitely doing that here. I’m learning about performing, as opposed to simply reading, about “owning” my work, about not galloping through. And I’m so inspired by my co-stars…each of them brims with talent, but also with heart. I feel so much kindness here, so much love. And I’m having fun.

There's something powerful and fundamental about sharing stories; it's what we're wired to do, and in a world that is often complex and bewildering, it's a way for us to give a shape to experience, be transported to another time and place, and above all, connect to one another. We have a beautiful venue, a real stage, even some music cues to help set the mood of each tale. Locals who read this blog know the where and when, and I hope to see some of you.

This is turning into one of those “I-love-my-life” things.