Being In Someone Else's Show

Full disclosure;  I have a small part in Sarah LaRose-Hollands’s Fringe show, “Soiree Preview.” I want to talk abut being a person in someone else’s show. I will carefully avoid any critical, analytical or perceptual comments about this show.  I’m prohibited, in fact, from commenting on this show on the Fringe website. A good prohibition.

Some of these folks have been dancing with Sarah for a fair length of time. Two or three years.  Joining this group as a minor character in a particular scene is a joy and a challenge. For one thing I’m honored to have been welcomed in.

You can always tell when a group has been working together for a while. There is a level of cooperation and mutual problem-solving that should be taught to the American legislative process. And taught very hard and tough. But I digress. The reality is that people in a company such as this work with each other on a very polite, cheerful, hard nosed specific, and supportive basis to get the stuff done. I don’t know this group well enough to discern whether they have the same feelings and practices with each other after rehearsal or not. But what happens in the studio is a model for what should happen in hundreds of other real-life situations. Only it doesn't.

One of the of the most delicious things in the world is to be a company member in a successful show, but with no over-arching responsibilities. It's hard work, but it's also a delight. You show up. You bring yourself just as you are. You take some few moments or minutes, or some time, to convert yourself into what you need to be. In my case I have to convert myself into the most incredibly indefensible red-neck jerk asshole womanizing, gluttonous, alcoholic, power-abusing, rude and self-aggrandizing law-enforcement turd you can imagine. Those who vote for the Tea Party would love me. The fact that I can drop it at the final curtain call makes it a total delight to take on.

 And I don’t have to herd the cats, organize the publicity, deal with the venue or the presenter, locate rehearsal space, etc etc. Too bad that you can’t make a living this way In America. But baseball players can.

John Munger