I’ve always been an entertaining kind of guy. Some have interchanged “entertaining” with “annoying” but you get my point. It’s probably why I got into music, magic, juggling, and eventually theatre. I’ve always enjoyed making people laugh, smile, and generally enjoy themselves. A few years ago I was fortunate to be in yet another play portraying yet another character. This particular character had a higher voice than my own, a bizarre way of putting often surprising words together, and an even stranger accent. All of this was rolled up into a character in (you guessed it) a comedy. The comedy, however, had very dark tones throughout. Not just beneath the surface, but on the surface as well. The content of the play would, in fact, be frightening to children (and, from experience, I can tell you it was — parents should read the warnings on posters and advertisements before bringing their children to show). So, frightening content rolled up in a dark comedy and containing a vocally strange character (portrayed by me). Just last week I found the script.
Finding the script was a sort of wonderful moment for me. We’d been packing things up to move across the country and I was going through what seemed like endless boxes of papers comprising half a decade of graduate studies and undergraduate teaching. Deciding what to keep wasn’t easy. It looked like I was doing nothing (“how can you STILL be working on that ONE box?!?!) but I was, in fact, working quite diligently. The moment I found the script I knew I would have to read it aloud. This is what I’m compelled to do. I’m compelled to read things aloud, particularly plays, and there’s nothing anyone can do about it: I’ve been trained to speak. Plus, I particularly enjoyed this character. I often find that the voices and mannerisms come back with simply the words on the page. They did. I read a horrifying monologue (in, of course, a funny way) and when I had finished my five-minute speech I felt pretty good about myself. Then my son started laughing and clapping. He’d enjoyed it. Being the great father that I am I read some more. My son is a pretty good audience.