BethB: To Act — Or Not

43 comments on this post so far. Add yours!

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  JeanC on February 17 at 5:49 p.m.

  I used to act in high school, even had a minor lead in Music Man. That was right before my stage fright hit pathological levels and I haven’t acted since. Now if I am around a play, I prefer to work behind the scenes.

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  Bob on February 17 at 5:56 p.m.

  Well, this is always what I say for those stupid icebreakers in meetings “tell us one thing about you that nobody knows” when I resist the urge to mention cats, burlap bags, bricks, and Class IV river rapids and instead mention how I snagged the starring role in Robin Hood and His Merry Men or whatever in the 5th grade. I was a brief celebrity at my school. Really brief. Like one week or two with the first graders at recess who’d run up to me with snotty faces and yell HEY YOU’RE ROBIN HOOD.

  God, how humiliating. Why did you make me answer this. Why?

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  chatterbox on February 17 at 6:01 p.m.

  Lots of high school and jr high plays. I also got involved wtih a community theater in Iowa. I served a 3 year term on their board of directors, acted in comedies, musicals and dramas and worked back stage and on scenery & props if a part for my age group didn’t exist. I loved every minute of it and have seriously considered volunteering for the Lake City playhouse. But as a relative newcomer to the area, I haven’t gathered up the courage…yet.

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  BethB on February 17 at 6:08 p.m.

  This is so much fun to read what you guys have done! My solo (mentioned in the blog excerpt) was in a play called “The Quilters,” a series of skits and songs describing life on the frontier. When we took the show on the road - to Lusk and Pine Bluffs in WY - it was the most powerful because we were performing for people who really knew the subject. Also, we - the cast - had the chance to meet the quilters in town, and they made a quilt for a raffle fundraiser for us. Whole thing - great experience. Thanks for the post, DFO!

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  Truly on February 17 at 6:19 p.m.

  What a fun topic indeed. I too had a few minutes of fame like Bob. In high school I took second place in drama competition for a solo bit. I played Lady Bracknell in the Importance of Being Ernest in Jr. High then it was on to The Silver Valley Community Theater where most of my parts were in musicals in a dinner type setting at the Wallace Elks. Serve a bunch of drinks to the audience and you are guaranteed to be a hit no matter if you can’t remember your lines or the steps to the dance number. Someday I, like Chatterbox, would love to do something for the Lake City Playhouse but I fear I may have lost my nerve - only time will tell. I bet you were the cutest Robin Hood Bob - do you still steal from the rich and give to the poor?

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  chatterbox on February 17 at 6:25 p.m.

  Bob-
  Please, please, please show up to Blogfest ‘09 in your green Robin Hood tights!!
  ;-)

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  Escapee on February 17 at 6:28 p.m.

  I’ve acted often. Every time I had a job, I had to pretend to know what I was doing, and feign some small degree of comfortability and cheer when all I really wanted to do is get the hell out of there. Oh wait…that’s not ‘acting’, it’s ‘masking’…never mind…

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  BethB on February 17 at 6:30 p.m.

  Hey - I’ve already got him committed to coming to Blogfest as a unicorn!

• 

  keithincda on February 17 at 6:35 p.m.

  “Bob-
  Please, please, please show up to Blogfest ‘09 in your green Robin Hood tights!!”
  ;-)

  Bob, d-o-n-t.

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  nic on February 17 at 6:47 p.m.

  I acted as a kid. And throughout junior high. In high school, I had a couple of bit parts and one major role but mostly had behind the scenes roles (I was stage manager for every MPHS production from fall ‘94 through spring ‘97). Outside of school, I acted in a couple of community theater productions.

  I haven’t been in a play since ‘99. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do again, but never have the time to commit. (theater is a huge time commitment)

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  Bob on February 17 at 6:49 p.m.

  I won’t Keith. My legend would only grow. I’m already too big for my britches.

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  Bob on February 17 at 6:52 p.m.

  Hey Truly, how’s Sam doing? We miss him here. He was a sparkplug!

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  nic on February 17 at 7:01 p.m.

  Oh, and I also had a short stint in a public improv comedy group with a few friends.

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  chatterbox on February 17 at 7:09 p.m.

  Oops, sorry Beth. I didn’t realize Bob was “called” for.
  And Bob, you’re probably right for not showing up in tights. I re-read the thread. If you were Robin Hood in the 5th grade, my guess is you’ve outgrown those tights. “Nevermind’, /spoken in her best Emily Litella voice.

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  Cindy_H on February 17 at 7:22 p.m.

  Yep. Acted all the way through high school and college. Best college role: Madge Owens in Picnic.
  Professional debut: Interplayers in Playboy of the Western World. I studied Irish dialogue tapes for weeks in preparation for my two lines: “Run from the idiot!” and “Ah, that Christy Mahon.”
  During the long lulls between my stage appearances I had to fob off the advances of an older married dude and it kinda dulled the bright lights for me.
  Very educational though.

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  florined on February 17 at 9:11 p.m.

  Yep, I was Mrs. Claus in the 6th grade Christmas play. Some dodo tacked (nailed) some decorative greenery as scenery and as I ran onto the stage, I caught muh little red skirt on the nail. The skirt didn’t continue into the spotlight with me. There I was in muh little cotton panties.

  My next role (as an adult) was as an inmate in an asylum.

  There are a number of events that help explain things to my friends.

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  marmitetoasty on February 17 at 9:42 p.m.

  I was only even in two school productions…… once was when I was in the infants so I was about 6, I got the part of the donkey noise LMFAO….. I had two half coconut shells and when the navitity donkey (Josie Beck with a donkey mask) walked on our little stage I had to make a clip clop noise with the coconut shells, only I hit them so hard together that one flew out me hand and under the school piano…. it is very hard to clip clop with only one shell…..so I shouted CLIP CLOP CLIP CLIP CLIPPITY CLIP and Josie was jumping around trying to dance in tune lmfao - I was not asked to be a donkey noise again….

  The other time was when I was in the juniors, so I would of been 7 or 8…… we broke from tradition with the school navitity and our play was about the red indians and missionaries in America LMFAO….. I was dressed as an Indian squaw and had a cereal box strapped to me back with a doll shoved in it to look like a papoose….. I was the only one that owned a black doll, hence I got that part (only to be honest it was not really the right colour now was it)…. I had to dance the indian dance around the fake fire in the middle of the stage and say ‘Bethlehem? she squaw like me’ (I REMEMBER MY ONLY LINE), but as I danced the pow wow up and down the doll shot out of the cereal box and landed in the fire, where the Kim Andrews (boy) kicked it off stage and it landed at the feet of the headmistress in the front row of the audience….. now, you try being a good dancing indian with an empty cereal box straped to ya back……

  Never walked the boards again LOL……. my stage career was over with those 2 traumatic times…..

  x

  ps…… I know its late (its 5.40am here) but I got up for a drink and the computer was on….. so hush with the ‘its the middle of the night there’ whimpers..

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  florined on February 17 at 10:29 p.m.

  Ha! Marmey is my soulmate!

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  danofthecommunity on February 17 at 11:11 p.m.

  Never acted but I’ve often been told that I could have had a career as a cartoon character voice…people often confuse me with Barney Rubble.

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  Truly on February 17 at 11:49 p.m.

  Bob - to answer your question regarding “how Sam is doing” he was a sparkplug - he is just fine. If the boy is telling his mother the absolute truth he has sworn off the internet until March I believe so he can focus more on healthy habits, i.e. more reading of books, getting out in the world away from the computer- working out and on a very strict health diet - something about a body fat number. Sam is one of those youngsters who grew up on the computer 24/7 and it was damn near impossible to pull him away for any length of time. I get an occasional email but that’s about it. He does have his Bellingham Hearald work blog up and running but has sworn off items like Facebook, HBO and whatever else he was into. You should shoot him an email and let him know he is missed and while you’re at it tell him he should let me come to blogfest in his absence - that should get a rise out of the young man. Doesn’t mean I’ll come as I am torn about the debate of meeting face to face with folks I’ve debated or ticked off. We shall see.

  So no green tights? It would be cool if you could at least wear the Robin Hood cap tilted just so:)

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  Liz on February 18 at 1:53 a.m.

  I humiliated myself with a bit part in high school. Once was enough.
  Which is odd, because I enjoy public speaking. A lot. Just not in costume and just not pretending to be someone else.

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  Bent on February 18 at 9:54 a.m.

  Wow, Cindy did Playboy?

  Oh, um, yeah…I did some acting in school, too.

  I was Sherlock Holmes in the Hounds of Baskerville, and I played Sid in a Tom Sawyer play. Sid was Tom’s annoying younger cousin. He was a snitch…

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