The Play's the Thing

I have not been posting lately because I have been busy exploring my theatrical side. Our local community theatre put on Alfred Uhry's play The Last Night of Ballyhoo and Liturgygeek and I had roles.

Ballyhoo tells the story of a family of Jews(the Freitags) living in Atlanta in 1939. The start of World War 2 and the Premiere of Gone With the Wind serve as the background historical events of the play. The play, however, centers around a Jewish cotillion called Ballyhoo. In the Feitag family are two cousins; Liturgygeek played the cousin named Lala Levy. I played one of the cousins suitors named Peachy Weil, and I had the red hair to match.

Ballyhoo is a marvelously written play and I had the opportunity to work with a fine director and a talented cast. This was the first play I had been in since I played a watermelon farmer in an elementary school play(a fact that was in the playbill and commented on by at least one audience member after every performance).

I enjoyed every moment of this experience; from the rehearsals in a empty theatre to the performance night; I had a great time. Being in the play was like discovering a hidden treasure. I never thought I would enjoy performing and yet I discovered that I did. This, I believe, is one of the joys of growing older. I discover more things that I like, I try new activities, and my horizons broaden. Liturgygeek has a bacground in theatre and one of the great things about being married(both in general and in specifics) is having a spouse introduce you to their loves and you discovering that you share that love and enjoyment.

Now that I have discovered this enjoyment of theatre, I am learning the other side of being in a play. While Liturgygeek directs a performance of The Hobbit, I will be learning the ropes as the assistant stage manager.