My Worst Theatre Disasters and How I Overcame Them

When I directed Pioneer's "Puss in Boots" at Colorado Christian University, I got a call five minutes before curtain that one of the actors had been in a car accident, had a head injury of indeterminate severity, and wouldn't be making it to the theater. I grabbed a script, put on his costume, went out to the audience before the show started and explained the situation. Because it was a Christian setting, we prayed for the young man (who was fine and came back for the very next performance), and went on with the show. What amazed me was that as director, I had carefully worked out the onstage blocking, and knew the character. However, I didn't know the backstage "traffic patterns" the actors had worked out. The actors were great, pushing me here, pulling me there so that I wouldn't miss an entrance. I was so proud of them because I was no longer in charge. It was THEIR show, and they led me around as if I was the inexperienced newcomer. I'll always remember how it felt for the shoe to be on the other foot, and I'll always treasure how great it felt to know I could rely on my young actors, no matter what happened.