My first experience with saying lines wasn't quite such a positive experience. It was part of a Cub Scout presentation on Heroes of the Wild West, and I was supposed to be Kit Carson. I had a monologue which was maybe five sentences long, and though I practiced and practiced, when I stood up on the stage and saw all the parents and other Scouts, I completely blanked out. I couldn't remember a word. It was awful. It was horrible. I felt the blood drain out of my face, my hands went as cold and wet as a puppy's nose, and my tongue swelled up in my mouth. After what seemed like ages, I heard the voice of an angel. Somebody's mother had brought a script, and she started feeding me my lines, one word at a time. I looked at her, she said a word to me. I looked at the audience, and said the word, then looked back at her. Eventually, I got through the whole paragraph. Since that experience, I've seen many television shows and plays in which a person "freezes' onstage, or when looking at a camera. I never laugh. Never. Because I know how it feels. Many years later, in a community theater production of "Stop the World, I Want to Get Off," I suddenly blanked onstage. I paused. I looked around. I was alone. Nobody's mother was going to bail me out of this one. I thought back to what I had just said. I prayed. I took a deep breath. A word came to my mind. I said it. Another word came. Then another. Finally the logjam burst and I realized where I was in the show. Everything was fine after that. Ever since that experience, I have made it a point to memorize EVERYONE'S lines when I'm onstage, and keep a script handy when I'm not. Just in case. Someone might need an angel looking out for them. You never know... |
