105413 Resource 100519 12031 1 1129912632994 1250128444646 Controlled Have You Ever Thought Of Theatre As A Contact Sport?

Some of my strangest amateur theater memories!

<font size="2" face="Arial">I like amateur theater for the same reason I like high school football. Anything can happen. Professionals on the boards and on the gridiron are usually too polished, too careful to get themselves into real trouble. </font><div><font size="2" face="Arial">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; But in high school? Players, whether on the field or in the footlights, are capable of astonishing accomplishments, and just as spectacular goof-ups, because they pour their hearts out into what they are doing, come what may.</font></div><div><font size="2" face="Arial">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; For every story of a jaw-dropping football interception, last-moment or game-winning throw for the hoop in basketball, or kicking the ball into the wrong goal in soccer, there are equally inspiring and embarrassing experiences onstage.</font></div><div><font size="2" face="Arial">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I remember the time when I offered up a toast with a plastic champagne glass, and the base fell off, fluttering to the floor with a clatter. The audience snickered, but one actor chimed in, &quot;What interesting champagne glasses you have, my dear Count.&quot; And the play went on.</font></div><div><font size="2" face="Arial">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Then there was the time during a scene of &quot;You Can't Take It With You,&quot; where I was supposed to separate a wrestler from my would-be father-in-law. I caught an elbow to the chin, back-pedaled and saw stars. I put my fist up to my jaw and it came away drenched with blood. I've always felt that facial cuts bleed a lot more than they really have to. I pressed my palm to my chin for the rest of the scene in order to staunch the flow. I must have looked very thoughtful, standing there. Once offstage, the stage manager handed me a band-aid, and I finished the matinee. My mother was working, so my sister-in-law took me to the doctor, who sutured me up. Trust me, it's more fun to leave the audience in stitches, than to get them yourself. I later asked a friend in the audience if she saw what had happened, and she said she never even noticed! Even so, I've thought of drama as a contact sport ever since.</font></div> 9 application/xml false amateur theater memories Theatre Awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1936, the comedy went on to run 837 performances on Broadway. http://www.enotes.com/you-cant/ A synopsis of the play http://www.bard.org/Education/Other/youcan'ttakeitwb.html Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 8.0; Windows NT 5.1; Trident/4.0; .NET CLR 1.0.3705; .NET CLR 1.1.4322; Media Center PC 4.0; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; Zune 3.0) 127.0.0.1 127.0.0.1 $Admin 67.172.146.66 false true false false true 100519 blog blogsite/PioneerDrama/web