In Becky's Words: On the Stage Again

After a two-year hiatus, I found my way back to the stage. And it was fun. And I miss it already.

I am officially a middle-aged actor. In fact, I celebrated my 45th birthday the day we moved the set into the theater.

Awesome birthday gifts from my husband, Dan

Alas, I am too old to play the ingenue soprano (I have been for a while), but I've discovered that I'm funny . . . or, at least, people laugh at me a lot.

During the run of Hello Dolly, I took "mental pictures." I pointed at something I wanted to remember and clicked at it with an imaginary camera, and not an imaginary phone camera the kids use these days. I think I stole this idea from the Jim and Pam Wedding episode of The Office.

I take "mental pictures" during all of my special times now because life goes by so quickly, and it's my way of trying to make those memorable moments slow down a bit.

I even enlisted the young woman who played the role of Minnie Fay to take "mental pictures" with me throughout the show.

My mental pictures included, but were not limited to:

1. The funny note from one of the stage managers

He left it on the table for us (Minnie, Barnaby, Cornelius, and Irene) during Act Two. I didn't ask the others if I could print their portions, but I can tell you my note had to do with keeping my clothes on.

(There is a running joke in the theater that I tend to be naked in my dressing room more often than not. It's hot on stage!)

2. When I couldn't figure out how to turn off the backstage water dispenser and stood there fumbling with it (and cracking up with Minnie) while it overflowed

We cleaned it up, don't worry.

3. The four of us (Minnie, Barnaby, Cornelius, and Irene) sitting at a table, curtain closed, for most of Act Two

We opened our curtain and popped out every now and then for a line or two of dialogue, but we had long sections with nothing to do on stage. We stashed candy, a Sudoku book, and a People Magazine under our table. We also looked at each other and pumped our fists when we heard the cheers and applause as Dolly appeared at the top of the grand staircase for the title showstopping number, which we never got to see because we were behind our curtain.

4. Minnie and I squeezing hands right before our final curtain call on closing night

I took more mental pictures. At least one of them had to do with me being naked again, but it might not be appropriate for my more sensitive readers. 😂