Actors Wanted

I found a posting on playbill.com asking for actors to RSVP and show up for a 365 Plays/365 Days event in which the theme was - unfinished plays. I wasn't exactly sure what this meant, how I should dress, how big of a deal this truly would be, etc. but I figured I wouldn't find out unless I went- so I did! :)

The Untitled Theater Company was presenting the plays for Week 35. Upon entering the theatre lobby I was asked if I was an audience member or a participant. I said I was a participant and was given a nametag to fill out - those that were audiences members simply wore "audience" name tags.

Basically, we would sit in the audience and those on stage would select us to come down and participate. The program was full of question marks where the actors names should be - looked to be lots of opportunity!

While waiting, I sat by another "participant" that reminded me of Peri Gilpin. I was reading the descriptions of the characters that didn't have actors assigned to them and we wondered aloud who they might pick for the show that asked for "3 old people or old looking people" as there were few there that would qualify...

We were finally ushered into the theatre and the show started.

Rather than verbally asking for volunteers, much of it was done with cue cards. In turn, cue cards or notes written on paper were used to feed the "participants" their lines too.

I got to go up for 2 of the 7 one acts - my odds were good as it was a small audience! ;)

I had to chuckle when both me and "Peri Gilpin" were motioned to come down for the "old person" play we'd been talking about earlier. Wonder if they'd overheard us...

That particular play was called - Faith, Hope and Charity. The cast was 2 women and a man. A table full of jewelery was to be distributed amongst us and as that was going on, gray wigs were placed on our heads. Then a stick with paper smiling teeth mounted at the top was handed to the man and a 4th person on stage from the theatre company (dressed as a fairy or fairygodmother?) spoke our lines as we acted to them. The three of us shared the smiling teeth and argued over who should have them. It was a tad odd but it was fun to be doing something on stage, even briefly and even if I really didn't have a clue what that something was! ;)