Story Weekend: Acting (and a Giveaway of a Large Print Edition of Necessary Lies)
As a kid, I always wanted to be an actress. My friend Joyce and I would practice a scene from the movie The Bells of St Mary’s, in which the priest (Bing Crosby) tells the nun (Ingrid Bergman) that she has leukemia, and she cries (with relief, because of the storyline). Joyce and I would sob, certain we’d be great actresses one day. As it turned out, I was way too shy, soft-voiced, and anxious to ever make it on stage even in grade school, but that didn’t stop me from dreaming. (note: If you’ve read my novel Secret Lives, the scene I describe above may be familiar to you, since it inspired the same behavior in my character Eden in that novel. Eden, though, did indeed go on to be a star).
So how about you? Everyone has an acting story, I’m sure of it. What’s yours? (By the way, I just received a couple of large print editions of Necessary Lies and will randomly choose one commenter to receive one of them!)
If you’re new to Story Weekend, here’s how it works: I pick a theme and you share something from your life that relates to that theme, however you interpret it. Thanks to all of you who’ve been contributing. As always, there are a few “rules”:
▪ The story must be true
▪ Try to keep it under 100 words. Embrace the challenge! That’s about six or seven lines in the comment form. I want others to read your story, and most people tend to skip if it’s too long. I know how tough it is to “write tight” but I hope you’ll accept this as a challenge. Happy writing!
As a little girl my family made yearly visits to the Outer Banks. We would sometimes stay in Manteo, NC. The first time we went to the outdoor drama “The Lost Colony” in the early ’70’s I was smitten by the story, the stage, the costumes and the actors. I pictured myself on that stage wearing those wonderful time-appropriate costumes. Over the years we went at least 4 times to see “The Lost Colony” and each time my dream to be one of those actors was re-inspired. Though I never did appear on the stage, those visits created a life-long passion for going to live plays both outdoor and in theaters. I visited the area again as a mother with two pre-teen girls and took them to see the outdoor drama. They too were quite taken with the experience and upon returning to our home in Raleigh, NC they joined a local acting group and performed in “Babes in Toyland”.
My earliest memory of wanting to become an actress was watching old movies of Shirley Temple! How could you not fall in love with this beautiful little girl? At the age of 8 my mom bought me my first record player and along with that an album of all Shirley Temple songs from all her movies. My friends and I would sing and dance to them and put on shows for the neighborhood children! We had so much fun! The highlight came when I was alone and practicing outside some of the songs I loved best and at the end two teens popped out of nowhere and clapped! That was the best time ever, it made an 8 year old girl very happy!
In school I was much too shy, but failing at my chosen educational path, nursing school, I tried for a short time to “make it” in NYC. After only a few months I only gotten one gig (a 10 day workshop of a later successful musical) and I decided, tail between legs, to go to college. Ah but what a gig and such a letdown for them to say I was too young for the part. See it from my perspective, after all I was 18, not really too young to play Abigail Adams with five kids.
I was selected to be an angel in the church play. I had the halo, wings and a white robe. When i rose to say my lines…the next thing I remember is the cast all hovering over me and me flat on my back on the church floor!
I had passed out right there in front of the whole congregation! How embarrasing!
I loved the Gidget movies while growing up. I wanted to be like the cute perky pony-tailed Sandra! The only thing that came close to looking like Sandra Dee in Gidget was my long pony-tail! I practiced bopping around like she did with my pony tail swinging. I looked in the mirror and tried to make my lips look pouty like hers. Sigh………
I played Mrs. Cratchit in A Christmas Carol when I was in the 7th grade. I wore a homespun dress that belonged to my great grandmother.
As a little kid (probably around 6 or 7), My sister and I were in a high school musical (Music Man) that my oldest sister was in. The parts were small and we just walked to the edge of the stage and sat down while singing with the rest of the cast that was on stage. Glad Mom made us bloomers with our dress costumes because as I sat there singing away I kicked my feet and the dress ended up on my lap instead of over my knees! LOL
Ye olde Random Number Generator selected Lauralee Foerster to win the large print edition of Necessary Lies. Congratulations, Lauralee! I’ll be in touch.
Diane – waiting to see your list of books you recommend from your reads in 2013 – enjoyed your suggestions this time a year ago….