Making an Entrance Again...with My Usual Flair

As the maid Sidonie in Gigi, age 19 and looking about 11. I stole the show.

Starting over in theatre in a new place, my mind goes back to past glories and a few past flops. As it happens, I'm not going to tread the boards in The Second Time Around at the Coach House Players, but maybe sometime in the future, in some more suitable vehicle, I shall again. I was flexing atrophied muscles at two evenings of auditions, and it felt good.

I didn't expect to get the leading role this time. But the next best thing (or maybe even the very best thing) happened. I acquitted myself fairly well in a cold reading, came back for a second one and was even better. I spied a lady I suspected was my main competition and I thought, "I'm not going to get this, but if she doesn't I'm going to be very disappointed."

And the director apparently agreed with me, because she came away with the role. She has a natural, unaffected quality; is probably a few years younger than I, and certainly fits the role better than I would even if I acted it all to hell. Plus, she had home court advantage--as it's clear she's already a stalwart of the Players and I am a total unknown.

At any rate, this is no time for me to take on a large role in a play--after all, I will be closing on a house, working with movers, contractors, electricians, and plumbers for the next couple of months, and learning lines is hard enough for this brain these days. No need to overload the circuits if I can help it.

I like the feel of my new neighborhood, and I'm told it's one of the hottest real estate areas in town. It's historical, charming, and chock-a-block with cute little cafés and shops. When walking through the house with the contractor and plumber yesterday, a handsome man came by and introduced himself as my next door neighbor, saying how happy the neighborhood was to have somebody move in and rescue the house. Well, that's not an exact quote, but that was what I took from it. He was friendly and welcoming and he assured me the couple in the house on the other side were very happy to see a new face too.

There will be a reading of the play Monday night and I'll drop in on it to learn who did get cast and maybe stay and hear the whole play for once. I'll see what I can do to help. I haven't been inspired to start at the bottom in a long time, but this feels right. The Coach House Players are friendly, down-to-earth people who love what they are doing and want to fill their ranks with others who love being in and around plays. It's low key and low pressure, and if my hunch is right, the drama is mostly on the stage.

This is the way to make an entrance in a new city!

I think it's just what I need.