Stage anesthesia is a term I came up with back in college. I am sure many actors have experienced it. Your are injured, or otherwise sick in someway, and yet for the brief time you find yourself on stage, much of the ailment goes away. I contribute it to the fact that a good actor is generally not thinking about their pain or sickness when performing, and mind over matter is the result; you are not sick anymore.
That is until you are done performing, and come back home, as I did about an hour ago. Than your symptoms creep back to you. In my case, it is back and neck soreness as a result of some work for a charity I did earlier this morning before rehearsal. I was in bad shape, but forced my self into getting ready and taking the trek down 340. Then, as I entered the theatre, I felt a bit better. During the show, I felt virtually nothing. Nothing on the ride home either. But as I got settled back at home, the soreness is coming back. You gotta love the stage anesthesia though.
You also have to love the word jackenapes. It appears in this play, and I laugh every time it is said, as if it were new. The only other story in the world in which I have heard the term used was ironically another Christmas story...a Christmas Carol. It should be brought back into the vernacular.
Rehearsal itself tonight was much like previous nights. Nothing new particularly happened to report. The man playing the judge informed me he was cutting a line. I discussed possible cast party locales with a few adults. A photographer was there from a local paper, but did not stay for act 2. I was told I looked like a pickle in my green suit, and one girl dubbed me "Dill" as a result. Other than these brief moments of magic, a pretty straightforward rehearsal.
Now a brief Thanksgiving break, and then we pick up again on Saturday afternoon.
If I do not post before then, Happy Thanksgiving to any and all who read this blog.
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2 comments:
I once did a show with a guy who performed with a broken foot, and he didn't know it until after curtain came down and he went to the ER.
Now at least I know what to call it-- stage anesthesia. Thanks for the new vocabulary!
I read somewhere once that the average actor in performance creates enough adrenaline to lift a car. Sometimes that feels like the truth.
I am glad I added to your vocabulary. I have done a good deed today.
As far as the gentleman you mentioned, I hope I never have to learn if my own concentration is that intense when on stage. Honestly though, I cannot say I am surprised. When you are there, you are really there. (And obviously, he was.)
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