Some Private Archeology

I was engaged in the next stage of my massive bedroom overall, when I made a semi-interesting discovery.

After a thorough closet cleaning, I came across a container with several of those micro-tapes that I use to record stuff onto my micro-recorder.

I have many of them which I have recycled for 5 or ten years. I will be done with one recording, and just record over it the next time I need the tape. This specific group of tapes had been sitting undisturbed at the bottom of the closest for years.

One thing I use the tapes for most often is for memorizing lines. I will read my lines, and those of other people in a scene, and listen to the tape over and over, to help me get off book. Snippets of dialogue from about a million shows can be found on those tapes.

Yet what I found today amusing and surprised me. As I was listening to the tape to see what was on it, it gradually dawned on me that I had found the very first known example of me doing it. I found a recording of me delivering lines for a scene I was to do during my first acting class in college, (which of course pre-dates any actual appearance on a real stage.) I could not help but smile.

The odd thing about it was, earlier in my cleaning out process, I had discovered my final report for the class in directing I took at the same college. I had chosen to direct the very play I had acted in years previous...The same play featured on the tape. So in the course of a few hours, I ran across my directing notes for the show, as well as some of my lines from when I appeared in it myself.

The things you find when you bother cleaning up the closest.

For those interested, the play was John Bishop's one act, "Confluence".