Nostalgia

Within an hour or so I will be leaving for the latest All in the Timing rehearsal, which I shall of course talk about later. But right now, there are some things about the past I would like to mention.

I received a package today. It was from a dear friend of mine that I went to college with. The contents were unexpected, but pleasantly surprising.

The last show at Marietta College that I ever appeared in as a student was Miss Nelson is Missing. I discussed that show more in detail in a previous post. Go there to learn more, but the short version is, I played a kid who acting in every way, like Elvis.

During the costuming of this show, there was some back and forth as to whether I would be dressed as the older Elvis from the 1970's, or the younger 1950's iconic Elvis. The latter was chosen, and the search was on for a leather jacket. (I didn't own one, and for whatever reason, neither did the costume shop.)

The friend I mentioned was also in this play. A friend of hers had given her a nice leather jacket a few years before, and she offered to let me use it for the show. Which I did.

I enjoyed wearing it as Elvis, even though the King probably did not have a jacket exactly like it. But, since I was not playing the King, only a kid who wanted to be the King, it worked out well. It was with some reluctance I gave the jacket back at the end of the show's run.

I graduated a few months later, and never saw the jacket again...until today.

For those of you that have yet to catch on, my friend just sent me the very same jacket.

A broad smile crossed my face as I opened the box. I knew instantly what it's contents were. I took it out. Examined it. I am fairly certain that you can still make out small stains from the stage make up I wore during the show, just around the collar of the jacket.

I put it on, for the first time in over 5 years. Though I have gained some weight since then, it still went on. And it was, believe it or not, quite familiar in feel. Though I had not worn it in years, the position of all the snaps, zippers and pockets was as fresh in my mind as if it had been my own jacket all those years.

Quite a nostalgia piece, indeed.

It is really only the second significant costume piece from a show I own. (Not counting pieces I already owned before I used them in a show.) The Opera House wouldn't even let me keep a microscopic name tag with my character's name printed on it one time. Ha.)

I may have to break out the old video of that show tonight, just because I can. I rarely watch it, but if ever I were to do so, tonight would be a good time, I would think.

It will hang now, in my closet, unless I find some other cool way to display it. Either way, it is here, and is a part of my acting career. I love it, and the friend that sent it.