Took a break from doing improv to overcome a fear. I have not done Theater Acting for about 23 years since I was a Theater Major at Simpson College. I love to perform but repeating the same lines over and over again every single night sucked the enthusiasm right out of me. To be honest I am not really a fan of theater, musical theater especially it just is something that I fell away from having interest in very quickly. I respect the skill & talent of anyone that can do it, in fact they are the best actors working in this world but I just had difficulty delivering lines with the same genuine emotion every day. A few years back I was tapped to be in a play. It was modern & I loved the script, could envision the play in my head as I read the lines. Seeing the character & exactly how I would portray it. It rekindled my desire to perform live theater again… sadly, the director changed his mind after weeks of meeting together with me cast as the lead after the auditions for the other characters happened. It burnt me very bad & for quite some time. The director’s name was Dana M. & I still hold a bit of resentment to him for the way in which he handled the situation
Currently I’m on the board of directors at a theater in Iowa City, Willow Creek Theatre Company. I perform improv as a member of the house team Lady Franklyn & do tech work and day to day business for the company. Mainly a lot of graphic design & social media marketing.We got the rights to do the musical The Fantasticks (longest running off-broadway play in history) & I decided to step into my fear & try out. I had never tried out for a musical before so I was nervous and my fight or flight instinct was screaming the entire time “Fly!”. Ignoring it and wanting to do something I was afraid of would make me a stronger artist & person. Even if I didn’t get a role I would have at least ran at my fear & not away from it! Y’know what happened? Of course not, I haven’t told you yet. – Well, I got a part! I was cast as Mortimer, a smaller part but very memorable if done effectively. And let me say, I did it VERY well! In fact, I nailed it! The audience loved every time I hit the stage (literally) each night.
A video I captured of The play’s Fight Scene
The process of putting together the play was something I was new to but once again I was hell bent on taking this role to it’s fullest. I was honored & a bit intimidated to be surrounded by an amazingly talented cast. Each of them were experienced & blew me away with their performance & total dedication to their roles. Every practice I was called in for I was greeted with warm welcomes & sincere respect. It was truly heartwarming. Over the weeks I looked forward to each practice & interacting with each of them. When on break often joking around & getting to know one another better. Anything I felt I was struggling with or just not sure how it was coming off I had no problem asking the director or a fellow cast member without hesitation. It was a close knit group always enjoying each other’s performance & speaking praise. We had a special connection, all of us pushing together to make this show the best it could possibly be…. and from my perspective , we did exactly that. The Fantasticks was received amazingly by critics & crowd alike. AND IN THE END… my small part stood out memorably to the audience each night with a roar of applause & laughter.
With the show having finished it’s run, I turn back to improv with an analytical perspective. What do I want to do now? Taking a break to do something else opened me up to looking at alternatives toward my improv career & moving forward. Seeing new options & avenues i can explore as an inproviser. It is a strange feeling but one that I am happy to run towards!
‘The Fantasticks’ – Josh C Crawford as Mortimer
A Life Creative 