CAST: The Pittsburgh New Works Festival Edition

The Lost in Yonkers experience bit me hard.

It was so refreshing to hop on stage after being away for close to a decade.

Immediately after leaving Yonkers, I started combing FB and the internet for Pittsburgh auditions, and came across the Pittsburgh New Works Festival, a competition of new one-act pieces.

I was available for the audition, and while auditioning has never been a strong, or favorite, skill of mine (although I spent years coaching others how to do so), I made an appointment, pulled out my monologue, brushed up on it, and went.

Walking in was frightful.

The sign-in table.

The wait.

And then, entering a room FULL of representatives from theater companies all over the city.  12 to be exact. 12 one-acts would be cast based upon a 2 minute monologue.

I cracked some initial jokes, mainly due to nerves, and thankfully, they laughed.

My piece? I would grade it as "meh", but it did get chuckles, so that calmed me.

I had one line to go when I heard the dreaded "2 minutes. Time.", but I couldn't leave them hanging, so I managed to squeeze in the punch line.

They called that evening. I had been offered a role in a two-woman piece called "Pump", written by a gal in Pittsburgh who now lives in, of all places, Evanston. And works at Northwestern. That. Is. Crazy.

So, I'm 2 for 2. And while new works make me a tad nervous (and the subject matter of this one may not be for everyone), I'm game. I'm in. I'm excited to be standing up on my theater legs again. And it's pretty cool to be learning more about Pittsburgh's theater community.

Thank you to Michelle Christ who did a rush job on my headshots last week - and a fantastic job at that. Talk about making oneself available. She rocks. Check her out here.

Thank you to my husband, who never hesitates before he tells me to, "Go for it." I had considered cancelling due to the events at the RUCKUS the day before, but he made sure to help me chuck that stinkin' thinkin'.

Thank you to my friends, who have been so lovely about cheering me on. If you don't have a cheering section in your life, you should find one.

So, I'm back to memorizing. And the hives.

Perhaps rather than simply praying before entering the stage at the start of a show, I should consider adding Benadryl to my pre-curtain routine.