Tag Archives: Script

Chapter-a-Day

Scarred Hearts

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Scarred Hearts (CaD Jer 17) – Wayfarer

“Judah’s sin is engraved with an iron tool,
    inscribed with a flint point,
on the tablets of their hearts
    and on the horns of their altars.
Even their children remember
    their altars and Asherah poles
beside the spreading trees
    and on the high hills.”
Jeremiah 17:1-2 (NIV)

Wendy and I were sitting in the back row in our usual spot among our local gathering of Jesus’ followers. Worship was beginning when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

He stood there looking like a lost puppy. Shoulders slumped, head downcast, and his face covered in a thick veneer of shame.

“I’m drunk,” he whispered in my ear, though my olfactory senses picked up on this long before his quaking voice told me.

“I’m glad you’re here,” I responded, placing my arm around his shoulders and pulling him in tight.

I didn’t know this man’s story, but I immediately read his heart. That is a familiar script. It’s just like Hollywood, or the Hallmark Channel who tell the same story over and over again simply switching out names, settings, and actors. I didn’t need to know this man’s particulars. I sensed the story. It’s was a tragedy of life and relationships that had long ago engraved false words of defeat and shame on his heart. He had been self medicating for who knows how long. I didn’t know if he’d already hit rock bottom or if something had scared him enough to know that he was falling fast. His movie eventually ends one of two ways: a dark tragedy, or a tale of redemption.

The people whom the ancient prophet Jeremiah is addressing are not unlike a corporate version of the same storyline. In today’s chapter, Jeremiah reads the false words of defiance and rebellion on their hearts. They had been repeatedly cut-into their hearts for generations like a lost teenager cutting the words of their shame into their flesh with a razor blade. Over time the words become scar tissue that keep building up with increasing hardness.

Jeremiah had watched as King Josiah tried to impose change through institutional legal demand, but Jeremiah observed what I mentioned a week or two ago: Dictates Don’t Change Hearts. In today’s chapter, Jerry notices that it was not just the adults with sin and rebellion carved on their hearts no matter what the King said was legal or illegal. These types of internal messaging get passed down through the generations. Josiah may have destroyed the idols and burned them into ashes, but it didn’t make a lick of difference, even in the hearts of children whose parents had impressed their thoughts and behavior onto their children from the womb.

Behavior modification will never change a scarred heart.

My arm wrapped around my intoxicated friend, I asked him to look around the room as my free hand gestured across the small crowd gathered there. There are a bunch of people in that room who have found themselves a character in basically the same movie, myself included. The script is just a little different from person-to-person. In that room are addicts, ex-cons, liars, cheats, and adulterers whose hearts were hardened and scarred, but then they experienced a personal encounter with Jesus who spiritually performed a cardiac transplant described by Jeremiah’s colleague, Ezekiel:

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
Ezekiel 36:26 (NIV)

As my hand swept over the crowd and described these transplant patients to my new friend, I was aware that there are others who are still trying to do the behavior modification thing. There always will be. The human condition hasn’t changed since the days of Jeremiah. There will always be those who dress up their lives in a religious facade in hopes that no one will notice their scarred heart and the things it leads them to do in the dark when no one is looking. They are in a little bit different movie, but it’s also a well-worn storyline that’s been told a million different ways. The similarity is in the same two endings to which the story leads, tragedy or redemption, dependent on the same choice between heart transplant or not.

“Just keep coming,” I told my friend before praying over him.

He did.

The last time I ran into him he had a smile on his face. He was standing erect. There was life in his eyes and light in his countenance. As we walked together, he shared with me that there had been a change in his life, but I knew it before he said it just as I knew he was drunk that one day before he said it.

The tell-tale signs of a spiritual heart transplant were evident.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Over and Over and Over and Over and Over

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In recent months I’ve been reading articles about the release of the script of J.K. Rowling’s production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. There is a certain amount of frustration among fans who purchased what they thought was a book, only to find that it is actually the script of the stage play. Of course, a novel and a script are two very different things. They both tell a story, but in very different ways. A script requires something more of you as a reader. The author gives you the characters words, but you have to use your imagination to fill in more of the blanks. It’s understandable that many are experiencing frustration with it.

Along my journey I’ve come to understand that there is a similar frustration among those who undertake the reading of God’s Message from Genesis through Revelation. It’s not a novel. It’s not a script. It’s a compilation of writings (and different types of writing) authored across a large section of history. The content is not categorized chronologically but by author and the type of writing. It tells a story, but in a very different way than the way we are used to reading stories. It requires something of me as a reader to connect the dots and see the larger picture.

Even as I wade into the writings of Isaiah, it’s important for me as a reader to understand that I’m reading a smaller compilation of Isaiah’s prophetic poetry. I have to step back and look at the larger picture. I have to connect the dots. I have to see the patterns.

One of the patterns that emerges in prophetic writing is the repeated, cyclical themes of sin, judgement, deliverance, and redemption. I can see it already in the first few chapters:

The people rebel against God:

I reared children and brought them up,
    but they have rebelled against me.
Isaiah 1:2

The consequences of rebellion are God’s judgement and punishment:

Your men shall fall by the sword
    and your warriors in battle.
And her gates shall lament and mourn;
    ravaged, she shall sit upon the ground.;
Isaiah 2:25-26

When the people repent of their ways, God delivers:

On that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and glory of the survivors of Israel.
Isaiah 4:2

Ultimately, God redeems and restores in glorious ways:

 Then the Lord will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over its places of assembly a cloud by day and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night. Indeed over all the glory there will be a canopy. It will serve as a pavilion, a shade by day from the heat, and a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.
Isaiah 4:5-6

This repetition happens over and over and over and over and over and over again. In the compilation of Isaiah’s writings this pattern can be seen on a macro level (Chapters 1-39 are much heavier on judgement; Chapters 40-66 are much heavier on deliverance and redemption). The pattern can also be seen on a micro-level within a chapter or a few verses. The theme is repeated continually.

This morning I’m thinking about the cyclical, repetitive nature of my own behaviors. No matter how hard I try, I sometimes do or say things that are just wrong or inappropriate. When that happens, things don’t go so well. Relationships are strained or broken. Sometimes I suffer from the consequences of those inappropriate words or actions. I feel guilty. I am guilty. I repent, turning to Jesus whose sacrifice for me on the cross affords forgiveness, mercy, and grace in spite of my repetitive bullheadedness and boneheadedness. Redeemed, not by what I’ve done, but what God has done for me, I humbly and gratefully continue to let go of what is behind and press on to love others as Jesus loved me.

Over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over….again.

Sunday Summary

The Latest: 08-30-2015

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State Fair is over. School is back in session. Summer is quickly fading back into the routine of autumn. Cooler temperatures even meant that we could turn the air conditioner off for a few days this past week.

Our lives paralleled the societal trend this week as work routine took over. I headed to the Twin Cities for a long couple of days with a client while Wendy and Taylor held down the fort back at home.

On Friday afternoon the week’s work gave way to wedding festivities. Wendy’s Uncle Brad got married to his fiancé Barb in a small wedding in the lobby at Third Church. I felt privileged that Brad asked me to stand up with him at the ceremony, so I donned my best gray suit and stood by him as he and Barb were hitched. All of Brad’s girls were present as were all of his siblings sans Linda. Wendy took my usual role as amateur family photographer during the ceremony and handed the camera back to me at the reception.

The reception was in the back room at Monarch’s, a room where Wendy and I have great memories. Our own rehearsal dinner was held in the back of Monarch’s. It was a lot of fun to hang with the family for the celebratory evening. There was a lot of laughter and cheer. The joy was radiating off of Brad and Barb and it was fun to be part of their launch.

Saturday was a good day of getting things done around the house. My honey-do list included pocket-door adjustments and a sticky door knob. I then spent the afternoon going through the tub of family photos given to me by my folks. One of my fall projects is getting them organized and to begin scanning and digitizing them.

almost maine reading

Saturday evening we walked down the block to McQuade’s Pub for a script reading of Almost Maine, which Kevin will be directing for Union Street Players. Wendy and I had never read the script and were really, really impressed with it. We were the first to leave the party, but it was still late when we walked the half-block home.

Wendy and I were both on camera at church this morning. Wendy spent the afternoon working while I continued my photo-sorting project. We’re settling in for a Cubs vs. Dodgers evening and pita pizzas. I’ve got my scorecard ready and plan to relax and score the game.

Chapter-a-Day

The Significance of One Word

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For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.
Ezra 7:10 (NIV)

One of the things I’ve learned in the process of writing scripts is that words are not chosen idly. When writing what a character says, the writer is trying to capture and communicate that character’s voice. With an eye to what the story is trying to communicate as a whole, the author often chooses a word very carefully for a foreshadowing or subtle thematic effect. Actors, myself included, are notorious for playing fast and loose with the script (e.g. “I know it’s not word perfect, but I got the gist of it!“). Writing has made me a better actor as it’s made me pay more attention to the script and to be more honoring of the words the playwright crafted.

So it is that over the years I’ve increasingly found that when I’m reading God’s Message in the morning I experience a word jumping off the page at me. I try to pay careful attention when this happens because it generally leads me down important paths of thought and meditation. This morning it was the word devoted that jumped off the page at me.

Devotion is not just about duty or obedience. Devotion carries with it a component of the heart. There is a yearning and desire that comes with devotion. I thought what a great legacy Ezra left behind to be known as a person who devoted himself to studying, living, and teaching the earliest chapters of God’s Message.

This morning I find myself asking the question, “to what or whom am I devoted?”

Tom is devoted to _________________________.

When others observe my life, if they are asked to fill in the blank, what would they say? Am I devoted to things that matter? Things that make a positive difference in the lives of others? Things that are eternal? Or, am I devoted to silly things that are temporal and of no consequence? To what or whom am I devoted? 

Sunday Summary

The Latest 08-23-2015

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It was a week of major life transition here at Vander Well Manor.  Just over two years ago, Wendy’s youngest sister Suzanna moved in with us. She entered her senior year at Pella High and then spent this past year working and saving for college. She’s been a welcome member of our home and together we’ve shared a ton of life experiences during this shared stretch of our life journeys. This past Wednesday was the day we drove her to college and launched her on a new stretch of her own journey. But, I’m getting ahead of myself.

Monday and Tuesday were spent packing, purging, and preparing. Both Suzanna and Wendy buzzed around upstairs. Suzanna took over the guest bedroom for her sorting and staging process.

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Tuesday night was Suzanna’s last night at home, so we let her decide the meal. Her choice was Wendy’s homemade pizza and breadsticks. She also requested family movie night to watch The Big Lebowski, which she and I have talked about watching for months. Taylor invited her friend Curtis to join us. It was a fun night. We all gathered around the kitchen island and enjoyed conversation as Wendy made dinner. Despite me dropping one of the pizzas and losing half of it into the bottom of the oven, we had a great dinner and then settled into the Great Room for the movie (and requisite White Russians).

Dropping Suzanna at College

We packed the cars and headed out around 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday for the two hour drive to Suzanna’s campus. She followed behind us. The load out was fast and much easier than we anticipated. Suzanna’s roommate had moved in the previous day and we enjoyed meeting her. After the last of her stuff had been dropped in the room we offered to take Suzanna out to lunch and make sure she was familiar with where things were in town. She opted for lunch with her roommate and some girls on the floor. As we said good-bye the mood went from smiles and excitement to teary good-byes. Wendy and I lunched at BWW on our own before driving home.

Taylor did some house-sitting for friends late this week so Wendy and I had four nights of experiencing an empty nest for the first time in a while. But, our social calendar kept us from savoring the quiet.

Historic Pella Opera House
The Historic Pella Opera House

Kevin McQuade POH CampaignOn Thursday night we headed to the Pella Opera House for their annual season kick-off. Our friend and neighbor, Kevin, is the Executive Director there and is in the middle of an audacious million dollar renovation campaign. We were excited when Kevin announced they’d reached $800,000 towards their goal. In October the Opera House celebrates 25 years since their historic renovation. A grand black-tie evening is on tap and Kevin asked me to script a sketch as part of the evening’s entertainment. Wendy and I enjoyed hanging out and socializing with friends. We were among the last to leave when Kevin flashed the lights at the end of the evening.

An evening at V-Dub Pub
An evening at V-Dub Pub

On Friday night we enjoyed barbecue chicken on the grill with our friend Cyndi who will be taking over as President of Union Street Players. We discussed transition of leadership as well as the transitions of both Suzanna and Cyndi’s daughter, Megan, who also headed to college. Kevin and Linda arrived after dinner and we settled downstairs in “V-dub Pub” (thanks, Chad VL, for that moniker).  I unveiled my script for the Pella Opera House Anniversary show and was happy that it received a favorable review from the Producer. As always with this crew, spirited conversation and laughter reigned until well after midnight.

Celebrating Matthew and Sara's One-Week Anniversary.
Celebrating Matthew and Sara’s One-Week Anniversary.

A couple of short nights led Wendy and me to a rather slow start on Saturday. We worked a little bit and eventually busied ourselves cleaning up the upstairs in anticipation of Wendy’s Uncle Brad and his bride-to-be Barb who spent the night with us on Saturday. I spent part of the afternoon helping my friend, Matthew, move a washer and a couple of dryers into his new house. We then met Matthew and his new bride, Sarah, at Kaldera for dinner and a celebration of their one-week anniversary.

My First Royalty Check

I end this week’s episode of The Latest with a relatively insignificant, but admittedly proud moment. Yesterday in the mail I received my first ever royalty check for my play Ham Buns and Potato Salad which is being produced by Newton Community Theater this fall.

 

Theatre Journal, Wayfarer's Journal

“To Kill a Mockingbird”

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Cast of National Players' "To Kill a Mockingbird" source: www.nationalplayers.org
Cast of National Players’ “To Kill a Mockingbird” source: http://www.nationalplayers.org

Wendy and I feel so blessed to live a community this size (roughly 10,000) that has such great cultural offerings. Last night we ventured out to the gorgeous, historic Pella Opera House to watch National Players touring production of To Kill a Mockingbird. The wandering troupe of 10 players had performed Shakespeare’s The Tempest in the morning to a house full of students, and exposing many to their first experience with live Shakespeare.

It had been many years since Wendy or I had ready or watched Harper Lee’s classic story of racial injustice. The National Players production was a great way to refresh our memories of the incredible story. We loved the production and our post show discussion raised three great take aways…

  • You don’t need a lot of window dressing. While we all love our Broadway extravaganzas, the truth is that great theatre requires very little spectacle. National Players had ten chairs, a few moving set pieces, and two pillars at the back of the stage. Yet, their performance effortlessly took our imaginations to a front porch, a courtroom, and a country road.
  • Transitions, transitions, transitions. I am convinced more than ever that one of the crucial details between great theatre and mediocre theatre is in the scene changes. For scene changes, the National Players cast sang a cappella versions of spirituals that both kept us in the period of the play while entertaining us as they moved the set pieces around. The changes were seamless. Rather than being an interruption to the action of the story, they became enjoyable bridges.
  • The script makes a difference. There’s no substitute for good writing. A great script can still inspire even when produced by rank amateurs. A poor script in the hands of the best professionals cannot hide its flaws. The adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird used by the National Players was a great script that told the story in a succinct way without losing its power or inspiration. Last night we had a capable group of talented professionals performing a great script, and we were blessed and inspired.

I hope that Kevin will find time on the Pella Opera House schedule to book National Players again next season. An evening of quality live, professional theatre in a priceless, historic venue for $12 a seat. I love this town!

Chapter-a-Day

We’re All Suckers for a Love Story

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skyfall_bond_girls-620x359I will do this to recapture the hearts of the people of Israel, who have all deserted me for their idols.
Ezekiel 14:5 (NIV)

Let me confess something to you. I am a sucker for a great love story. Wendy, Taylor, Madison and Suzanna can all tell you that I’m a real softie when it comes to a well written tear jerker. Don’t get me wrong. I am a guy and I love my action movies, but have you ever noticed that even that all great action movies have a love story woven through them? Script writers learned long ago that love stories are a core part of the human experience and a big part of what we respond to as we sit in front of that screen.

I believe that this has a great deal to do with how God created us. The Great Story that God reveals between the beginning of Genesis and the final chapter of John’s Revelation is a love story. It is the love story between God and humanity. God even uses the metaphor of marriage to describe the relationship between Jesus and His followers.

There is no relationship that doesn’t have its ups and downs. Even the best of marriages suffer their share of conflict. So it is with the Great Story. At the point of the story in which Ezekiel is telling, the relationship between God and His people is experiencing acute relational pain. God’s people have been adulterous. Their hearts and spirits had strayed. They had given their greatest affection to other idols and gods. There was a significant break in the relationship, and God was intent on “recapturing the hearts of the people.”

I find it hard to imagine worshipping the kinds of idols that stole the hearts of people in Ezekiel’s day. Worshipping at a pagan shrine or making an “offering” to have sex with a temple prostitute of the local fertility god is something I can’t even fathom. And yet, it seems to me that being driven by lust to have sex with a prostitute in service to Asherah is really no different than being driven by lust to masturbate to pornography or have sex with a prostitute in service to the almighty dollar. Our idols have changed faces over the millennia, but the core relational issues remain the same.

Today, I am thinking about the idols that steal my affections from God. And, I am grateful for God’s never ending desire and efforts to recapture my wayward heart.

Chapter-a-Day, Tom's Photos

“Ham Buns” is Cast

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Canon EOS 6D f/4 1/30 ISO250
Canon EOS 6D f/4 1/30 ISO250

On Saturday afternoon the cast of Ham Buns and Potato Salad was officially cast by director Ann Wilkinson. Last night the cast met for the first time and read through the script. I’ve been asked frequently if I was going to act in the show and that discussion continued until the final moments of audition. In the end, I decided that I did not want to be in the show. As the playwright, I’d rather watch the rehearsal and production process. I know there are things that are going to need to revised and rewritten to make the script even stronger (several things came up at last night’s read through) and I’d like to pour my energy into that process.

Not being in the show also means I get to take photos of the process, which I like to do, as well.

I’m excited about the cast and crew. Auditions yielded a strong group of actors (especially women and girls) and Ann had several difficult choices to make. It’s always hard when you know there are good actors who would have done a nice job in this or that role. That’s part of the sometimes brutal realities of theatre. Choices have to be made and for every person you make happy by casting them, you make several people unhappy by not casting them. Wendy has been cast to play one of my favorite characters in the play. There are two newcomers to the USP stage and I love having a few newbies in the mix along with a capable group of local stage veterans.

Here we go.

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Theatre Journal, Wayfarer's Journal

Homestretch for “Ham Buns”

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English: Grammy's Potato salad
English: Grammy’s Potato salad (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It was about five years ago that I first sat down at my lap top and began tapping out some lines based on a few loose ideas in my head. What eventually emerged was the script for a stage play in two acts which I entitled “Ham Buns and Potato Salad.” I finished the first draft of the play two and a half years ago and it had its debut at a table reading around our dining room table with some members of a creative small group and their spouses.

It’s been a fascinating creative journey for me. The script has undergone three major revisions, has been “workshopped” at the Missouri Playwrights Association, and we’ve gone through three more local readings with different voices. A week from this Sunday our local community theater will hold the first of two auditions and the play will be on its way for its first (and perhaps last – you never know) production.

I’ve been getting a lot of questions from family and friends, so I thought I would answer a few FAQs regarding the play.

What’s the play about?

It’s about secrets, scandal and relationship in a small Iowa town. Twelve years prior to events of the play, a local girl found herself pregnant at the time of high school graduation. She has never said who the father is, which has become a legendary source of speculation for the town’s residents. One of the prime suspects of paternity, Tommy Prins, left town right after high school. Tommy went to college, became a famous writer, and has never once returned home. When both his parents die in a tragic accident, Tommy must return home for the first time and the heat is turned up on the simmering town scandal.

Why is it called “Ham Buns and Potato Salad”?

When I ask most people around here what they think of when I say “Ham Buns and Potato Salad” the response I get 90 percent of the time is “a funeral.” Exactly. In small towns around Iowa there is a traditional “lunch” that is served at practically every funeral reception. One slice of ham in a buttered bun (the Ham Bun) along with potato salad, potato chips, ice tea, coffee, and water. The dessert is likely a choice between brownie and Jello-cake (sometimes referred to as “poke cake” because you poke the top of the cake with a fork before pouring the liquid Jello over the top to let it seep in). The events of the play surround a funeral, and it is the funeral which forces Tommy to return home and face his past. Sometimes, you have to return home whether you want to or not.

How did you come up with it?

Writers are always told “write about what you know.” Much of the play is written from my experiences and observations of small town life while living in Lynnville, Iowa for three years. It’s combined with memories and recollections of regular visits to my grandparents’ home in LeMars, Iowa growing up. The characters are a loose amalgam of people I knew, people I know, and people about whom I’ve heard stories. My family and close friends will likely catch little details that come out right out of old memories and personal experiences.

How many characters are in it?

Five adult males. Four adult females. One girl the age of 11-12.

What kind of play is it?

People have had a hard time labeling it with one clear genre. There is a lot of humor in it, so it’s kind of a comedy (you will laugh). There’s also a very serious undertone, which would make it kind of a drama (bring a hanky, ladies). There’s a romantic story involved (great for a date night or girl’s night out). There’s also a few cliff hangers and twists which would make it a bit of a thriller (you’ll like it too, guys). Why don’t you come see it and tell me what you think it is?

Are you going to be in it, or are you directing it?

The play is being directed by our friend, Ann Wilkinson, who teaches Theatre at Central College. Wendy is auditioning and will likely have a part. My hope is that we will have enough men try out so that I can sit back and watch it come to life on stage without having to be in it. If we don’t have enough men audition, then I will likely be on stage as well. That is usually the case with community theatre.

When is it being performed? How do I get tickets?

April 10-12 at 7 p.m. and April 13 at 2 p.m. at the Pella Community Center. Tickets can be purchased on line starting in mid-March by visiting www.unionstreetplayers.com.

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Theatre Journal

Preparing for a Role: “How Do You Memorize All Those Lines?”

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lines Ah WildernessIt’s the most common question I get as an actor from those who have never been on stage: “How do you memorize/remember all of those lines?”

There are two important things that are true about memorizing lines:

  1. You’ve simply got to do the work of memorization.
  2. There are tricks that make the work easier than you might think.

Make no mistake. Memorization does takes time and effort. You sit with your script and go over the lines again, and again, and again. I will sometimes say the line until I can repeat it perfectly, then repeat it 10 – 20 – or 30 times in a row. There is no substitute for repetition.

What those who have never been on stage do not realize is that the entire acting process does make it easier. It’s not as if you’re memorizing totally random words or thoughts. The lines you’re memorizing are generally part of a conversation. As you internalize the context of the situation/conversation the lines tend to flow naturally. If another character on stage asks your character a question, your line is the logical answer to that question. Your brain follows the order of the conversation and the line becomes like a piece of a puzzle. “This line,” the brain reasons, “fits perfectly at this point in the conversation.”

In addition, when you “block” the scene (determining when and were you move on stage) certain movements or actions become linked to a line or lines by your brain. “When walking over to the table, you’re supposed to say this,” the brain remembers.

Typically, the memorization process requires help. For our production of Ah, Wilderness! there are four stage managers who make themselves available to “run lines” with the actors. Having a wonderful wife who is a capable actor in her own right, I have the luxury of a partner who understands the need to run lines and is typically happy to do so.

Technology also affords actors simple and inexpensive tools. Using a cell phone or computer, you can easily record a “cue track.” You or another person read the line immediately preceding your line and then your line. I have an iTunes playlist of the cue track for all of my lines in Ah, Wilderness! When I’m driving or doing mindless chores around the house I play the cue track on my iPhone and listen to my lines over and over and over again. My car and iPhone also provide me with a “pause” button so I can listen to the cue line, hit pause, then try to say my line from memory.

Ah Wilderness Cue Track Sample

In the rehearsal process, you’re usually allowed to have the script (a.k.a “book”) in your hand through the blocking and working process of a scene. The rehearsal schedule will tell you when you have to be “off book” for particular scenes. One you’re supposed to be “off book” you can’t have your script with you, but for a period of time you can “call for lines.” If you forget your line you simply say “line” and a stage manager or production assistant is following along and will feed you the line. As you near performance, you are no longer allowed to call for lines and if you forget the line you and your fellow actors are required to figure it out in the moment.

Of course, the process of going “off book” is a natural stressor for actors in any production – but I think that those who’ve never been on stage imagine it to be harder and more stressful than it actually is. The repetition of rehearsals the the natural flow of the process make line recall easier than many believe it to be.

 

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