Back in October I received an email from the Sam Bass Community Theatre, inviting people to audition for a part in their holiday production of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. I had no particular desire to act, but I went to volunteer as a stage hand or some such. They gratefully accepted my offer, and a few weeks later called to tell me they were ready for me to start.

I had spoken to the stage manager briefly and was waiting for instructions when the director approached me and asked if I’d consider taking over the role of an actor who had to leave unexpectedly. Having read the script, I knew that the role she was offering had only one scene with five lines of dialogue. She didn’t even ask me to audition; just gave me a script and pushed me backstage.

Seeing as how I only had that one scene, I also played stage hand: doing some minor set construction, arranging the set before each performance and during intermission, and riding herd on 20 children aged from about eight to sixteen. I thought it would be a struggle not to strangle a couple of those kids before the play had finished its run, but once they got into costume, they were very well behaved. Even young children know when it’s time to quit being childish and get to work.

Debra volunteered, too, but her schedule was already pretty full. She did manage to paint a custom backdrop based on the director’s sketch. That turned out great.

Even though it’d been nearly 50 years since the last time I was in a play (I was Dr. Dolittle in a production for my kindergarten class back in … 1967), stage fright wasn’t a problem. I’ve done enough public speaking that getting up in front of an audience of 50 people isn’t particularly daunting. Memorizing five lines of dialogue and delivering it reasonably well isn’t terribly difficult, either. By the time the first performance rolled around, I’d done the scene often enough that I felt very comfortable with it. Even so, I did manage to fumble a line during one or two performances. Fortunately, the woman with whom I did the scene is much more experienced than I and was able to make it look like nothing was amiss.

It was a big time commitment: about three hours a night, four or five nights per week, for about eight weeks. But I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun. I especially can’t remember the last time I had that much fun without having to spend any money. And I learned a bit about theater, more about myself, and met a lot of good people who I hope to work with again. I’ve already volunteered to help as a stage hand with their next production, and I’m planning to audition for a part in one of their upcoming productions in the spring.

It was altogether a thoroughly enjoyable experience. If you’ve ever wanted to give acting a try, find when your local community theater is having auditions and go audition! You don’t need any experience. They like new faces and inexperienced actors. Many of the people who produce and direct at community theater are teachers at heart. If you go in with a sincere desire to learn, they will welcome you and help you learn to act and to appreciate the art of theatre.

I can’t say enough good things about the director, stage manager, the other actors, and everybody else who I met there. Every one of them was friendly, welcoming, and helpful. The theatre is the people, and the people I met at Sam Bass Community Theatre are among the best ever.