Friday, January 10, 2020 by Patti Barrow | Performance

 
I was 10 years old and the drama bug had already hit. It was also when the first devestation of not getting my "dream role" crushed me to my core.

Our director was the daughter of a previous Miss Alaska and she had theatre and pageantry in her veins…and I was in awe.
It was our class production of "A Charlie Brown’s Christmas" and it was my dream to play Peppermint Patty…well, for obvious reasons of course! She was outgoing, she had all the great lines, she got to be bossy...and her name was Patty! (different spelling, but still!).

Imagine my heartbreak when I didn’t get that role… it went to my friend instead. The red haired one. What did I get?
 
Stupid Sally.

Not Lucy.

Not Marcy.

But Sally.
Whiny-baby-few-lines-Sally.
I was devastated.
 

After school I was upset. My director took me aside and gave me wonderful counsel, as only she could give.

"Patti, have you read Sally? Let me show you something…"
 

And there we sat, she and I, as we read line by line I grew less and less sad, and more and more enamored with this Sally girl. As my teacher and I read through the script, she showed me SO many possibilities with this role…even when Sally wasn’t speaking, she was ACTING! Body language, facial movement, eye rolls, and the best part?…the art of subtlety. The art of humor! Timing! I was a class comic (surprise, I know!), and because of that, my teacher opened my eyes to the wide world of expression, and all its many forms…covert and overt. THAT… that was the game-changer that started it all. What I saw for myself was limited...what she saw was an opportunity for growth.  

This week at the Golden Globes, we saw many of our most adored actors and actresses receive awards for supporting roles, cameo appearances, voice-over acting (animation), etc. showing us that even if we do get our "dream role", there is so much more to our performance art that we can learn. When my students tell me they REALLY want "that big part", it gives me an opportunity to prepare them, encourage them in their dream and also share with them my years of experience and perspective. Regardless of any directors’ casting choices, our choice as an actor is to find ways to grow in whatever opportunities we are given
 

So, whether we are an apple or an orange, someone will want us in their show. It may not be in the role we envision, but it’s always a role we can grow from.
 
Even if it’s just whiny Sally... you may just come to love her as I did!