I Shall Impersonate a Man!
We both arrive early..usually among the first.. and it’s all business. The glad-handing, the joking, the pranks, the piddling, the fast food during makeup, the idle conversations in the hallways are for other actors. For us, it’s business. “I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is called a disgrace!...” Our costumes where we left them and we know where we left them. Our props properly checked…no last-minute surprises. Rehearsals are not parties… time is precious… we tend to prepare… It’s business. “Try to Remember the kind of September….” Theatre brings enough of its own surprises without us adding our own.. …John Foote actually gnawing on my leg to make the fight scene more realistic. …gazing into Martha Jefferson’s morning window to see if Mary Margaret’s pupils are dilated tonight…Will we have to lead her through a drug-dulled dance? …Ed Franklin should not be given a working sword onstage. …Deaf as a post, Henry Aldridge can’t hear his cues so he may give his lines at any time. “We’re waiting for the chirp, chirp, chirp..of an eaglet being born…” …Dave McCausland’s going without his glasses tonight..stay out of his way. Ten minutes ‘til curtain. Some chat, some joke, some sit and stare.. Keith and I wait at the top of the Spanish dungeon, waiting for the stairs to descend.. It’s all business, this thing of theatre. “I am I! Don Quixote! The Lord of LaMancha!…” The lights go down, the audience becomes hushed, the solo strains of a Spanish soprano are heard in the dungeon below… The stairs begin their creaking descent.. Keith steps to the head of the stairs…no words spoken between us.. And I get the unique thrill of appearing onstage with my brother… The business turns to joy… “I shall Impersonate a Man!”