DREAM TO FAIL - Brittlestar’s Weekly Newsletter - Issue #39
This week’s podcast is out and features the amazing Jean Yoon (Umma from Kim’s Convenience, Yoko Ono Project and more). She is FANTASTIC.
Get it here: ReallyGreatPodcasts.com or wherever you get podcasts
DREAM TO FAIL
I’m doing my first in-person event since the start of the pandemic in about two weeks.
I’m SUPER excited about it and it will be tons of fun. I’ve done a lot of virtual/Zoom type events in the past two years but live events are a different beast altogether.
Even though I’m excited about it, I’m also a little nervous. What if things go wrong? What if this? What if that?
All typical nerves stuff. I know it’ll all be fine but those worries always sit in the back of my mind.
Practice helps, obviously, but here’s something new that worked for me…
I had a dream. A terrible terrible dream.
I was in a production of (don’t laugh) of You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown. As I had been in this show before when I was Grade 8, I was kinda familiar with the titular role of Charles but this time I was cast as Snoopy (stop laughing).
It was suddenly opening night. At the Festival Theatre here in Stratford. A two-thousand seat venue. Completely sold-out. Obviously.
I arrived prior to the show starting and realized that we had never once rehearsed the musical in this space. In fact, we had never once rehearsed at all. Anywhere.
Determined to be the pro that I am, the show must go on so I got undressed to get into my Snoopy costume. Completely undressed. A backstage staffer whisked my street clothes away and left me with… nothing. No costume.
Now I was unrehearsed, terrified and… naked.
Again, being the consummate entertainer I am, I pushed onwards. The show… must go on.
I took my place on top of Snoopy’s doghouse… naked. The lights went up.
Apparently Snoopy had the first line (he doesn’t in the actual musical). I had no idea of what that line was. I made something up.
A naked man, pretending to be a dog, in front of thousands, just made up lines he thought Snoopy might say.
The lines were incorrect.
The other actors quickly brought the show back on track and the spotlight dimmed on me. I retreated to backstage. I remind you, naked. My cousin was apparently part of the backstage crew. He told me he had seen a copy of the script somewhere but warned me that many many changes had been made.
Me, still naked, thought this was better than nothing. As I made my way back to the stage, the director stopped me. He told me I was not going back on.
From behind him stepped (and make of this what you will) Stephen Colbert who was applying some black makeup to his nose and immediately transformed into the artiest goddamn Snoopy you’ve even seen.
They asked if he knew Snoopy’s lines. Of course, he replied. Then he shot me a look of disappointment. Like I had failed as both a man and cartoon dog.
Then I woke up.
I had dreamt of the absolute worst of what could happen at a live event. Suddenly I wasn’t as worried about my actual upcoming event.
I’m not saying this will work for you, but it might. Dream to fail. Really play it up in your head and fail spectacularly and ridiculously. Then survive it.
Think of an event or show you’ve been to. People may want quality or at least effort, but nobody wants perfection. They want an experience that is happening right then and there. Something special.
Provided you’ve practiced and you aren’t naked (unless that’s part of the gig), you’ll be fine.
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Author (clothed) when he knew his lines