Amy Lu's View

When I think about being in a play, I usually think about what my on-stage experience is going to be like.

Of course, much of an actor’s theater time is spent off-stage. This was especially true for me in the recently closed “Cat On a Hot Tin Roof,” a three-hour (with intermissions), three-act play where I played the supporting character, Mae. (Fondly known as the very pregnant, very bitchy sister-in-law). As Mae, I spent about 2 hours of the show (most of Acts 1 and 2) NOT on stage but backstage.

Being backstage can be quite a unique and unusual experience. Simultaneously boring and  nervewracking. I’m not talking about any backstage drama (at least not on-the-record) but simply what it’s like waiting for your time to take the stage.

I don’t know how actors of yore did it without smartphones. I used my smartphone primarily to peruse the Facebook, while I saw other of my fellow cast mates play Solitaire and text friends and family.

Of course there are dangers to killing backstage time with smartphone-zoning. This hasn’t happened to me, I swear, but I’m worried that I might get so engrossed in Facebook that I’ll miss a cue. Or, more likely, I won’t miss a cue, but I just won’t have my head in the game because I haven’t been fully present and I won’t give my all to my scene. So I try to give myself plenty of transition time from smart phone to stage to focus.

There are also still times when having a smartphone backstage isn’t an option. This was the case for me during a signficant portion (20 minutes? 30 minutes? 3 days?) of the second act of “Cat,” as light from a backstage smartphone screen might have been visible onstage.

So in effort to pay more respect to a part of the theater experience that usually gets ignored, here are some of my top “Backstage During Act 2 of ‘Cat’ Thoughts:”

• What am I going to eat tonight when I get home?
• What am I going to wear tomorrow?
• Holy Sh$% I can’t believe I’ve got a new job/promotion!
• (This only happened the night I was offered new job): Wish I had a chance to talk to Chad about job offer before rehearal started. When will I finally get to tell him? What will he say?
• Am I insane for accepting promotion?
• What am I going to eat tonight when I get home?
• Damn, it’s cold back here.
• Did I rub the makeup off my tattoo?
• I really want to take a nap.
• I CAN’T take a nap! I MUST STAY AWAKE!!!
• Did I fall asleep? Did I miss my cue?
• I can’t wait to eat and drink when I get home.
• What are my lines for the next act?
• I really hope we don’t f%$k up the next act.
• Wow Chad sounds amazing.
• Did Chad really hurt himself? (Chad’s character, Brick, fell onstage)
• I wish I was as good of an actor as Chad is.
• Big Daddy (the character) probably has colon cancer just like my mom did.
• My died when she was 64, a year younger than Big Daddy is.
• My mom frequently said she had a spastic colon, just like Big Daddy.
• Damn, this show is depressing.
• When am I going to wash my hair next?
• When am I going to dye my hair next? I want to time it well with upcoming Florida vacation and my birthday.
• How long until I am home and able to drink and eat?
• Argh, my fake boobs are slipping again.
• The tag in my pregancy belly really itches.
• I have to remember to walk like I’m pregnant when I’m on stage.
• How goofy is StanLee B going to be when we get home? How late will he let us sleep tomorrow?