Amy Lu's View

As a participant in mostly small and leanly-resourced community theater companies, (as in, we have no money much less understudies) I always have the fear of what will happen if I or a co-star gets sick or experiences some mishap that prevents us from performing.

But I regard myself and my fellow performers as a hearty lot. Hell, Chad fell onstage during a musical number in our recent “Uh-Oh Here Comes Christmas” and finished out the song without missing a word. I did a performance of “Talley’s Folly” with Chad (a two-person show so rather intense) the day my dad died–but that wasn’t a show of strength or sacrifice as much as a testament to the meaning I find in theater.

Probably the show I did under the toughest conditions was a melodrama fundraiser when I was quite hungover. The show was physically demanding, there was audience interaction, and we had to do strike afterwards, so it was a late night. Lesson learned–watch out for cheap drinks in small towns. (And that was almost 10 years ago and I haven’t been severely hungover on stage since so I think I really DID learn my lesson!)

Although I think I’m pretty tough, I have been wondering the last week if I was going to be brought down by vertigo. Last Friday I had an episode so bad I really couldn’t walk, with the added bonus of vomiting. (Don’t worry–I think I have it under control now). But obviously, my fears of vertigo and falls and empty houses have been swept aside by COVID-19.

As disappointed as I am that Applause Community Theatre needed to postpone our Collection of One Acts — which was scheduled to open next weekend until mid June — I know we are very lucky to have the option of a relatively painless reschedule. Many other theater companies, large and small, are in much more difficult situations. And yes, I know there is no guarantee that we’ll be able to go ahead with the performances in June but I think we can be reasonably optimistic.

We’re also lucky we were able to change our plans before going through an intense tech week (which would have kicked off Saturday with a 4-hour rehearsal that started at 8 a.m.). Not saying we won’t still have an exhausting tech week to look foward to, but definitely preferable to do that only once per production.

Personally, I am also lucky that I didn’t spend that much time memorizing lines for the one-acts…I have a really small (though awesome!) role in one and I get to read from Post-It Notes in the two-person show Chad and I are in. So my lines should come back to me quickly.

We also had to postpone our late-April Duck Soup show, “Nick Ace.” We even decided to postpone that one before we made the decision for Applause, as Duck Soup performs in Senior Living Centers. That timing was also “good” because we hadn’t started rehearsals yet, although I had spent considerable effort working my casting mojo to assemble an awesome troupe for “Nick Ace”–hopefully all will be able to come back in the fall.

Eventually, the show WILL go on after all.