Amy Lu's View

When I was a kid, I used to be afraid to use the toilet if there was lightning. 

Luckily, that fear left me years ago, but I remembered it recently because of a connection to “Belles,” the play I was just in. “Belles” is the story of six grown sisters trying to connect via phone calls (yes this is set before we all had smartphones). While the sisters spend ample time on the phone, their mother won’t touch “that instrument of death” because she’s afraid of lightning traveling through phone lines. 

My character, Aneece, mocked her mother for her phone phobia, but it wasn’t as silly as my worries about using the toilet. I’m not sure what I thought was going to happen–did I think the water in the bowl would attract the lightning? 

Aneece wasn’t scared of lightning, but she was scared of many things. When Aneece acted out in fear, it wasn’t pretty. In many ways, Aneece was quite unlovable–a mean drunk who carelessly hurt her sisters by speaking “her truth.” 

Aneece was often unlovable, but I loved playing her, and I even loved her. 

It’s easy to say why I loved playing Aneece–she was a wonderfully complex and interesting character, and I felt like I could pull the audience into her story. I could take the audience on a journey with Aneece–from laughing at her declaring “I AM an alcoholic” to cringing as she described childhood abuse and her struggles with fear and loneliness. 

Aneece getting swacked

It also helped that I felt mostly solid in my knowledge of my lines, and my blocking was pretty simple. To some extent I could let worry about those “logistics” go and really focus on being Aneece. 

And I loved being a part of the “Belles” team and getting to know and work with my tremendously talented and supportive onstage sisters and our director. 

But why did I love Aneece as a “person” (albeit a mythical one) and not just a character I got to play?

I loved Aneece because she was a fighter. I loved Aneece because she was funny and fierce. I loved Aneece because she tried to be brave and honest. 

I’m inspired by Aneece’s honesty–I want to be better at speaking my truth–but NOT in a way that callously causes pain to others.

While I cut Aneece some slack for how she expressed herself, I do judge Aneece harshly for her alcohol choices–STOLI? Even a cheap bourbon would have been better in my estimation. Stealing one of favorite overheard quotes: “I’m not judging that you’re drinking, I’m judging what you’re drinking.”

Playing Aneece encouraged me to contemplate some deep questions about memory, loneliness, family, and courage–and some lighter ones, too. 

• As kids of the 70’s and 80’s, did we think it was a good thing or bad thing to get Lifesaver storybooks as presents?: I think it came down to context–probably not a great thing to get from a sibling, but a relief to receive from a classmate. 
• Scrunchies are back–am I going to embrace wearing them again?: Yes, I am!
• Can I wear my super short costume dress (which is a dress I pulled from my closet but I don’t remember how I came to own it…I think I got it to wear over biker shorts while playing drums and I don’t think I’ve worn it much) out in the world for real?: Hopefully, once it warms up. 

AND I learned a new word from being Aneece! Not only a new word, but a new word for being drunk, so it will be a useful word for me: Swacked. I am still a little mystified as to why I’ve never heard this word before. Is it a southern word? Was it mostly in use during the 80’s when I wasn’t drinking?

The only bad thing about the experience of portraying Aneece was freezing in the theater–which was my fault for insisting on wearing the aforementioned super short dress as a costume. I guess it is true, we must suffer for our art!