Last night I met an actress I've admired for years. Tonight at another theater I sat by the playwright of the production.
Three years ago both encounters would have been impossible. I would never have approached either person. I would have considered them too important or too busy or too far removed from my world. I would have spent more time agonizing about what to say if I were to approach them than the actual conversations would have ever lasted.
What's changed?
Risk doesn't worry me anymore. Embarassment is rare these days. I've simply come to the conclusion that we're all human and if, by chance, they (strangers, people I would have once wanted to speak to but distanced myself from) are too busy, they'll let me know.
I also know that folks like to talk about themselves. The actress had recently directed readings of erotic women's poetry at a local venue and I was interested in knowing how the event was received. The playwright was simply sitting alone and waiting for his play to begin and I thought he looked slightly uncomfortable. So, while I tore tickets for those entering, he stood by me and we chatted about his writing, his travels, his children. Eventually, I learned he was in an award-winning BBC comedy and that he now writes because he can afford to since he's living off the residuals.
I wonder how many moments I missed because of my internal arguments regarding other people's reception of me? I wonder how many adventures I lost?
No more.
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Analee Jeffries at the Alley directed the poetry reading at the downtown club and I missed it. She is currently performing in the play The Exonerated (for which I ushered on Tuesday) and stayed for the talk back time. I saw her and approached her afterwards to ask her about future readings and she was incredibly appreciative of all my comments and even hunted down a pen and a card for me to write my email address on for future notices. Don't know that I expect to hear from her but that was cool. Brian Stewart is the director. I ushered at Stages last night and he was in a day early and wanted to see the production. He's doing talk backs tonite, Friday and Saturday. But last night they had no specific plans for him so he was just hanging out being his own play's "groupie" (his words). He's British and terribly charming and quite impressed that I had ridden this summer in the Newcastle soccer team's bus while on a Celtic tour. At least, I'm choosing to believe he was impressed!
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