Wisdom Quest Arts and Coaching

“80% of life is just showing up,” says Woody Allen. I believe if we live by this principle, all we risk is having our dreams come true.

As a little girl I performed every television show I watched afterward. In sixth grade I wrote to many production studios, enclosing my latest school photo with shiny braces and straight, stringy hair, asking them what I could do to become an actress.

Walt Disney Productions wrote back, and I rushed to hand the letter to my Mom. She smiled, gave it back to me, and walked away. We lived in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans, and there weren’t any acting venues described in the letter nearby. I’m sure my Mom could have sacrificed so I could live my dream. All I know is my stay at home Mom preferred to stay at home.

Fast forward to age 50. For so many years my dream has tugged at me like a small child needing solace. I found many outlets like speaking, training and facilitating programs, which I do greatly enjoy, yet I never ventured into the ‘acting world.’

When I turned 50 I decided I’d say YES to life – to overcoming fears; to stepping into new adventures; to fully living the life I am in. So in that vein, I recently ‘showed up’ at an audition for one of San Diego’s community theaters, Looking Glass Theater for the musical, Honk. I also enrolled in an acting class at a local university, UCSD.

I didn’t expect to get a part in the play. I thought it would be a great experience to learn what an audition entailed. I’m not a singer so I decided to go with, “Row, Row, Row, Your Boat” – albeit my own jazzy version which featured snazzy dance moves. Next they handed me a script and asked me to turn to a certain page and read the lines of an ‘obnoxious reporter.’ Although I’m at the stage ‘of not knowing what I don’t know’ as an actress, something boomed from my voice, and I’m not even sure where it came from. It sure did sound like an intolerable reporter.

The director had mentioned she’d call the ones who were ‘in’ on Monday. By 4:45 p.m. I hadn’t heard anything so I let the whole idea go. ‘At least I did it,’ I thought.

Fifteen minutes later I received a call from the director offering me the part of Jay Bird, the obnoxious reporter. At the first rehearsal, I felt such a deep sense of belonging, like I had found my tribe. My childhood dream came to life because I decided to ‘show up’- without any prior acting experience.

Which dream calls to you? If you are willing to ‘show up’ for it – you may just risk having it!