I worked on shows pretty consistently all while growing up, whether it was acting, stage managing, assistant directing, or running tech. The longest break I took was during college. I did a couple of sporadic shows during the first couple years, but I took a hiatus from 2012 (after Much Ado About Nothing) to 2017.

Finally, in 2017 I had my BA in English, I’d spent a little time in 2016 traveling after graduation, and then I had acquired a full time job with evenings free and was actually able to do a show! Just as I was starting to think about getting back out there, one of my very best family friends, JoLynn Jones Ibanez, called me up and let me know that she was asked to direct Our Miss Brooks at Huntington Beach Playhouse and asked if I would come read for one of the teenagers. Naturally, I said “okay!”

Auditions in themselves will be another post entirely, but believe me when I say that I felt so bad for my friend. On the first night of auditions, when I came down, there were four of us. On the second night of auditions, she only had two people show up. So, with only six total people for a show written for at least 15, we started calling everyone we knew.

I called my mom, who graciously agreed to take on two small parts. She then called our good friend, Karla, who came in bringing her stepdaughter and another actress she had directed before, Emily. JoLynn ended up roping not only our stage manager into taking a part, but also her nine year old son, and my mom brought in a teenage neighbor. Finally, after cutting out a couple extra characters, we had a semblance of a cast.

Thankfully, we had a wonderful cast and crew because we went through many difficulties in the rehearsal process. This was HBP after leaving the library location, so we were rehearsing in a small storage space that was full of costumes and set pieces up until hell week when we were trying to get used to the actual space we’d be using while the set was built around us. Additionally, because of the time constraints on us being in the building, we didn’t do a full run-thru of the show until the invitational address, in front of an audience.

Then, once we finally opened, there were more battles to come. We were performing without mics in an auditorium that eats sound. Some of the younger actors were not used to needing to project so much, and even the veterans were having trouble making themselves heard. We also had the unfortunate problem of performing a script that was a remake of a well-known radio and tv show. The script, in itself, is not the greatest one I’ve ever done (though, admittedly, also not the worst), but I’m not sure it would have mattered how well it was written or how well we performed it. People came in knowing the title and expecting to see what they knew, but it just wasn’t that. Not only were a lot of the original characters’ names changed, but the personalities as well. It was natural for people to think of a cheap imitation and be disappointed when it was not what they were expecting.

However, despite all of the problems we encountered through the run, I had a wonderful time. We had such a great cast and I was able to work with some good friends whom I had not had the pleasure of working with on stage before, such as Eduardo and Karla. I also made some great new friends, and I always love working with my mom.

Now, allow me to spend a minute talking about how amazing my mom is. If you’ve ever seen her perform or acted with her, you know how brilliant she is. She has great comedic timing and is so funny. I’ve done quite a few shows with her now and it is always such fun to see her get into character. Plus, she’s always making everyone laugh. This show in particular she took on two roles: a flighty music teacher and a haughty, overbearing mother. These characters could not have been more different and she had such a switch between the two. She wore a distinctive hat as the teacher and a wig as the mother. She had a different walk, a different voice. It was wonderful and she was hilarious. Actually, she’s pretty much always hilarious so make sure you check out her next show, Old Acquaintance, at Westminster Community Playhouse! They’re in rehearsals now, so you’ll be hearing more about it soon.

So, was Our Miss Brooks the best show in the world? No. Did we have an amazing cast and director? Yes. Did audiences love it? Some did, some didn’t. Did I have a great time? Absolutely. I made wonderful friends and learned a lot about the types of parts and shows I want to do in the future. Jane was a really fun role and very different from myself. She is shy, sweet, and smitten with the star basketball player. Plus, it’s always fun to play the ingénue, and I’ve had so few opportunities thus far. It definitely would’ve been type casting had I played the villain, but it’s fun to be sweet and innocent for a change.

I always try to take something from every experience. Whether it’s new friends, fond memories, or lessons learned, I am thankful and take that forward into my next endeavor.

So tell me, what is it that you hope to take with you from your experiences doing or attending theatre? Let me know in the comments!