off script
February 11, 2016 § 4 Comments
Last night I had the privilege of watching my daughter’s classmates dress-rehearsal for their 6th grade school play.
There were delightful surprises and scene stealing characters. A meaningful, well-written story with witty one-liners and lessons disguised as puns. It was everything you could wish for opening night, with a few glorious mistakes that stole the show.
In a moment of honest forgetfulness, a main character realized he had lost a line. Center stage, without any distractions, his face processed the revelation and he owned the silence with pitch perfect honesty. He told his parter on stage he had forgotten the line and even asked them directly to “say something.”
The audience’s patience and empathy was as tangible as the actor’s error. We leaned into a moment, completely committed to one another, and I thought:
What if we could all do this in life? Stand center stage to our own experiences and forget ourselves, own our mistakes and move on. Invite others to help while standing tall in humor and humility. Acknowledge the audience without sacrificing self.
Other flubs would follow. Underplayed utterances, small improvisations, hurried lines and voices too quiet or hurried to hear. Colorful strokes of nerves that made the students personalities more amiable than the characters they portrayed. They were, all of them, brave in their own right.
Last, but not least, I want to shine a light on the silent actors who fashioned a beautiful backdrop for the stories acted front and center. Student directors, sound and lighting crews, prop and make-up, set and advertising. Shadows that raced between scenes for weeks to prepare the stage, faces that we didn’t see until curtain call begged a moment’s applause.
Many will remember the handful of stars who stole the spotlight with perfect affectations of difficult accents and seamless character portrayals. I’ll remember the beautiful honesty of imperfect scenes and the whimsical scenery that spoke colorfully of the cast in its entirety.
scribblechic 
Creating something is all a love in itself. A sharing from within, and to see their heart in their eyes as they put so much of themselves into something, is beautiful to see and feel. We relate to it so closely because of that connection.
A great share Marie, a night to remember 🙂
Art is a love language, for certain. Thanks, Mark.
Oh, if only more of us would show the grace that stage partner did in helping him out. I’ve seen leaders in business act with such grace and dignity, they create amazing things via their teams. And others who make a mockery of leadership. It’s not that hard, right? As shown on stage to you this week:).
It isn’t hard at all, Kay. We should make kindness an instinct; a quick assumption rather than a grand gesture.