The play’s the thing*

Autumn collage

I’m curious about other people.  That’s the essence of my acting.  I’m interested in what it would be like to be you.

~ Meryl Streep

*William Shakespeare, Hamlet

Today’s view of the pond

The NaBloPoMo question of the day is:  Do  you enjoy acting?

View from the other end of the pond.

That’s a good question.  When I was a teenager, I thought acting was the coolest job on earth.  I didn’t want to be myself so what could be better than becoming someone else and getting paid for it?  I might have been good at it then, too.  As a dancer and gymnast, I was comfortable performing in front of others, and as a teen, I was already playing teen angst and rebellion to the hilt. I look back on it now and wonder at that wild child, and how she got so mixed up.  I’d like to give her a hug, too.  I think she needed one (but might not be very accepting of it).

I’ve come around to a different way of thinking (and feeling).  Now I’m happy with who I am, and the life I live.  I have no desire to slip into someone else’s persona.

Can you see the leaves raining from the trees? You have to look closely, but they’re there. Spots of yellow floating just right of center.

There’s also the performing in front of others aspect of acting.  I haven’t got the nerve now.  I’d end up beet red, stammering out my lines, and wanting nothing more than to leave the stage.  It would be painful to experience, and to watch.

Immersed in color

So, the short answer is:  No.  I prefer being myself, as authentically as possible.  I’ll leave the acting to the professionals who know what they’re doing.  It looks like fun, but I’m pretty sure it’s like anything else in that it takes a lot of skill, talent, and hard work to be good at it.  I’m too busy with other things now to add acting to the list.  That said, maybe some Halloween I’ll dress up and become someone else for an evening, just for the experience and the sheer fun of it.  (Now all I need is an invite to a good Halloween party!)

In other news…

The weather has been changeable today.  Cloudy and wet when I woke up.  Strips of blue sky and sunshine overhead followed by a brief rain shower while I was out for my morning walk.  It eventually evolved into a cloudy-with-sunny-spells kind of day.

I stood under some of the trees today, immersing myself in the light and color.  It’s magical under the branches, the sunlight and shadows playing with the reds, yellows, greens, and oranges of the leaves.

Well, I guess that’s it from the Bogs for today.  Thank you for joining me on my daily walk, and underneath the branches of the trees.  It looks like it will be a wonderful evening.  Let’s have a seat on the deck later and watch the sunset.  If it gets too chilly, we can always move to the porch and keep the windows closed.  It should be nice and toasty in there after an afternoon spent soaking up some sun.  A little sunlight goes a long way when it comes to warming up the porch.

We can see the film stars of yesterday in yesterday’s films, hear the voices of poets and singers on a record, keep the plays of the dead dramatists upon our bookshelves, but the actor who holds his audience captive for one brief moment upon a lighted stage vanishes forever when the curtain falls.

~ Daphne du Maurier

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