I need to keep busy. It’s for that reason that I don’t have the ability to sit still for very long and why I don’t enjoy hot tubs and why I don’t meditate and why I try not to start conversations with old people who insist on telling me their life story (though usually their stories turn out to be pretty fascinating).
I was in a rut just a few weeks ago. The shows I auditioned for didn’t pan out and I imagined the next few months of nothingness: Me, sitting on the couch with my laptop open on Facebook and hitting refresh every five seconds, living vicariously through everyone else’s newsfeed. I was bracing for the loneliness of free time. Then, as if Mother Theater took pity on this jazz-handed child, a few companies responded in the affirmative, saving me from the gloom of performing monologues into a mirror for an audience of one.
I wouldn’t consider myself the “best” at anything, especially performing. It’s a constant learning process where stepping into a rehearsal room is like stepping into a classroom. Admittedly, I’m a little intimidated by the folks I’ll be working with these next few months. After all these years, I still feel like a rookie surrounded by much more experienced performers. Still, it’s this sense of newness and discovery that keeps the work interesting and keeps me going back for more. When opportunity knocks, you open the door WIDE!
Will Dao 