At the beginning of the summer, I auditioned for a role in “Sister Act.” My experience in community theater is limited, and I wanted to try something new.
I was offered the role of Nun #7. It came with a lot more dancing than I was comfortable with. My friends reminded me that when you try something new, it’s probably NOT going to be easy at first, but it will be worth doing. They were right, and I stuck with it.
I was still trying to master the choreography when the show opened 10 weeks later. I had most of it, but here and there I was uncertain and sometimes just wrong. I continued to practice at home.
During the final performance a photographer shot several candids. Nun #7 is nondescript, and you can really only see me in one shot. But what a shot:
That’s me in the back row facing the wrong way.
Had the picture been a second later, I would have been facing the right way. It was one moment in one dance. But it’s the moment the photographer captured, and now it dominates my memory.
It’s a blessing to be able to laugh at ourselves and at situations. It’s not easy at first, but it’s worth learning how.
