30 Life Lessons - Rocks and Swords

I have done a great deal of music theater in my lifetime. I have acted, directed, run sound, run lights, and produced. I even choreographed a middle school production. It wasn’t pretty, but the kids moved to the music, so technically, it counts.

I started acting in theatrical productions from the time I was four. At least, that is how my mother always told it. I was a shepherd in a church play and even got to carry my stuffed lamb. Somewhere or other, there are pictures.

I love the stage and everything about it. I have also learned many valuable life lessons along the way. I am reminded of my favorite production from my high school days, Camelot. Camelot is the story of King Arthur, Lady Guinevere, and Sir Lancelot, along with several supporting characters. I had the opportunity to play Mordred, King Arthur’s villainous bastard son. Mordred’s only purpose in the musical is to cause trouble for King Arthur and catch Guinevere and Lancelot in a little tryst. However, he also has the opportunity to sing a fantastic, lesser-known song, The Seven Deadly Virtues. I loved performing this song. Somewhere during the song, I was required to jump up on a prop rock to sing part of the song. I have done it dozens of times in rehearsal without incident (which was impressive because I was not the most coordinated lad in high school).

Anyway, it came to one of the show nights, and apparently, the stage crew had decided the rock was too challenging to move quickly, so they put it on casters so it could be rolled into place. Either that or it always had casters, which had not worked very well until that point. In either case, I was unaware of the subtle change in the set piece, at least not until it was too late.

My song started as always, and I was more energetic than usual. I felt that the song was going very well. We came to the part in the song where I jumped on the rock and I leaped toward the rock. I landed gracefully on the rock, and then I felt it. The rock began to roll off stage, WITH ME ON IT! I lost my balance momentarily, and my body and voice wavered. I did not (much to my surprise) fall off the rock, but I managed to keep singing. My memory is spotty, but I don’t think I departed the stage. I indeed moved a few feet. The rest of the song proceeded without incident, but for a moment, I was not sure how the song would end.

Apparently, it was a night for bloopers because just a few scenes later, I was in the pivotal scene where I caught Guinevere and Lancelot, and Lancelot stole my sword. We did not use a plastic sword. It was metal and heavy (just not sharp). We had rehearsed it many times. As my hand met Lancelot’s, I would open my hand so he could grab the sword. It worked every time except this night. As my hand opened, Lance missed my palm by inches and instead slapped my wrist, which reacted by flinging forward and launching the sword out of my hand. No big deal, right? Wrong!

The sword hit the stage and slid across the floor towards the pit orchestra, where it glanced between two trumpet players, a lucky moment indeed. However, back on stage, I am standing there with two armed guards, and Lancelot is supposed to defend himself with a sword he doesn’t have. We all do our best to maintain our composure, and the scene ends more or less as Lerner and Loewe intended.

These instances and many more than I can count have taught me the importance of adjusting to whatever life hands you. Sure, it was just a dramatic production, but as the adage says, “The show must go on!” This is true in theater and life. The only thing you can count on is that something will inevitably NOT go as you intended. Thanks to theater, I feel confident that I can make it up as I go along and adjust to the situation if needed.

Sometimes, the rock will move unexpectedly under your feet, and someone will knock a prop out of your hand. It is not about what happened but what you do next!

Be well!

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