Episode 22: Wherein I am compared favorably to Orson Welles. Laughter ensues.

So there really hasn't been much going on in the life of the One Who Tucks lately. Doin' shows and trying not to get myself into too much trouble. That last part is easy so I'm sort of thinking of trying instead to actively search for trouble now. It might enhance my time here if I'm dodging speeding tractors and cow-tipping...or something.

Anyway, I'm not sure if I've mentioned it or not yet but after each show three of us in the cast have to tear-ass around to the back of house and say "thanks for coming" and stuff to the people as they wander out. It's something that, quite frankly, I hate doing. We had to do the same kind of thing down at Theater Memphis when I was doing shows there and it always struck me as the theatrical equivalent of panhandling. We've just performed for these people and no sooner have we bowed and left the stage than we're at the door on their way out and, seemingly, asking for even more validation of the jobs we've just done. Even I, the most insecure of the insecure out there roaming the streets, am not THAT needy. I hate feeling like I'm begging for compliments.

But it's part of the job, I guess, so I have to do it. So I paste on my best fake smile and shake all the hands of the old folks who just spent the last two hours coughing into their palms and try not to sound like a broken record that says only "thanks for comin', thanks for comin', thanks for comin'...". Every now and then, somebody comes through with something funny, though and it makes that days "line up" worth my time. Yesterday I was lined up and this one guy came through and was very nice and had a lot of good things to say. He said he loved my facial expressions and wasn't sure how I did some of them (I'm...um...not sure what the heck he was talking about) and then said he loved my voice and that I reminded him of a young Orson Welles. Which made me laugh but was very nice of him to say. I always thought I more closely resembled the Ernest and Julio Gallo-era Welles but who am I to argue with the random dude? I thought it was funny, though.

To piggyback on that thought, I do seem to be losing weight. Maybe it's the general lack of food (though I am eating pretty regularly) or the fact that I manage, through the course of a show, to sweat out 20 pounds (estimated). Maybe it's the clean air and livin' in God's Country. Who knows. But everything, with the exception of my costume of course, is hanging way bigger on me these days. Maybe it's best not to over-think it too much. But the change is, at least to me, pretty obvious.

But also, my skin is terrible out here. I am blaming the water, which is kinda gross. It's got that awful sour egg smell like the place my father lived for a while up near Syracuse when I was in high school. And after bathing in that awful water for more than a month now, I think my body is revolting against it and giving me a little kind of rash or something. Luckily, it seems to only be on my face so everyone can (potentially) see it. It's very light, to be honest, but I am aware of it so it's making me self-conscious. Anyway...

I guess that's about it for now. Thanks should go out to Debbie, who helped me realize that although I may have woodland critters roaming the house sometimes, at least the Delta House doesn't have bats. So thanks to her.

I'll be back a bit later.