Theatrical Thoughts

Time: July 22, 1994
Place: Pleasanton Playhouse
Role: Little John
Director: 

To this day, I still don't know what I was thinking. It was probably the strangest casting I'd ever seen. But let me start from the beginning.

It was right after I had finished doing Peter Pan for CTA. And Pleasanton Playhouse was doing Peter Pan next. I went to tape the audition for my local community television show. During the taping, they asked me to read for John, the 10 year-old kid. I hadn't planned on that forI didn't think there were any parts for me. I knew they'd cast older for hook and Peter Pan is almost always cast with a girl. Which was for the best, I was tired of wearing tights and green really wasn't my color.

But playing a ten year old kid was pretty weird. I won't say my age at the time, but I was much older than the character. I had to wear long johns just to cover the hair on my legs and made sure to shave closely before each show. For most 10-year-olds don't have a lot of facial hair. I guess there aren't too many of them who are 5'8" either, but I could only fix so much. They would just have to live with it.

As in the story, we flew. That was something I'll not soon forget. It was a bit fun, but I was mainly too nervous to enjoy it. Again, it wasn't a show I told too many people about, or a show that I even will admit I did. I just felt pretty much completely out of place doing that role.