Stepping Outta Your Box (Part 2)

I have more to say on this subject because I actually did more in the years to come.

Part two is part of the storybox fairytale, and I feel the urge to write it.

This writing is not necessary to explain my belief in why you should get out of your comfort zone. I have already done that in part one.

I stepped outside of my box a couple more times for the parent's play and received a beautiful gift that I want to share.

The year after WWW, I signed up for the Parent's Play again.

This time the role that I took, “chorus girl”, was actually a misnomer....

I took this role with two good friends of mine. We were “chorus girls” Zaza, Mimi and Lulu in another spaghetti musical called Phantom of the Op'ry (PoO).

We were two girls and one man...Chorus Churly Whirly Gurls!

The punch line was a “shoe in” 6 foot something man dressed as a ballerina.

As is typical, I walked into that role eyes closed shut.

Those chorus girl roles were actually much much bigger than I expected. I should have suspected this when I noticed that the “chorus girls” were actually named.

These chorus girls were on the stage for nearly the entire show.

Our roles were the comic relief. We were a part of TWO funny songs where we actually had to sing ensemble and solo. I had to stand up on the stage and use my voice in front of all of my friends, Romans and countrymen.

Holy shitake mushroom!

To top it all off (not to be confused with topless), our “man” had to unexpectedly leave the show.

We two girls had to hone in on our funny bone and make our roles roll on the floor hilarious....

It wasn't a good sign that the music director said that our song was “boring” early in our rehearsals. Boring wasn't the adjective we were looking for.

So, we rolled up our sleeves and set out on an adventure to make our songs funny. Tapping into creative partnering is also an experience I highly recommend. Leslie, Alice and I had a blast creating quite the scene in our song.

In the end, we did it!

Again, the rush of pride that I felt for myself is practically indescribable.

Had I not stepped outta my box, I would not have experienced the laughter shared with my closest friends on the set...

….laughter when Alice, who used a stage light in her cleavage to read her lines back stage, had the light pop out on stage during a live scene.. the 3 minute kiss between one parent and another.....and the coughing out of “get a room” from a cast member....the chorus girls outfits being voted off the island by the theatrical types (nope...I am NOT still bitter about that)...

One of the craziest things happened when we rehearsed a scene over and over and over....it was a complicated scene involving a lot of people and a lot of cues. It is the scene when the Phantom drops a bomb. We are all on the stage and one of the parents dropped their cell phone. Unintentionally, 911 was dialed. The emergency call taker heard a group discussing a bomb scare....a bomb is getting ready to go off....

After the scene was over, a cell phone rang. 911 was calling back to verify that all was okay....they were ready to send in the bomb squad. Can you believe it?

Last year, I was given a gift.

I signed up for the parent's play once again. Not because I wanted to be in it or needed to be in it. My growth in this area had been fulfilled,....or so I thought.

I joined last year's cast of Oklahoma because a good friend of mine was directing it and I told her that I would (morally) support her by joining the cast.

This does not mean that I joined with morals intact. That, I pray, will never happen.

I had a bit part again....the part of Chorus girl....a real chorus girl. In Oklahoma, a spade is being called a spade. I had 4 songs....all ensemble.

I thought that the joy and magic would be gone. I was wrong.

When you step on the stage and sing with a bunch of other people, you are given creative energy that only people that get on stage can understand. But, that is not the gift that I was given....that creative energy was a extra bonus.

Last year's real gift came when Kimberly, who was playing another chorus girl, came up to me and said, “When I saw you in the racy platform boots and fish-net stockings in PoO, I thought: If she can do it, I can do it too”.

How Wonderful!

MY life dream is to inspire people. My actions in previous years had an unintended positive influence in this wonderful woman's life. This woman, who is a self-proclaimed introvert.

She stepped outside of her box.....she discovered the wonderment and joyfulness of stepping into unfamiliar territory and I had the gift of being there with her as she took a wonderful journey into growth!

Lesson two~You never know when your actions may inspire others....so keep on steppin' outside of your box and never shy away from the light....the next Tony winner might be an audience member of your show!