The thing about being an actor is that more often than not it describes something one can't help but be, like an Australian, or a schizophrenic... rather than something other people might actually pay you to do. So that when you find you are in the rare position of being involved in the commerce of acting, and turning up to a theatre (or tent) six days out of seven to act, for money, you feel obligated to an almost religious practice of gratitude. To say often, and with a huge smile on your face, that you are lucky, and privileged and so excited to be able to do the thing you love to do.
All that is true. But it’s also a job and just as for any lawyer or teacher or ice-cream truck driver who works a full time week, it’s exhausting.
And so I did something I don’t often do. I took a day off.
‘Six Flags: New England” land of the roller coaster and the water slide and the over priced arcade game. In short, land of awesome.
I can’t really remember the last time I went to a bona fide theme park. There was Disneyland in 1995, and Dreamworld on the Gold Coast sometime around 2000, but I think that’s it. I’d nearly completely forgotten how much pure, unadulterated fun they are. How much fun it is for the biggest stresses of the day to involve choosing between the ‘Mind Eraser and Batman’ (let’s do both!), and trying to remove the abject horror from your face just long enough for the photo on the descent of the award winning ‘Superman’ roller coaster.
Not to mention the fun and utter humiliation of being drowned by the 'Blizzard'... a white water rapids ride where you are at the mercy of where the spinning raft lands... in this case, with me directly under the waterfall... twice.
Mostly though, how much fun it is to spend a day yelling and squealing and laughing, instead of networking, budgeting, rehearsing, auditioning, or strategically planning my next move. I feel as if I’ve unclogged something.
Last night I slept. And I slept well.
