Thank You for Ten: Short Fiction About a Little Theater Page 8

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  “There's no reason to not be professional, just because this is a volunteer project," George Alistair told me, a smile on his face. "And when something like this happens, it's extra important to get along with everybody, to not let little things stir you up. We're all in this one together…it has taken some adjustment with half the cast being new in the last few days, but I can't say I'm unhappy about any of it very much."

  While George's overall optimism is shared by most of the cast and crew, not everyone sees the production as worry-free. Jeanette Gold,(Ghost of Christmas Past, Beggar # 2, Coffin Bearer #4) is a regular at the Prescott Players but a first-timer at the LDP. She confesses the sudden change of venue and personnel has made her more than a little nervous.

  "This whole thing has taken a bit of a toll on my sleep, I can't lie," Gold said. "You get into a groove and boom, suddenly everything changes. It's been exhausting at times. Not that I'd ever quit a show." Gold went to pains to make that point, describing appendicitis as the only time she resigned a part in a show. "So nothing like that happened here thankfully," she added. "I'm just a creature of habit."

  Gold, 26, is well known for a rather complex pre-show ritual within the Prescott community. When we asked her about it, she laughed. "It's terrible, I know. But I need to get into my zone before a show. Over at the Prescott, about half an hour before each performance, I hang upside down on this thick metal bar that runs the length of the green room. I stay like that, and don't talk to anyone for 15 minutes or so, right there in the middle of the room." Gold laughed again, and with some prodding continued. "Then I get down, scream into whatever the nearest pillow is, and go about my business. It's sort of a performance all its own. It's quite something when people see it for the first time."

  Gold turned serious a moment when asked how she would prepare for her performances at the LDP, which has no such metal bar in its greenroom.

  "I'm a bit nervous about that," she said. "Again, I will never quit a show for something like that, but I have to wonder what it's going to be like for a performance without that ritual. I've already gone through rehearsals without it, and it's been no small burden. Hopefully performances won't be any worse without my bar. I've been okay so far, but hopefully I won't get too tense."