Reading of "Lake Play"

Whew, what a ride that was. 

Back in September 2022, Drew Valins, an amazing actor I worked with on "A Midsummer Night's Dream" years ago with The Drilling Company reached out to me. Turns out he is not only an actor, but also a playwright, and he wanted me to read a role in his new piece in development, "Lake Play". It would be very informal, no audience, really just to hear it out loud. Of course I said yes. He did not send me the play ahead of time - we (the actors) read it cold. And whew boy - what a play. Absolutely gutted and perplexed me and made me laugh - a full roller coaster ride. It was wonderful.

Flash forward to a few weeks ago, Drew reached out again, asking if I'd be willing to read the same role in "Lake Play", this time for an audience. Still a reading, still relatively informal in that it is a play in development. Again, of course I said yes. Then realized I was supposed to be in Florida visiting my husband's family. Then thankfully we were able to change the flights. Our flight was the afternoon of the reading - if everything went absolutely according to plan, I would arrive just in time.

Wednesday, the night before the reading and while we were still in Florida, I was up late with my husband and my brother and sister in law playing a card game. I hit my head - hard. Like, I blacked out for a second yeah that's definitely a concussion hard. 

We flew the next afternoon as planned, our flight amazingly on time. I felt like absolute crap. Not only was I hung over, but concussed. And we were flying. 

We landed at 5 PM, the reading was at 7:30. Call time was supposed to be 6:30. NYC traffic was amazingly not terrible (even it being rush hour!) and we arrived to the theater by 6:15. I was the first actor to arrive. 

I still felt like crap. But somehow, I was able to use it. Or my feeling like crap brought to the surface all the other emotions I had been feeling and was somehow able to channel through Drew's amazing words. 

It was in a word, cathartic. And - for better or worse - THIS is why I love acting. The opportunity to live the truth of the imaginary circumstances and work out my business at the same time. Or work out my business through the imaginary circumstances. And CONNECT with the audience in a very real, viceral way. 

Anyway - this photo is from last night, just after the reading, when I was full of that feeling.

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A post shared by Pëtra Denison (@petradenison)