I have been blessed to be a part of the Lyric’s 1st in house production in 50 years, “Anything Goes.”
I play Elisha J. Whitney, a Wall Street Tycoon, who is heading to England on business.
It’s a small role, but I am having immense fun with it, as well as with the cast of the play.
Some of these folks I have known for a few years, since my last turn on stage in “Annie” a few summers back as FDR.
Some I have just met in the past two months. But we are all working our little rear ends off to get this production to the stage.
I have been involved in theater off and on since high school, and it’s one of those things that just gets into your blood and won’t let go. Performing, getting laughs, inhabiting characters, it all makes the heart pump a bit faster.
It’s one of those “lights you up” kind of feelings. Some people get stage fright and are terrified of performing in front of people. Let me tell you a secret, actors ALL get scared before a performance, but most use that as fuel for the aforementioned performance.
I love everything that goes with a play: the designing of the set, then the set building, and the lighting of the stage, the learning of the lines. (OK, I don’t love that part. Too much like homework!)
Apparently I love being creative to meet a goal. If left to my own devices, I’m usually couch-bound with a remote control in hand. But, give me a deadline and a set of parameters, and I am ready to go.
I’d like to invite you to, if you already haven’t; look into tickets for this production. It’s a true labor of love by the cast, and is sure to be a fun night in a beautiful theater that hasn’t had a play in it in half a century. Tickets can be bought online at www.brownwoodlyrictheater.com, and we would be honored to have you in the audience.
Ben Cox is the host of “Ben Cox in the Morning” weekday mornings from 6 to 9 on KQBZ, 96.9 FM in Brownwood Texas. He is the in-stadium voice of the Howard Payne Yellow Jackets football team and is also a mobile DJ for weddings, parties and the like. He can be contacted via this website.
The thoughts and comments reflected in this column are those of the writer alone, and do not necessarily reflect those of Wendlee Broadcasting, or its affiliates.