The actor's prep

A few months ago, when I was invited to perform my Woody Guthrie show Ramblin' at the Lents neighborhood tribute this afternoon, I gave the offer considerable thought. It was attractive on several counts. First, the offer itself was satisfying because it meant someone remembered the show fondly. Indeed, the sponsors had seen it in the 80s. Also, it was tempting to accept because the audience would be appreciative by definition: Guthrie fans gathered to do tribute. It would be hard to displease them. But then I remembered how much work preparing and performing the show would be. It didn't bother me that I hadn't picked up a guitar in years because I'd been playing banjo. What bothered me was my endurance, my breath control. Doing a one-man show is an athletic event for which one must be in shape. I wasn't. So to prepare the show would take considerable physical preparation and a lot of time. I finally declined with a counter-proposal: to narrate the show with excerpts from the journals and let others perform the songs. And this is what we're doing.

Even at that, my day will be mentally focused on preparing the narration today. One of the reasons I haven't done more performing than I have is that it's such an all-encompassing activity. I admire the hell out of actors for their ability to do this, and to peak their energy at just the right time. It's not an easy thing to do.

So today will be a quiet day of prep before going to the park to "perform," or participate in what surely will be a fine event.