As I have mentioned in previous posts, I enjoyed acting on stage immensely and being able to make people smile or laugh was the best feeling I could have hoped for. During the fall, the musical was announced for the spring as Rodger's and Hammerstein's "The King & I". I was somewhat familiar with the story, but had never seen it performed. I will be the first person to admit that I dont have a good singing voice, so I sought out the largest role that didnt require any singing, which was the Kralahome, or the Prime Minister to the King. I auditioned and got the role. I found out that not many guys ever try out for the musicals so I shouldnt have worried too much about it.
I almost immediately hit it off with the guy who was going to be the king. We both have the same quirky sense of humor and enjoyed much of the same music. After school he went on and works doing special effects for motion pictures. Quite a cry from his home made stop motion movies of a toy Yoda miraculously raising an X-wing from a swamp. Bob was one of the people I most enjoyed spending time around.
Also in the produciton was the entire chorus, which as luck would have it, consisted of quite a large number of girls. One of them I recognized as the girl who sat directly behind me in my Social Studies class who I had previously thought was pretty cute. We would sit backstage and talk about everything under the sun when I wasnt on stage. I found her to be genuinely funny which to me is an endearing trait. A few weeks into rehearsals, one night we were backstage in the semi darkness and she was standing right in front of me as we both were watching the stage. Suddenly she turned around and kissed me softly on my mouth. I had never been kissed by a girl before and for a split second I was shocked and unsure of how to react. I felt a surge of warmth flooding over me as I kissed her back and I remember thinking that she tasted sweet. After that, we were constantly holding hands backstage and occasionally kissing each other. In social studies class I had to work hard to keep from turning around and talking to her all during class when she would tap my back with her foot. I looked forward to spending any time with her that I could manage. There came a point where we had an opporunity to have sex with each other. We stopped before going all the way. I wish I could say that it was because I was that morally strong. I wasnt. At that point after all of time leading up to that moment I wanted to feel and experience everything beyond the kisses. No, the reason that we didnt, is because I had no protection. No matter how much I was curious, I had no desire to take the chance on becoming a father at 15 years of age. The reality of that moment hit me hard. It would be so easy to get caught up in the moment and end up paying for it the rest of my life. We never really had another chance to tempt fate that way, which I was very grateful for.
We still did many things together. This was the summer of "The Empire Strikes Back" and we went to the movies dressed as Han & Leia with a group of friends. We worked on reports together for school and if she was ever feeling down I tried my best to cheer her up. As that summer wore on, we drifted a bit apart. We would still call each other and I stopped by a few times, even if it was just to sit out on her porch and talk to her. She was really someone that I enjoyed being around, but I think the fear of what might happen put an invisible barrier between us that neither of us consciously wanted to cross. I can still remember the last time I saw her. It was over Thanksgiving my freshman year of college and her senior year in high school. She called out of the blue and asked if I could come over. We sat and talked about everything that had been going on for each of us. After a while, I was getting tired and I got up and went home. As much as I enjoyed her company whenever I think of her today, the one word that comes to mind often for her is lonely. I dont know why, but I hope that's not true for her today. She'll always have my best wishes.
As for the musical itself that brought us together, I had a great time doing it and something happened that also seemed to follow me everytime I acted on that stage. We would only run the production for two nights, a Friday and a Saturday night. That Friday, we performed the musical nonstop several times for the school. Each english class would come in and watch us so that we got used to performing in front of an 'audience'. Opening night came and the lights dimmed and the orchestra started playing. I was in the first scene, so I waited in the wings for my cue, bare chested and wearing my pink satin harem style pants. Yes, I was the epitome of masculinity on stage. As I strode onto the stage I stole a glance at the audience and was amazed to find a sea of faces out there. I could feel my pulse racing inside in stark contrast to the calm demeanor my character was supposed to have. As the show went on I began to feel more and more comfortable and really began to enjoy the whole evening. At curtain call, I was one of the final few performers to come out and enjoyed the appluase for my few minutes of fame.
The second night went a little differently. There is a scene where my character is supposed to run into the King's bedroom late at night to wake him up. I hear my cue as the bass drum is hit simulating cannons. I rush in, find Bob and start excitedly,
"Your Majesty, the British....the gunboat!!"
"They attack?", he answers
"No..." I reply and promptly forget the rest of my line. I draw a complete blank slate. Bob can see my eyes grow in fear as I try desperately to remember my line. I realize that I am lost and standing right under the overhead microphone I vent my frustration by uttering "Rats!" I immediately realize that is picked up by the mikes and broadcast out to the audience and as I begin to break out in a cold sweat, I hear a slight snicker from parts of the crowd when suddenly the rest of the lind comes back to me,
"No, They salute and we answer with fireworks, Its Sir Edmund Hillary and his party!" Amazing that now 23 years after that night I can remember the dialogue, but in that instant I had no idea at all. I felt devastated. I was fortunate that it was the last scene in the act and I had the intermission to get over it. The director came backstage and tried to cheer me up. I was alright, even though I felt as if I had made a complete ass out of myself. I went out in the second act and finished the show without any other blunders, but I seemed to set a precedence for me for the next two musicals I was in.
Looking back now I wouldnt trade either of those experiences for the world. My first girlfriend, or blowing that line. Both were experiences that were exciting and scary as hell to a young teen at the same time. As scared as I was when I drew that blank on stage, that would have paled in comparison to how I would have felt if things went any further with my girlfriend. I openly admit that I wasnt ready for anything like that at that age.