Two days ago I got a call from my show’s Stage Manager at 1:00 in the afternoon. As soon as I saw his name show up on my cell phone I knew exactly what he was calling about: I was going on in the role of Andy Lee that night!
The regular jitters hit me: my stomach tightened & my hands were shaking because I realized that I would finally be going on for one of the leads in the show! The actor that normally plays the role is nursing a foot-injury so it was my time to slap on the tap shoes & Andy Lee costume.
I ended up getting to do the role 3 times this week and each show got better and better as I got more comfortable. It’s SO hard being an understudy because you never get to rehearse with the regular actors and you don’t get a real feel for the show until you’re onstage in front of 1500 people! So it’s a good thing I did my homework and paid attention because everything fell into place, the audience loved the shows, and I even got recognized on the street & got to sign some autographs as “Andy Lee”.
……the normal guy that plays Andy Lee can take his sweet ‘ol time getting better!
Darren's Little Space of Stuff 