SILENT APPLAUSE

As I trundle on in this wild new techno world, I find few things not impacted from the “Rona”. Zoom

has merged into my life fairly easily and with surprising speed. I attend meetings on zoom, meet with

friends, rehearse with my improv group, and recently, attended an acting class. Acting is reacting, which

in the Zoom world is challenging. There’s only so much you can get from someone acting in their little

“Hollywood Squares” box. I’m used to doing comedy, and relishing the laughter is the reward. In this

acting class, we were asked to do a monologue. I chose to do an excerpt from the female version of

“The Odd Couple”. When we performed, the other students were asked to mute their microphones. It

propelled me into a strange silence, devoid of the raucous guffaws I yearned for. After my performance,

I sheepishly asked our teacher if anyone laughed or applauded. Fortunately, she reassured me that I

was funny and it was well received. Somehow that didn’t stroke my ego enough. Too bad, so sad!  Hey,

It takes a lot of nerve to be an actor, putting yourself out there for all to see and judge.

All of this had led me to realize that it’s an inside job to applaud myself and nurture my insecurities.

Maybe I can find a Ted Talk to watch.

Stay well and healthy my friends! Wear a mask and vote!!!