Pain, Tears, Theatre.

This past week/weekend I was in an incredibly cute show called, “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown”, where I played the infamous character Lucy.

Lucy was one of my favorite roles, but also one of my hardest.

Since getting very sick, I haven’t been able to sing or dance or anything like that. I’ve recently moved down to one crutch and figured ‘why not’?

I could actually name several reasons why it was a bad idea. 

But I did it anyway!

The very first day of rehearsal was the first time I had done any “activity” for more than 2 hours in about 6 months. Let me just tell you, I was exhausted. By the end of the day I was ready to give up. I even called my friend, in tears, talking about how much pain it had put me in and how I wanted to drop out. I knew deep down, that I wasn’t going to drop. I needed this. I needed this to prove to myself that I’m not just some sick girl who can’t do anything.

So I continued on to the next day, keep in mind that my insomnia had hit me HARD this week and I only slept 3 hours a night.

A big part that kept me in this show were the kids. When I walked in, their eyes lit up in awh, “Lucy, sit next to me!!” “Lucy what’s that thing in your chest?” “Lucy why do you sleep so much during rehearsal?” “Lucy, you’re my favorite character.”-yes, they actually called me Lucy.

I hadn’t danced since last September-keep in mind I couldn’t even move my legs about 3 months ago-and I was dancing! I was dancing on one crutch! I was standing on boxes and jumping around! Oh god, it felt amazing. Well, mentally it felt amazing. Physically, I was in tons of pain and dizzy and felt terrible. It was so worth it.

The days went by fast and it was time for opening night. The first show went great, everyone did well and it was tons of fun. I took pictures with little kids, as they told me I was their favorite character.

When I got home from that show though, I was in so much pain that I could do nothing. I couldn’t even move. All I could do was lay down and cry. It was awful. I did sleep though! (Thank you pain medicine)

Holding the pain and tears back, I went on to do the next two shows. I had all my friends and family come! My mom was very emotional, as her daughter who couldn’t even walk was now jumping and dancing!

Roanoke Children’s Theatre put on an amazing performance of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” and I’m so excited to see what they have for me in the future.

Who knows, next time I’m on stage I might not have that crutch(;

http://roanokechildrenstheatre.org