Today is August 22nd and this date always feels familiar to me- and then I realize, my first day of college, was August 22, 1988.
I remember it was weird starting school in August because from kindergarten through high school, we always started in September.
So there I was, on August 22, 1988, sitting in my first college drama class – Drama 122 at Diablo Valley College. I was riveted as Mr. Kirkwood paced the arena theatre giving us a lecture about the basic principles of acting.
“If you have never taken an acting class in your life- you are in the right class. If you have taken drama classes your entire life — you are in the right class.”
I hung on his every word. Finally – finally, I wasn’t bored in school!
Because I could pick the classes I wanted for a change – and it made all the difference in the world.
Tonight, on August 22, 2022, I performed the first twenty minutes of my solo show “Born Again in Berkeley” – at the Marsh Theatre in Berkeley. As I stepped on stage, I noticed that the back door to the lobby was still propped open and was letting light into the theatre. I found it distracting but managed to stay focused and not let it throw me off- a discipline I have learned through the years, especially in Mr. Kirkwood’s classes. He taught that if a stage light fell from the ceiling while you’re in the middle of a performance, you don’t ignore it, but use it somehow. Now I didn’t ignore the extra light that was filtering into the theater, but I did use the frustration that I was feeling, in my performance. It gave me a little extra energy.
Alright, back to my day job tomorrow. It’s been so nice not having to think about work. My brain really needed this.
NEXT PERFORMANCE of “Born Again in Berkeley” – Entire 63-minute show:
Friday, September 2, 2022 – Redwood City, CA – BUY TICKETS HERE
Monday, August 22, 2022:
Theresa Donahoe 