The 39 Steps

This spring, I was cast in "The 39 Steps" at the historic Oak Ridge Playhouse. It was fun to be back on stage after a nearly two-year hiatus. We had five weeks of rehearsals to prepare for what became my favorite show I've ever done. There were only four actors in the show, but three of us played multiple characters. I played a Brittish gal, German spy and Scottish farm wife.


I couldn't have done it without such great support from Eric though. There were MANY nights when Eric had to fly solo with the boys while I was at rehearsal or "play practice" as we explained to Noah. Rehearsals started at 6:30 and ran until 10 p.m. or later some nights. I missed my three boys like crazy. At first, Noah would ask me not to leave, but then he started pretending that he was going to play practice with his "friends" (Grover, Buzz, Woody, Thomas the Train, etc.) during his own playtime. One morning, Noah came into our bedroom, put his hands on his hips and emphatically proclaimed in a serious tone, "I'm going to play practice!" and turned around and walked out of the room.

The show opened Friday, April 29 and I learned first-hand the meaning of "The show must go on." A few hours before opening night, I came down with a stomach bug at 3:30 p.m. I was supposed to leave for Oak Ridge at 6 p.m. for our 8 p.m. show. I called Eric to see if there was any way he could come home a little early to watch the boys. I called my doctor to see if there was anything I could take, but the only anti-nausea med they called in would have made me loopy and unable to drive. I then called our stage manager, Lindsay, who called our director to let him know of the situation. Since postponing the show was not an option, and because I had no understudy, we devised a plan to get me through the night. After Eric got home, I rested for about 30 minutes, gathered my things, grabbed two empty plastic cups for the 30 minute drive to Oak Ridge (in case I needed to throw up while driving) and made it to the green room by 7:15 p.m. Lindsay was there to greet me with gatorade, crackers and pepto bismol tablets. She'd also put a bucket, bottled water, towel and mints on both sides of the stage in case I needed to run off in the middle of a scene to throw up.

With lots of prayer, support from our sweet cast and crew and a little luck I made it through the performance without "losing it." Our director gave me a pep talk right before curtain and said how often things like this happen to actors, but somehow your adrenaline kicks in and you find a way to get through the show. I'd never been so nervous before a show in my life, and never more disappointed that I wasn't able to give my best after so many weeks of rehearsal. There was a reviewer in the audience that night from the local paper too. You can read her review HERE -- thankfully she didn't pick up on my ailment and no one else in the show caught my stomach bug!

Here are a few photos from backstage and some that we did for a publicity photo shoot. I created an album on my Facebook profile with lots more photos to if you want to check them out. Trying to find time to memorize lines was laughable, but I'm thankful for being part of such a wonderful experience and getting to know some fantastic and super-talented people. Maya Angelou always says how important it is to do something sacred that's just for you. For me, it's always been theatre.

Our huge cast -- Josiah Rowe, me, Tony Cedeno and Rollin Prince

Here we are all sweaty after our very last performance

Scene from the Crofter's house in Scotland

The train scene was the most complicated to rehearse, but seemed to be everyone's favorite.

Playing Annabella (a German spy) although my accent was more of a Russian/Spanish/Italian combo :)

To say April and May were jam-packed months is an understatement. Not only is April Eric's busiest time at work, but in the first two weeks of May we celebrated Mother's Day, Brenton's first birthday, Andrew and Thomas' graduation from UT, our 7-year anniversary, my play and headed to the beach! We're thankful to be so blessedly busy :)