So I’m in rehearsal for another show. I have been extremely fortunate that the gods have inspired me to see and grok so many opportunities over so many years. And now, once again, I will be employed on my birthday! I’ve always thought of having a job on my birthday as a particular point of success, I guess because my birthday comes towards the end of the year. Coming into December without a gig is both depressing and distressing, so I’ve been incredibly fortunate the last bunch of years to have a contract in December. Now this doesn’t mean I don’t get to spend as much time with my family during the holiday season so there is a trade-off, but I think for anyone in a day job it would be considered normal.
Part of the weird thing for me right now, though, is getting used to being the oldest person in the cast. Time goes on, and that happens more and more often. It’s not the age, though, it’s that I don’t fit in as much with the rest of the cast. Their experiences are so so different from mine – they’re used to having day jobs, and in this case they’ve been in musicals together. Their social life is very different from mine, the music they listen to, their cultural references… They are just very different from me. They’re very nice people, but they are at such a different stage in their lives now that it’s kind of hard for me to relate to them. It’s not that I feel like “the old guy“ as much as I feel like a foreigner, that we are simply from different cultures and countries. I feel like I feel the effort of relating to them, which I guess I’m not used to since I’m frequently at the Mime Troupe, a residence theater company. But even when I’m working at other theaters besides the Mime Troupe I have more history with my fellow cast members from just being in the community. With this particular show I don’t. I’ve worked with one person before.