She says "I'm a telephone actress" ... Insert Blank Look

I like to think of myself as fairly astute but there are those rare occasions when I have no idea of what the hell is going on. While talking with some girlfriends about jobs, life and the pursuit of happiness, I met for the first time a real life live sex operator. Let me tell you now that if you judge then shame on you; in this economy everyone has to make a living and she makes more money than most of my friends. I admit to being in awe. Hands down it was one of the most incredible evenings of my life, not only meeting this woman, but the other ladies as well. She shatters any preconceived notions you would have about someone in that industry. As I said in this economy it is a job to her and nothing more. But to hear her stories, oh my goodness I have not laughed that hard in a long time.

It started as an evening with the girls to cheer on a friend in her roller derby game. Let me tell you it is everything you see on the movies or television and more. Granted we did not have the raised rink but I think the adapted rink was more fun. We were front row to action before us. It may not be for everyone but I love doing something new and a chance to hang out with some fun people only added to the evening’s festivities. The next game will be in March. Chances are if you go I’ll see you there. Here is the link to their website:www.orlandoderbygirls.com. ; When the game was over they had an after party at a local pub and that is where the evening only got better. Spending time in the company of these women made my entire weekend. Not that I doubted for a minute that I would enjoy myself, my girlfriend Heather is pretty fricken awesome and because of that she tends to attract the same type of ladies. So I find myself talking with people from all walks of life up to and including the telephone actress who I feel won the most fascinating person of the evening award and that was a hard won title. She had some tough competition. See the above mentioned comment about Heather’s friends. They tend to be amazing. I thank all the theater gods out there that had me meet her in the lobby of Breakthrough while her son was performing on stage. I had no idea then how much my life was going to change in the next six months.

I am no longer taking a sabbatical from theater. I am back in it and this time I hope not to leave again. There are things in your life you can truly say you are called to do and for me it is theater. Something about taking words on a piece of paper and turning them into real life action on the stage in front of you makes my heart race. I was talking with a friend last night about my life and the topic of work came up. He is in a more traditional work place and at first was mocking what I do. Then he said something and I snapped and gave him an earful of what it is that I do, how I do it and the fact that I do it well. I have awards to back it up. I am not the only one who thinks I do a good job. People want to work with/for me.

When I was done with my rant there was a pause at the end of the phone and his response was such a genuine kindness it made me smile. “If you explained that to your love interest, how could he ask you to give that up? It is obvious from your response you feel passionate about this” and that was true, I do feel passionate about it. I used to feel passionate about a lot of things. That is slowly starting to return to my life. I am grateful for the chances in my life where I actually get a do-over. Working in theater is one of them. So look for my show next fall. Trust me I will shamelessly self-promote it between now and the time it actually takes the stage. In the meantime I will be exploring new venues and outlets for my creative side to pursue. If you need a director for an upcoming show, you know where to find me. Remember, live your life people. This is not a dress rehearsal.