Wounded Bird

I love and hate theatre for the same reason: it's live. The fact that anything can happen on stage on any given night is a thrill, because the actors and crew have to always be on their toes. Unfortunately, live performance also means if something goes wrong, there are consequences.

On opening, our actress playing Phoenix ended up hurting her ankle so seriously that she couldn't stand without the help of crutches. The role calls for some pretty athletic moves, and we have no understudy.

Yesterday, the theatre opted to go on with the show, but adjusted the blocking so that our actress wouldn't further injure herself. To her credit, she went on with the show, even though she was hobbled and using crutches for part of the performance. Of course, the audience was informed of the injury and were forgiving.

We're waiting to hear from the doctor about whether or not our actress can still be in the show. While it's clear she can't play Phoenix any longer, we have to figure out how to replace her. Right now, the most viable solution is to switch her with the actress playing Empress because that character sits on a cart for the entire show and doesn't have to walk. The two actresses are also about the same size, so there won't be major costume alterations. But it will take a few rehearsals for her to get the blocking, lines and songs down.

If the doctor says our Phoenix actress is completely out, then we're going to move a chorus member into the role of the Phoenix and hire someone to replace the chorus member. That means two people will have to learn new roles, which is not ideal considering the show is already up and running.

We're all in limbo until the doctor gives the word, which will probably be later today. I was hoping the drama would be on stage, rather than off stage for this show, but it looks like it's going to be a wild ride for the next couple of weeks.

I have to be honest. When I heard the actress playing the Phoenix went on with the show yesterday, I was pretty darned proud. Someone who has the courage to fight through an injury to put on a show earns huge points in my book. I've seen so many examples where today's workers are willing to quit or skip work for the most trivial of reasons that I've started to become cynical about the future of society. When I heard that our actress went on even with a major injury, it gave me hope that tomorrow is in good hands if there are more people like her.