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Latent passion

The acting bug bit when I was a lanky teenager far more interested in drugs and sex than school.

I joined a circle of avid peers guided by the inspirational director of the community theater. I had multiple parts and was noticed. I met my first wife doing summer stock. My ego ran rampant.

Parenting, military service and journalism pulled me away from the stage for decades.

But in my mid-60s, passion long held in abeyance surged back. I won a couple roles, only to discover I wasn’t very good, that the stagecraft I counted on had faded.

Acting, like any craft, demands diligent work. More importantly, it requires limiting one’s ego for the rewards of the ensemble.

I take classes, sharpen my skills and repeatedly audition. Roles for an aging dilletante who sings and dances poorly are rare in this age of triumphant musicals. I “crash and burn” often. Nothing mangles like rejection.

Despite my failures, I keep at it. I believe I’m better than ever. But, then, I would.

A passion revived is better for aging than none.


Essays about creativity

Continuous lines

Small wonders

Old Will

The writing bug

When an old word is a new friend


A movie audition

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One Comment

  1. Steve Doyle Steve Doyle

    Good for you. I admire people who resume a passion later in life. I’m playing golf again. My rehearsals and performances are abysmal. Go for it!

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