Laughing Until It Hurts

Doug and I comparing bruises during rehearsal.

It wasn’t until I got backstage after the fall that I realized I had landed badly. It felt like someone was stabbing me in my hip, and every step hurt. Still, I raced for my next quick entrance and felt it all loosen up the more I moved it. An ice pack during my next break and then keeping it moving got me through the night.

The fall was the most dangerous of my three stunts, and had gone fine through several rehearsals and 4 previous shows. Two things went wrong that night: first, I missed my handhold and nearly fell off the six-foot-high platform for real; and second, I landed on my hip in exactly the same position I had the night before.

Let me explain what I am talking about. I just finished a 6-show run of The Play That Goes Wrong at The Theatre Alliance of Winston Salem.. You can see my previous post for a little more about it, but in a nutshell it is a play-within-a-play comedy where a community theater troupe attempting to put on a murder mystery must contend with all manner of things going wrong. Props break, actors get knocked out, the set collapses, a fight breaks out, and other mayhem ensues., It is absolutely hilarious, and combines witty wordplay, slapstick and farce to create an atmosphere where anything can and does happen.

I play the initial murder victim, but don’t get to stay dead very long as I soon find myself dangling off the upstairs “study” set after a coughing fit causes me to roll off. This was the stunt I most looked forward to performing, and also practiced the most. I wanted it to look like I really was falling while still being able to flail about comedically. The final drop was only a foot or so, and until the 4th show was completely pain-free.

I did bruise my chest quite a bit practicing this maneuver until I found a way to do it that didn’t lead to bruising. Still, I would find random bruises after every night of rehearsal and performance. And I was not the only one putting my body on the line for the show: every cast member had to either do a stunt, fight, or wrestle large pieces of furniture while in uncomfortable positions.

My hip after the last performance.

Fortunately I recovered enough from that bruised hip and got through the final show without any further problems. I’m still limping a little bit two days later, but nothing too bad.

I think this all begs the question: If you are getting injured at all, why do it?

This was community theater, which means we volunteered to be in it, gave up time to rehearse, and put our bodies on the line for free. I’ve done a lot of community theater and never before felt like I could get a significant injury. Going in to this show I knew it was a certainty I’d be bruised or worse.

So, why?

Because it is a funny, funny show, and completely unique.  For me, personally, it was a chance to do pratfalls and stunts and also silent performing. I grew up watching classic Hollywood movies and loved the Marx Brothers, Chaplin and Buster Keaton. Later I became a huge fan of Jackie Chan and his brand of slapstick fighting. The older I got, the less likely it seemed I’d ever be able to do anything like that, but this show gave me a chance.

Let’s be clear: what I did was a mere shadow compared to those performers. I fell on my face from about 2 feet, did the dangling hang and fall I mentioned above, and finally got to fling myself through a door into a room with no floor and cling to the doorjamb for dear life. Not exactly death-defying. But still fun, and, based on the audience reactions, funny.

I was fortunate to work with a great cast and crew. The set was built by an architect named Andy (thank god we had him) and the crew making it act like another character in the show were top-notch. My cast mates kept me safe during my falls, and were a joy to spend time with. Our director wisely kept us from doing some of the crazier stunts and helped us focus on being funny.

I enjoyed every minute. And I’m glad to be done so I can let my bruises heal up.

PS. Check out “The Goes Wrong Show” for a taste of what the play is like. It’s the same Mischief Theater who created the play and have taken their brand of zaniness to the airwaves. Really fun and funny.