My Theatrical Career

I once auditioned for a play which called for the part of a doctor. I told the director that my training would lend an air of authenticity and make up for what I lacked in emotive facility. He questioned my medical abilities until one of the actors broke an arm. After setting the arm, I made the cast.

Thus encouraged, I entered an acting contest called "Be a Theater Star!" I didn't win, but the judges were so impressed with my improvisation upon a work of Shakespeare (when Julius Caesar battles Hamlet for the hand of Juliet, from "As You Like It") that they gave me a constellation prize. They said it is called Perna (which is Latin for "ham"), a dim cluster of celestial luminations that lies just below the constellation Taurus (the Bull).

copyright ©2011 Laurie J. Anderson, all rights reserved.