Well, it’s Opening Night. In a few hours, I’ll walk on stage in front of an audience. It will suddenly be real.

All the weeks of preparation have passed by. Now it’s time to jump out of the proverbial airplane and hope that I’m ready.

I’m ready.

Of course, this is the time to think about all the work that I didn’t do. That I intended to do. The extra work.

Too late for that now.

I can only hope to stay present in the moment and be the best Elwood P. Dowd that I can be.

But I love having the audience.

They are the magic that’s missing from the rehearsal process.

It’s the communion between audience and performers that excites me. Something about that alchemy helps me discover new things. And every night it’s different.

Magic!

This is a special opening for me, too. I’ve wanted to play Elwood P. Dowd for decades.

I first read the play in high school. And the element of magic and fun probably appealed to me back then. Having an invisible rabbit for a friend. A six foot one and a half Rabbit at that!

Harvey the Pooka captured my imagination.

When I told my daughter, Caileigh, that I was doing the play, she quoted one of my favourite lines:

“In this world you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant. For years I was smart. I recommend pleasant.”

Elwood

A lot of things work against the play. It’s dated. It’s a product of its time: 1944. Attitudes towards women and mental health reflect that. Diversity? Forget about it.

But the idea to be pleasant to each other? To find the joy in the moment? To be present? And remember that you can never have too many friends?

Those are timeless.

Yet they bear repeating. Because it’s so easy to get lost in the day to day busyness of life.

We all need some sort of Harvey in our lives. A little bit of magic to remind us to be nice. Just be nice to each other.

Harvey is playing that the Peninsula Players this weekend and next weekend. More info at https://peninsulaplayersgrimsby.ca/whats-on/