CSU Chico "One-Acts"

Now, I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but there is something inside me that tells me I was born to be famous. I genuinely feel as though I was placed on this earth to entertain millions through my wit and talent. Seriously though, when I was little and you asked me what I wanted to be, I would respond with excitement and great enthusiasm, “I want to be a famous singer like Mariah Carey!” Unfortunately for me, I don’t have the vocal stability and range of six octaves like Mariah, so I though that I might try my hand at singing’s close-cousin: acting.

For those of you who have never braved the unforgiving lights of the stage and the judging eyes of the dark, face-less audience, it’s not exactly a walk in the park! I have had my fair share of low-grade high school performances, but I began to feel as though I was ready for more. And that is exactly why this last weekend I chose to attend “One-Acts” on-campus at CSU Chico. Hey, if my fellow peers can do it, why can’t I, right? WRONG………

My choice to attend “One-Acts” began with my intent to learn more about acting and see how tough it really seemed. For some reason, maybe it being that I have never actually been to a play on-campus before, I went into the play with the assumption that it would not seem very difficult to do. But boy was I mistaken! This series of 20 minutes plays were not only hilarious, but they were smart and performed with much talent. Unbeknownst to be, they were also written and directed by the students themselves! I was truly put in my place.

The first play was a side-splitting tale of a woman who was involved with a man who was nothing more than a figment of her imagination. This man was comprised of all the things that the perfect man would be: good looks, charm, kindness and much more. Ironically though, he became too perfect, and quickly began to bore his lover. It was then that she began seeking psychiatric help and forced her lover to disappear so that she could find a man with a few more imperfections (who hopefully also came in human-form).

The second act was almost funnier than the first. It was a parody on all the things that could go wrong in a play; from bad acting, to timing-gone-wrong, to glitches in the lighting, this performance literally had tears running down my eyes. The interesting this is, when I approached one of the actor about it after the play, he told me that acting as a bad actor was actually one of the more challenging things to do. Who knew being untalented could require so much talent?

The third play was easily my favorite because it was a musical (my original plan for success!). There were four actors in this play, two of which were mute and acted/danced out what the other two performers were singing about. It was a witty story about a man and a woman who were bored in their up-scale romances, so they pretended to be lower-class workers and ended up falling in love. I was transfixed as I watched them dance and sway their way around the stage, resonating in perfect harmony.

In addition to their acting and singing abilities, the fact that the very people I watched onstage actually created the art they were performing was nothing short of amazing. It is safe to say that I have a much deeper appreciation for the acting department at CSU Chico.  This experience helped me realize that maybe I’m not ready for the big stage, and I might have to try my hand at something else to get my name out there. Hey, there’s always Reality TV right?