When I watch the Oscar on ABC, I am always fascinated by the actors on the screen. How well they portray their character and made their character become one of them, except for Lindsay Lohan – that’s the whole new world for her.
I got my first acting bug when I was in the elementary school, and we had to do some skits, during that time, there was no videotape back then, only my memory. The show I watch back then was “Welcome Back Kotter”. In my group, we prepared a skit, someone would say their lines and when it was my turn. I had my chance to say my lines. I did my impression of Arnold Horshack doing “Ooh-ooh-ooooh!” with my hand raised up in the air. It was my first chance to hear laughter in the audience. I was born to make people laugh.
In High School, I did a play called “A Wonderful Town”. I did some small parts, and it was good. I had a few lines in the play. I yelled out “Eskimo pies!” I made the band laugh during a rehearsal, there was a cute girl in the band, and I had a crush on her. I ran across the stage stealing a bag. My life in crime on stage, it was only acting, not in real life. And other roles too, it’s vague for me now. I was in Bye, Bye Birdie, for the cast picture I was almost cut off. My head was there, but my body wasn’t. I had few roles in there too. I seem to like the acting. I wanted attention. All of these plays were played in Sheep Auditorium in Elizabeth City, NC.
Then I did some college plays at Elizabeth City State University, the university players. The director back then was Shawn Smith. I like working with him. He gave me my first break in acting. I audition for the role of The Good Doctor and I got a role. The scene was ‘The Arrangement’. I played a boy and the father wanted me to grow up to be a man. My line was “When I go up the stair, I would not be your little man no more. I will be a man!” I flex my muscle to indicate that I was a man and use my deep voice to indicate my manly voice when I said the word “Man”. I brought the house down with laughter. The laughter, I like the sound of laughter from the audience.
I would reprise the character again for Encore in 2006 when they had the audition for The Good Doctor at Encore. It was many years after the first one. The director like my performance and so did the actor who portrays the father. He’s a veteran in acting and his wife too. I change my line to make it appropriate for the director, and I still got it. I made the audience laugh again. I was born to make people laugh.
Note: Shawn Smith passed away in 2017