Fire in the Belly

I've attended a lot of theater in my lifetime including at least three dozen shows on Broadway, seen national tour offerings all over the place ... Houston, Austin, Dallas, Seattle, San Francisco, Washington, DC, Toronto, London, Chicago, Minneapolis ... I've played most major cities in the US while on tour and have been blessed to perform internationally in Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Egypt, Italy and Romania ... and also on Holland America Cruise Ships.
 

Pre-pandemic 2019 was a banner year in terms of attending musicals and concerts. I keep track of what I see, which theater, with whom I saw the show and yes, I rate it A+ through F; sometimes, I write a review.  I attended 33 stage events in 2019, many with thespian15. Prior to that, my normal attendance at theater events averaged about six times a year. 

I had four live events lined up in 2020. All were cancelled after early March. The last stage production I saw was the opening/closing performance of La Boheme at Theatre Latte Da at the nearby Ritz Theater.  (Yep, they did just one performance before the pandemic shuttered the production.) In 2021, I'll be seeing Bianca del Rio and "Frozen" with Jon in October. Tours are resuming in September.

Seeing theater is my favorite way to socialize. I'm wondering if my desire to be a frequent audience member is increasing because my time on stage has slowed to a stand still. For a time in the 1980's, I worked as a theater critic and saw every show produced in Houston; I was a member of the acting community, too; so critiquing the performance of friends could be tricky and problematic. I never reviewed a show I was in. Reviewing the world premiere of the musical "JEKYLL and HYDE" at The Alley Theatre in 1989 and interviewing playright Edward Albee were the highlights of that time in my writing life. 

It's been 12 years now since my last stage performance in a musical - HELLO, DOLLY in Seattle starring Jenifer Lewis as Dolly Levi. Though more than a decade has passed since I appeared at The 5th Avenue Theatre, I’ve maintained my union status and paid semi-annual dues to Actors Equity Association. I've been paying dues to AEA since I joined the union in 1980. 

In the past three years, Equity has significantly upped the amount of the dues. For years, it was $59/ per six months; now it's $88 per six months. Dues are due in May and November. 

I've contemplated requesting an honorable withdrawal from Equity. I could still seek union work; but, if I don't handle the withdrawal properly ... and say, I landed a gig, I would have to pay all dues back to the date of the honorable withdrawal before I could accept and sign a new union contract. 

I am reluctant to give up my dream of a return to the stage; but, my finances in retirement will not be expanding as rapidly as the union's dues structure. I've done just two auditions in the past seven years; yet, my desire to return to the stage hasn't lessened. I still have fire in my belly. Do I turn up the heat by performing or bank the fire by watching others do what I so love to do? Do I stay or do I go?