Member-only story
It’s Okay to Wing it
You never know till you try
If looking crazy ever killed anybody, I wouldn’t be here telling you this story.
This memory is something that is very much alive and well in my mind today. My freshman year of high school, I decided to audition for the school play. Two weeks I could have prepped for this audition. And I did, nothing.
I was just going to wing it. People do that, right? So, I waltzed into the auditorium the day of, as unready as I would ever be. I didn’t care though. I mean, what’s life without a little spontaneity?
The first person got called up to go. And she was great. She performed this five-minute monologue, had every last word memorized. Clearly wasn’t winging it.
All right, she was prepared. I thought. Some people take this play thing seriously.
After she finished her script, I thought it was over. But no. The most horrifying thing in the world happened.
She started to sing. And she sounded amazing.
She had this finely tuned, to-be-envied operatic voice. And all I could think was oh no. There’s singing involved? What kind of a play is this? It suddenly dawned on me. This was not a play at all, but a musical. I immediately started freaking out. There’s a reason the word “play” ceases to exist. Musical people don’t…
