Chad - The Number 14

Much like Judith, this will be my inaugural blog post and not only for Dream Theatre, but in life in general.  And oddly enough, also 2am.

Let me start by saying that nothing cements a family like a near death experience.  My first show with Dream Theatre was in February of this year, a little double feature known as Aelita and Shiny Boxes written by Bil Gaines and Mishelle Apalategui respectively.  I will admit, here and now, for the first time, that while rehearsing, I just didn’t get it; I didn’t understand the Dream Theatre way.  I thought it was an incredibly interesting approach to theatre and I had a lot of fun during rehearsals, but I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what the hell Gesture meant, or why my precious Fourth Wall had to be gone.  It was frustrating and under other circumstances I probably would have finished the run and gone on my merry little way, not knowing what I was missing out on.  But then something magical happened.  On opening night one of the actresses injured herself onstage and couldn’t continue the show, so the remaining three actors had to finish the second act minus a crucial character.  The ending, which should have been a duet between myself and my then concussed wife, had to be morphed into a monologue which I delivered straight to the audience.  And that’s how it happened.  I understood.  The audience had become my other actor and I looked to them for the strength to finish, and not only did they give it to me, but they came with me down the aisle, out the door and all the way over to Italy for some romance and olives.  It was a truly horrifying experience and I absolutely loved every second of it.  It’s hard to think that without that experience, I would just be another lowly actor drifting through the eternal doldrums of Chicago theatre without ever experiencing what true theatre can be and without knowing what truly amazing art everyone in this company is capable of. 

I love this Theatre Company so damn much, and am so grateful to Anna and Jeremy for letting me grow and play with these amazing artists.  And I would also like to thank Megan, your glass jaw is the reason I’m a better actor today.