I Fall in Love Too Easily

Me too, Frank.

Which can make life complicated for an actor. But not in the way you're thinking. I fall in non-romantic love with just about everyone I work with on stage. I love getting to know them in the intense and intimate circumstances of rehearsal. I love having them around. I love being onstage with them and navigating our way through the run of a show together. I love spending time with them offstage. They become like family to me. And then the show ends. And we go our separate ways. A necessary part of the process--there's always another project to move on to, life to get back to. We always declare our intentions to stay in contact, to not let too much time pass before seeing each other again, or better yet, working together again. But, life gets in the way and promises are rarely kept, on my side too. These separations are so acute in the beginning, they feel like breakups. I find myself pining over my lost loves and wonder if I'm the only one that goes through it. And then I wonder what on earth I'm doing in this profession. And then I, too, move on to the next thing and fall in love again. With somebody new. Or with a different aspect of an actor I've worked with before.

Actually, as I think about it, maybe this belongs in the tally of things that are amazing about the actor's life. I get to be reminded, on a regular basis, of what it's like to fall in love. I get to find incredible new friends and deepen older friendships. Hi-diddle-dee-dee, an actor's life for me! Thanks for listening and helping me work through that.