Make ‘Em Laugh

I am so grateful for friends who send me things that bring me to tears, and to my knees, with laughter. Those are wonderful momentary lifts.

What’s not part of that…and can’t be right now…..is communal laughter.  Groups of people laughing at the same time, at the same thing, for the same reason. 

Once upon a time, in another land, I was part of a play-reading group.  We joined knowing that when we were asked to take a role in a play, we either said yes or got the boot.  And, oh, the crazy things we did in the name of concession.

The group was comprised of seemingly intelligent and thoughtful people.  People who perhaps should have known better before they committed to the gig.

Requirements for membership were few. Experience wasn’t one of them. We simply had to agree to leave our egos, our pride, our honor and our dignity at the door prior to a performance.

We only did comedy.  For obvious reasons.   Neil Simon and Noel Coward were our go-to playwrights.   We didn’t have to memorize anything but we did have to design our own costumes and highlight our lines in our playbooks.  There was only one, inevitably chaotic, rehearsal. 

We foolishly invited friends to watch us make fools of ourselves.  We plied them with food and drink before, during, and after our performances. Always partaking heartily of the same ourselves.  All I remember from all those years is the laughter. The laughter for, at, and with each other.

I’d do almost anything for a silly night like that right now.