Frankie

Christy has a new friend. And I have to admit that... I'm jealous. Christy and this new friend have really hit it off. They spend several evenings together a week. Out for several hours on various adventures, eating, drinking, whatever. Frankie is married. Pregnant. And she is all Christy talks about anymore. I can sense that she tries to hold back. I'm sure I do a little something, maybe bristle or get quiet... but every morning... Frankie, Frankie, Frankie. Frankie is so funny! Frankie gets into the most hilarious situations! Frankie's belly is huge! Frankie did this or that. I'm not used to it. Christy has other friends, sure. And we've certainly had lengthy conversations about a night watching movies at Anne's or going out for a drink with Chris or meeting up with a group of folks for whatever kind of event. And I get to hear lots of details of who said what and how the food was and what predicaments everyone is getting themselves into. And it's never bothered me. But this thing with Frankie... it's different. It's like they are getting to be really close. Getting to know each other in a deeper way. Christy is my best friend. We think the same thoughts and finish each other's sentences and just have this level of understanding. And maybe that's being replaced. The good news is that Frankie's presence is temporary. In about 4 weeks, I will have the chance to meet her. About 3 weeks after that, she will begin to fade. By the new year, she will be a set of memories, stories. Frankie is the character that Christy is playing in The Belfry's upcoming production of "Christmas Belles." Having been in theatre in my past, I get it. The process of developing a character, studying the script, memorizing lines, incorporating blocking (movement)... I've done it before. I've helped Jeff do it before. We've worked it through when in shows together. The character becomes part of your daily life and thoughts. You may not intend for it to happen... but every day things start to link back to something from rehearsal, something in the script. A conversation can spark ideas of things to try or inflections to experiment with. Christy is working really hard to completely "get" Frankie. Which means I get to hear about ideas, rehearsals, lines, commentary. It's the first time I've been somewhat immersed in the process without it being my process. On the drive to work- Christy has her script in hand and she talks about the previous night's rehearsal. At lunch, she brings her script to the gym and studies it while on the treadmill. On the drive home, she asks for input on accents, line delivery, and continues with tales of rehearsal, ideas for the character, and so on. So while Frankie isn't an actual person that is actually taking up any of Christy's time, energy, and attention... Christy is putting a lot of time, energy, and attention to bring Frankie to life as much as possible. Because when you are breathing life into something that exists in black and white print... when you are getting inside someone else's non-existent skin... when you are making room in your life for the existence of another person... it has to become part of you. And if something becomes so vastly important in Christy's life, it only makes sense that it is going to become part of mine. Such is life... in the theatre.