THE DOCTOR IS IN

COCKEYED OPTIMISM

In the comments to last week’s post, “me” advised me to check out the Gotham Girls for inspiration in gutsiness. I haven’t done that yet (though the suggestion continues to intrigue me) but I was inspired this week nonetheless. I saw South Pacific.

A friend from childhood and I have birthdays very close together, and every year we plan an elaborate celebration—a day trip to a sculpture park or mountain resort; an extravagant dinner; once a visit to a museum several states away to see a photography exhibit we were both interested in. This year, we decided on a musical, and specifically on South Pacific because of both its spectacular reviews and its age; we like sharing nostalgia.

Generally, we enjoy these celebrations within a few weeks of at least one of our birthdays, but this year was complicated by illness, crazy work schedules, and family crises, and we kept postponing it. The play’s impending closing finally shocked us out of our inertia, and we attended only 5 months later than we’d originally planned.

The play is, of course, about seizing the moment; about throwing oneself into life and love, regardless of outmoded rules and prejudices. And the production was passionate. It had to be—the material is old-fashioned, “corny as Kansas in August,” and any modern restraint, any hint of cynicism or commenting, would have been the kiss of death. The actors and musicians performed with such unselfconscious gusto the audience was swept along, into an experience that was larger than life.

I’m glad we finally acted; I am so grateful not to have missed this. I’ve been singing under my breath since Tuesday. And I’ve been thinking about the largeness of it all, the lack of inhibition or holding back.

I have my voice performance class on Monday evening. My “boogie woogie sisters” and I will perform “You Could Drive a Person Crazy.” Another classmate and I will do “Sisters” from White Christmas. And perhaps most challenging in the gutsiness department, I will sing “Desperado,” backed up by my son on guitar. I’ve been working on channeling my “big voice”—one reason we chose the song—but I know I can do more, and I do feel inspired by the South Pacific experience.

And of course the performance class is only a rehearsal for our club date in September; the nursing home and senior center performances Bill and I are booked for, and a tentative mothers-and-sons Mother’s Day concert that Ben and I are becoming involved in.

And I’m realizing that if I’m going to do this, I’ve got to really do it. Full commitment, no holding back.

Gotham Girls, here I come!

Susan O'Doherty, Ph.D.,is a clinical psychologist with a New York City-based practice. A fiction writer herself,she specializes in issues affecting writers and other creative artists. She is the author of Getting Unstuck without Coming Unglued: A Woman's Guide to Unblocking Creativity(Seal, 2007). Her Career Coach column appears every Monday on Inside Higher Ed's Mama, Ph.D. blog, and she is a regular monthly panelist on Litopia After Dark. Send your questions to her at Dr.Sue at mindspring dot com.

 

Comments

[Katharine Weber]

"Sisters"! So are you singing the Rosemary Clooney part or the Rosemary Clooney part?

[DrSue]

Yes.

[Katharine Weber]

I guessed that.