So my best friend Anthony moves to NYC tomorrow. I am seemingly fine when I’m not thinking about that. Or typing it. Or being reminded of it. I probably seem almost cold when it is not on my mind. Almost like it isn’t happening…’cause in my brain it’s not. It’s only in the moments that I snap out of it that I realize it is real, and that’s when my cracks start to show.
Anthony and I met in 2005. We were both performing in the beloved community theater staple of “Fiddler on the Roof.” I had sworn I would never, ever do another musical theater piece again, and this was to be Anthony’s first play. It was the first day of a two-month process and he was nervously sitting on the edge of the stage trying to figure out how to get out of it. I plopped down next to him and the first thing I said was, “I swore I would never do another musical again. I have no idea why I am here.”
Now here we are.
It’s not often, if ever, that you find a person who is your perfect creative foil. We are truly like two halves of a person. The things he has given me will be with me forever, and are more valuable than anything you could buy with money.
The thought of creating without him is scary. But that makes me realize I have gotten comfortable. Anthony and I could sit down with nothing and have something brilliant in 30 minutes (OK, that’s pretentious). It’s easy to create with him. There was no worry that the thing we were about to make would suck. We gave each other confidence.
Being scared is good though. Being scared means you’re going to try harder. Being scared means you’re going to discover a new part of yourself. Being scared means you’re going to do something unexpected. If you’re scared, then you are working outside your comfort zone. And getting out of your comfort zone only means you are about to do something different. Something special.
Anthony and I haven’t talked about it, but I know he’s scared too. But that just means he is going to do great things. Things he and I have never even dreamed of.
Good luck, my friend.
Photo: Anthony (Left), Byron (Right) in “Greater Tuna”
