I did a thing. You know the one where you spontaneously sign up for something you only give two seconds thought about with the reason being, “wth, why not!?!” Only to email a few days later to participate in an event they were hosting that weekend.
It took a lot of chutzpah, as they say.
After a long hiatus, I got back on stage and performed a few pieces to an audience of strangers and a few people with whom I met seconds earlier. To say it plainly, I played okay. Not the way that I had envisioned in my head like the prodigal son coming home after all these years and having a party thrown for him. And to be honest, I am okay with that.
Practicing in the comfort of your own home is fine and dandy. The temperature is a comfortable seventy-three and you can start and stop and no one will know. The audience is another dimension of performing and it needs to be practiced as well. And, that is why I did it.
The road back to performing is narrow but rewarding if you stay the path regardless of triumphs or setbacks. You’re only as good as your last performance. Also, you only get the reward if you try and keep trying no matter how small the victory.
