Lately, I spend a lot of time for preparing props. For in-person stage, I hardly use any, but for virtual stage, I’ve been having fun with them. Their appearances last only for a few seconds, a minute at the longest, but they add value to my story. So I always try making the best of them, considering things like timing, angle, sound, size, and sometimes, temperature, too. Yes, seriously! You can call it obsession. I guess that’s where my OCD comes in.
One of my latest props was glasses. I needed to change tone and direction just a tad in my story and glasses would do the job without explanation. I was excited with my vision. I thought that the preparation would be easy-peasy, but it wasn’t. In fact, it took much longer than I thought it would. Picking the right glasses was one issue. How and when to take them off was another. A couple of times, I thought, “Oh, forget about it.” But I did it anyway and fortunately, my effort paid off. After the “Antidote” show, people told me that the glasses were hilarious and added a lot to the story, surprisingly. Then, I got a lovely note from my teacher, Jane Morris:
Congratulations, Miyo! You’ve come so far in being funnier and funnier! Watching you, I can see all kinds of small things we can do to enhance what you’re already doing, which is the way I like to work. You be you. That’s what makes storytelling compelling.
Sometimes…no, often, I wished I could write or tell a story like the wonderful writers and storytellers I admire, but Jane’s note reminded me — I don’t have to be like them. All I need is to just be me.
Now, my brain is spinning with new ideas to make my stories even funnier!
