Oh, man. So, on the one hand this is kind of a funny thing that I could easily answer with a flippant “well, duh.” On the other hand? This hits kind of hard. I was quite literally thinking about my acting career this morning while I was doing my chores, and I started to wonder if I was being disingenuous by claiming that I am a professional actor in the Tampa Bay Area.

At this point it feels more accurate to say that I was.

I did my first professional gig with Jobsite back in late 2001/early 2002. For the most part, I’ve been on stage to some degree every year since. There were years when I was in back-to-back productions and hardly ever spent time at home, and there were years when I was in maybe one show or a staged reading, but for almost twenty years I was a presence around these parts, even if I wasn’t a “household name” (Tampa Famous, as we like to call it, which isn’t really all that famous but someone might recognize you at the store).

And then 2019 happened, and our world turned upside down.

And then 2020 happened, and everyone’s world turned upside down.

And then, just as I was getting back into the swing of things (I joined the board at Lab Theater Project and was cast in the Jobsite re-mount of Picasso at the Lapin Agile), I was diagnosed with cancer. This was compounded by a major upheaval in my family that has basically destroyed the entire concept of “family” that I have ever known.

I have not been on stage since I performed in The Meredith Brothers back in 2020. It’s been over three years, and in terms of treating my cancer that doesn’t seem likely to change any time in the near future (I’m working on another post with those updates).

So, yeah. I don’t really feel like an actor any more. I feel like a has-been.

And yet, in this state, myself almost despising; Haply I think on the word of Mr. William Shatner and then my state…ok, I can’t do any more of that to Shakespeare, but this quote does come to mind.

Has been implies failure. Not so.

Has been’s history. Has been, was.

Has been, might again.

William shatner, “has been”. From the album of the same name