A showman does not mean just a singer, a dancer, or an actor — a showman means one who does it all. My showman skills — or severe lack thereof — were quickly realized in my high school choir and a few homemade “scary” movies filmed with some childhood friends. The choir experience I will spare. (Simply: the choir sounded harmonious when my vocals were silent.)

 

As for the homemade flicks, my friends and I made them for a high-school class, and I tabbed myself as lead actor. The thought of fulfilling a different persona, along the likes of Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump or Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne, fascinated me. However, when the small video camera’s red light started blinking, this fascination remained solely and only a thought. My nerves kicked in, the acting turned our scary theme into a horror movie satire, and I immediately accepted that neither Broadway nor Las Vegas would be my future workplace.

 

But my inability to mirror Fred Astaire’s, Sammy Davis, Jr.’s, Julie Andrews’, Frank Sinatra’s, and Gene Kelly’s singing, dancing, acting skills makes the showman craft that much more enchanting and beautiful. It is a craft I yearn for and deem as the ultimate escape. However, it is something I can only appreciate as an outsider.

 

I love my escape, I love my job, but both are my reality. And, unfortunately, reality is no dream.