A Real Live Actress I drove down to New Jersey this weekend, no mean feat for a hobbit like me, but boy was it worth it. I went to see two one-act plays at Drew University, "The Author's Voice" and "The Actor's Nightmare."

My daughter Sarah was in "The Actor's Nighmare," a brilliant play about a recurring dream that actors, both amateur and professional, all have, when the director tells you that Edwin has been in a car accident and you have to play the role and you don't know the lines and you don't even know what play it is.

So there are sections from Noel Coward's "Private Lives" and "Hamlet" and Samuel Beckett's "Endgame" and "A Man for all Seasons," and probably others.

Besides doing a star turn as Ophelia, Sarah played Amanda in "Private Lives" -- decked out in a Roaring Twenties Charleston-era dress -- and she was so glamorous and delivered her lines so perfectly, I saw right there and then, not a student in a college production, but a real live actress, a great actress, just like her great-grandma said.

I know I'm not impartial, but I know the real thing when I see it, and it's a great delight to see it all coming true. I saw so much of her mother -- grace and charm and confidence. I can say nice things about my ex here because she never reads my blog. Don't tell her!

All the other actors were excellent, too, as was the set design, the lighting, the costumes, the directing, the props, the music, you name it -- Go Drew U!

It's a great place to learn the craft of theater.  ¶ 6:51 PM