Sometimes You Have To Be Darth Vader Without A Mask And Make Do
As an actor, you do all sorts of jobs to make ends meet. One that is probably the most challenging on a self-respect level is dressing up as a superhero for childrens’ birthdays. I can’t say what it’s like for women being, more often than not, princesses. Although, I see a lot of actor friends in this field posting pictures of themselves as Ariel or Cinderella on social media and owning it. You’ll be hardpressed to find many men posting photos of themselves as Spiderman or Batman. Sure, on their way to a Con of some sort, but not on their way to a birthday party. There’s all sorts of theories of fragile masculinity and the like to be tied to this phenomena, but that isn’t what this post is about. Other than to understand this work can be awkward at times.
Another factor in this biz is dealing with children who are older and far more consciously aware than I was when I was their ages. They know you’re not the real batman and that you were hired to entertain them. Often times, the parents leaving you to babysit while they drink with the other parents.
However, sometimes when you get that sweet age group, the most magical thing happens where you show up to the party and the birthday boy or girl is so overwhelmed by you (the superhero) coming to their party that all they can do is slowly walk up to you and hug you. That’s when it’s amazing and the parents love you as oppose to feel bad for you.
One particular birthday gathering was a duo job for Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader for a Star Wars themed party. Obi-Wan was played by an older gentleman in his fifties, and I was to play Darth Vader. If you have ever met me, I could maybe get away with Anakin in the prequels, but not classic Darth Vader. However, with the mask, my height and some voice work I could make it work.
We worked on this scripted bit for the kids where Obi-Wan meets with the padawans first and then goes into a “training course”. Obi-Wan teaches them a simple set of stage combat moves and Darth Vader shows up to challenge them. I, of course, would let them win. Easy enough.
We agreed that he would pick up the costumes at the company we worked for’s warehouse, come pick me up and drive us the hour and a half to the party. He showed up to my apartment, and showed me the costume he grabbed for me.
“Oooo, hey, I’m not seeing the helmet”, I said to Obi-Wan.
He had a small meltdown. The traffic was awful and going back to get it at the warehouse was completely out of the picture. We were already running a bit behind. We decided the best thing would be to get to the party, explain the situation to our boss, and see what they said.
I’m not blaming him. I could have texted him and made sure he had everything. I could have gotten the costume myself. He owned it though. The boss told him the family was not happy and he said whatever discount the company gave them to take it from his pay. All the while this apologizing is happening, I was trying to figure out how to play this off. I was terrified.
We got to the venue and the parents were visibly not happy to see who was to play Vader without his helmet. We met them in the foyer as the children were in the back livingroom waiting for their special guests. Some of them got a look of me and seemed to know what was up. There were looks of skepticism, but also hope and excitement for what was going to happen. As they say for any live performance, “the show must go on”.
I waited for my entrance in the bathroom as Obi-Wan went through his script. I was still anxious as to how this would go down. Would they be bored with me? Will they be super disappointed and hate this birthday party? Was the birthday boy going to remember this as the worst birthday ever?
I couldn’t let any of that happen. All that was on the line forced me to put forth my best performance to date. This birthday wasn’t going to suck because I wasn’t wearing a helmet. I came out on my cue, still did the voice and was as menacing as I could possibly be. I wasn’t going to go light on these padawans (in a fun, pretend way, of course). Some of them commented on my lack of helmet and I owned it. I told them I took it off to better my vision to destroy them. They loved it.
We went through the moves they learned from Obi-Wan several times for each kid and the excitement was starting to wane. It was here I decided to improvise and start taking them on 2 to 3 at a time. Many times did they whap me with their plastic lightsabers, but it was worth it. It then divulged into a free for all and when it was all said and done we rested, Obi-Wan and I got to know them all, and we ate cake.
In life, we have this great feature in us to forecast what life is going to bring us based on the decisions we make. However, rarely does what I plan to happen, happen. The children at the party quickly got over my lack of helmet. They had something most of us adults lack, imagination. They wanted someone to sword fight with more than a legit looking Darth Vader showing up to the party.
There were moments where I felt right to show up to this party mad at my partner and the situation, but what good would that have done? That would have been selfish. I learned to focus on what mattered, those kids and the fun they wanted to have.
A common phrase “The play is the thing…” from “The play is the thing wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king” comes from Hamlet by Shakespeare. That beginning phrase of the full line is used in a lot of marketing promos and examined in academic papers. One idea that was proposed in an academic paper, I can’t remember the title of or who wrote it, is the notion that the play is the thing; you’re not. It’s the bigger picture that matters. Not your thoughts and feelings on the matter.
This goes for most things in life. Your thoughts and feelings matter, but are you being selfish about it? Can you kill your ego to put a situation or others ahead of you and your feelings? I’m still learning to do this, but it has served me more to be more concerned for the “play” than myself.
