A conversation with two Christian Scientists from the cast of the Tony-Award-winning Broadway musical The Drowsy Chaperone.

It just happens that the cast of the highly successful touring production of the Broadway musical The Drowsy Chaperone includes three Christian Scientists. This revved-up spoof of a 1920s song-and-dance frolic won no fewer than five Tony Awards in 2006.

The actors include Georgia Engel, who was in the original cast on Broadway and is widely known for her roles in several acclaimed TV shows; musician, and stage and screen actor, Cliff Bemis, whom audiences may know as the TV spokesman for the International House of Pancakes; and actor, singer, and dancer, Mark Ledbetter, who has played in several Broadway shows and made two movies.

Georgia Engel, who at the time of the interview was busy with a TV commitment, told her story in a Sentinel article in the June 30, 2003, issue, so Senior Writer Kim Shippey invited Cliff and Mark to speak with him and share their stories about the interaction among the three of them as they go on stage each night.

"We're a close-knit team," said Cliff Bemis. "We spend a lot of time together. And what we've most enjoyed about this tour is that we can support one another so easily in prayer. If one of us is not feeling well, all we have to do is look at the others and we know what's going on. It's like an unspoken language. And straightaway we can pray for one another.

"Also, every night we have what we call our circle of gratitude. It's for anybody who wants to join in. It's informal, non-denominational. Before the curtain goes up, the stage manager announces, 'Five minutes, everybody! The circle of gratitude will be meeting stage right,' and we come together. We pray, each in our own way, for God's protection, and that our cast will be uplifted—and our audience, too."

"About half the cast, depending on their schedules, join the circle," adds Mark Ledbetter. "It's just a wonderful opportunity for us to step outside of the realm we're in. Whatever the city, it brings focus. It allows us to take a moment of silence to spiritually prepare ourselves for the show. Somebody—maybe an actor or a crew member—will come up with a Bible passage they've discovered during the day, or oftentimes Cliff or Georgia or I will quote something from Science and Health or a hymn we've found helpful that day. It certainly calms us before we go into this whirlwind of a show eight times a week, and we find it turns it into a very harmonious and positively wonderful experience."

Cliff and Mark talked at some length about the challenges actors face today, and Cliff was quick to respond with some of the common concerns: "Where's that next job coming from? Will I be working again? Can I continue to work? All of those things." He cited the Chaperone tour as an example. "When the casting was announced for this show, it was at a time when my work was in one of its slow periods, which happens to most actors. I'd had some major disappointments and was just not quite sure where things were going to go. One day I literally cried out, 'Please, God, tell me what to do' I had to really pray to know that my needs were going to be met, that there was the right job out there for me. Deep down I knew that it was my relationship with God that mattered far more than my connections with agents or casting directors.

"Within a week, the audition for this show came along and I got the job. The other remarkable thing is that I quickly found someone to rent my house while I was on tour. My next-door neighbor needed a place to live for a year while his place was being redone—taken down to the studs and the wiring. So he was delighted to be able to rent my house, which was so close to the restoration that he could keep an eye on progress. Both of our needs were beautifully met!"

Mark has felt similar anxiety when auditioning for shows. He explains that you go into a room where there are five or six people sitting behind a table, along with casting directors, directors, musical directors, choreographers, producers, and all of their assistants. "It's very difficult," he says. "And then you have all the people waiting outside, auditioning 'against' you for the same role. It's hard not to think that the people behind the table are the ones in charge, deciding your fate—whether you're going to work, or whether you're good enough, or whether they like you.

"Early on, praying with a Christian Science practitioner on such occasions, I really tried to clarify who was in charge, and soon realized it was none of those people. The one divine Mind was placing me where I'm supposed to be at all times. I knew that if it was God's plan for me to do a show, it would soon become clear to all of us in that room. For me, praying like that takes the animosity, the fear, the competitiveness out of auditions. No one's against me. I'm simply there to express God in whatever way He directs me.

"Probably the first hymn I ever memorized was 'Shepherd, show me how to go.' Another was 'In heavenly Love abiding, / No change my heart shall fear' (Christian Science Hymnal, Nos. 304, 148). Those hymns have carried me through many successful auditions."

Mark also mentioned a serious fall he'd had while rehearsing a number on roller skates, on which he'd had no prior training or skills. "I wasn't really a roller skater at all, so it was the most difficult 'dancing' I'd ever had to learn," he explained.

After the fall, Mark, Cliff, and Georgia all prayed together. They recognized the fact that the divine Mind was completely in control of the situation. "I just knew that nothing could keep me from doing my job—and doing it with complete freedom," recalls Mark. "Nothing could undermine my mobility, or the harmony of those rehearsals and the progress of the show."

For several days, Cliff and Georgia happily stayed late in the theater with Mark, supporting him in prayer, as he gradually regained his confidence, and soon wobbled his way back onto his skates. "We knew that it was God's power that had brought the healing, and it was no surprise to us that I was in good shape before the show actually opened."

Mark and Cliff have strong feelings about the contribution actors can make not just in the theater but in the communities they reach through their work.

"What comes first to mind," says Cliff, "is love. People who are coming from a place of love in their lives have so much to share. Every day I try to recognize that we all are created in God's image, but, at the same time, I must be patient in accepting that not everybody sees that connection or is quite so aware of the goodness of God's creation. Sometimes I just strip all hesitation away and say, 'You know what? My job here is to love. If nothing else, I've got to show more love.' And quickly things become shining and clear. So when we come from that point of view, we just can't lose."

"Cliff is so right," says Mark. "It's the love, truth, and grace that come from God that we need to bring to every performance in every show. As Mary Baker Eddy said: 'Human theories are helpless to make man harmonious or immortal, since he is so already, according to Christian Science. Our only need is to know this and reduce to practice the real man's divine Principle, Love'" (Science and Health, p. 490).

"Also," adds Cliff, "when those of us who are actors realize that Love is an endless well that we can draw upon, we discover that there's enough work for everybody, enough gratitude for everybody, and more than enough applause to go around."

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