In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. Five hundred years later, I was in the 4th grade and landed a prime role in a play about Columbus.

I won’t bury the lede–here’s the video of that sweet production:

The show is called “In Quest of Columbus” and features what I believe is the entire 4th grade at Floris Elementary that year. The real highlight for me comes around the 13:45 mark, where I think I tell the girl standing next to me that I disagree by saying “you’re all wet.” Did this play somehow get set in the 1920s?

I vaguely remember some kind of audition process, and I’m glad I didn’t end up as one of the nameless, Hawaiian shirt-wearing chorus folks. Both of my current roommates suffered that fate, though one of them didn’t even remember he was in the play at all until I explained the whole thing. I just asked the other one, and he didn’t recall it at all.

I think my twin sister is one of the “cabin crew” but I’m not 100 percent on that. Actually, that sounds like a terrible thing to say. Let me look again…There she is! Ok, definitely a pirate. I mean, crew person.

It is interesting to look back at my classmates, with so many of them easily recognizable (probably because we went to the same high school as well). But then there are a bunch of faces that look completely foreign. In my group of “explorers” I can name eight of the other 12 kids. Two look sort of familiar, and I might guess one of their names. Those last two though, I haven’t the foggiest clue where they came from or where they went.

Also note that I may be the fourth tallest one that stage–not a usual sight.

I must say that I nailed the basic requirements of an elementary school actor, mainly that I didn’t say my lines as quickly as humanly possible. I do wave my arms a lot to make emphatic points about every single word I am saying. I guess I thought the audience really needed to pay attention to my message.

Another highlight comes at the 23:30 mark as we wake up in a sort of camp-like scenario. I remember struggling with this first line in rehearsals–there are actual words I was supposed to say but it was to be done in a sort of yawning fashion. It came out as complete nonsense…but it got a laugh!

Alas, there was no Oscar for my performance. Maybe next time.