After a devastating ten-day shutdown at the beginning of our run, the @diversionarysd team decided our show needed an official understudy/swing situation (shows/theatres of this size don’t always have this, especially early in the run). San Diego is a BUSY theatre town, and nearly every human was battling COVID, so our options were limited. I knew we collectively couldn’t watch the show get shut down again, so I volunteered to be the male understudy (the INCREDIBLE @kellyprendergast1 filled in for the female characters). After all, I DO have a degree in this stuff, and who knows the show better than the writer, right?! Well, on Saturday, that degree got dusted off and the writer went on stage in his first musical in...FOURTEEN YEARS! I might have only had four hours’ notice, but I had infinite love and support from the whole Eighty-Sixed family. I’m truly honored and humbled by the support I got...and honestly really proud of myself for doing something I didn’t think I’d ever do again. AND I got to do it in front of all my beloved college buddies! It was wild. Now, I’m NOT looking to make a habit out of it (and can’t wait for the industry to figure out more sustainable ways to exist in these new times), but this weekend was a reminder that we can do hard, scary things to protect the things we love, and, WOW, do I love this show and its people💜