To Play or Not to Play

Or, "How My Inner-Child Got My Outer-Adult to Play... in a Play.
Even at my age, which is more than a few decades, I'm learning to embrace all of me, even my inner-child. Part of that means allowing my inner-child to let my outer-adult how to have be creative and have fun. Many times, this means peering out from underneath my comfort-zone security blanket. This time, a phrase in an open audition event description for a theatre group in meetup.com caught my attention:
"No theatre experience is necessary, just a desire to have fun!"
I thought, "Hey! I qualify, no experience!" My inner-child squealed with delight and gave a shove to my outer-adult and said, "Go!" So, I went. My only goal was to participate in the audition for a play, something I've never done before. I participated in the audition and had fun. Goal accomplished. Went home.
But, apparently, they weren't done with me. I got a callback. Wow! That meant they liked my first audition and wanted me to return for a second one to see if they would cast me in their play.
I was floored and honored.
So, I went again, auditioned again, and went home again. They would let me know their decision. In the meantime, they invited me to be an understudy even if I wasn't cast in the play. I decided to commit to attending rehearsals and learning all I could even if I didn't get a part.
First, I had to Google 'understudy'.
I needed to see what I committing myself to. It was pretty much what I thought: learn what you can from seasoned actors and step in to read lines for anyone who absent from rehearsal. There was also the possibility of playing a role in the play if the casted actor couldn't attend. I wondered if that was possible; stepping in for an actor who dropped out of the play or got sick or something. 
Long story short (Too late!),
I was ultimately cast in the play... and it was awesome! What a tremendous opportunity! It was challenging, fun, wonderful, and took quite a bit of energy. The directors and other cast members were all terrific people, and I had a very uplifting experience. 
So, if and when my inner-child nudges me again, I'm going to take having fun very seriously.