I’m sitting in rehearsal with K. Lorrel Manning, working on his one-person show, “Lost…Found.”
He says a line about his father. He stops, overcome with emotion.
“That just hit me so hard for the first time.”
I look at Christine Cirker, my co-director, who catches my gaze. The room gets quiet. Christine and I watch, wait, and listen.
Lorrel continues telling the story. He plays a record, the first song he fell in love with. He starts dancing around the room. I’m deeply moved and in awe of these childlike moves that are taking over his body.
He continues with the story, says a line, and stops.
“Wait a minute, that’s not really what happened. This is what happened.”
Something deep hits him. He starts laughing and pacing around the room.
Christine and I pause and suggest he change the line to accurately reflect what was said.
We continue talking, writing, and cutting lines that aren’t helping to serve the story.
I’m honored to be sitting in the room witnessing this process.
I have known K. Lorrel Manning for over twenty years. I have shared many experiences with him. I heard this reading for the first time at TBG in the fall of 2023. Through his writing, I found out things about Lorrel that I never, ever knew – mind-blowing things. I’m thankful that his writing gives him the opportunity to share himself on a deeper level.
Now audiences are enjoying Lorrel’s transcendent story, and we are repeatedly hearing, “This is Beautiful!” “So Uplifting!” “So Human!”
And it is all those things for sure.
Someone once said, “Art heals the world.” I think they’re right. It provides the invitation for us to heal ourselves and share stories that heal others.
– Lee
“Lost…Found” resumes performances January 26. Tickets are available here.
Check out TBG’s full schedule of classes.