Of Empty Vessels and Their Potential

In my Philosophy of Religion class, we discussed that an empty vessel is more useful in its emptiness (i.e. a full vessel has fulfilled its purpose and it's just sat there). The empty vessel is still waiting to be filled.

I know this sounds very academic (to me, at least), but I'm about to tear any misconceptions of my philosophical prowess down.

I'm currently equating this to acting, my beloved profession. When I was in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, it was a hit. We added three extra shows and gave our all at every performance. But when I was doing that, I felt like a filled vessel, I couldn't have handled another full play because I'm fairly certain my head would have exploded with it (that's not true, but it was how I felt at the time). I stage managed my friend's one-act to get a fix.

Now I've got a part in one of the senior conservatory shows at Flagler, and a callback for a Directing Class show that I have to leave for in about five minutes or so. I'm also preparing to audition for Barefoot in the Park at Limelight and debating whether reading the play ahead of time would be a help or hindrance. If Thespis decides to smile on me (or fuck with me, however you're looking at it) and I get all three parts, I will still not be a filled vessel. Sure my mind will probably start malfunctioning and Jupiter will appear in my senior seminar philosophy paper, but I'll revise that bridge should I come to it.

Maybe it's a offshoot of the fact I'm buckling down to get a degree in Philosophy (yeah...I don't believe it either), but I've been thinking a lot about my love of acting lately. Sure, I can roll my eyes at the orange wig I wore or hate the corset and red prom dress for their difficulties in getting on without help (Caitlin, Stephanie T and Ronnie are still my heroes for the assistance), but however tired I was emotionally or physically, by the time I was onstage I could have cared less. Whenever I'm on a stage or rehearsing or doing anything related to acting, I get such a rush of joy to be working in this medium that everything else seems silly or inconsequential. I hope that passion stays with me my whole life and in every bit of work I do.