What was that?!

I am currently playing the part of Elvira in Noel Coward's BLITHE SPIRIT.

It's not much of challenge for me to play this part-I just did Noel Coward's PRIVATE LIVES, and I'm familiar with the style of his shows and-it's a bit of type casting--I ususally play the hot mess in a show.

This time I'm the dead hot mess.

What was a challenge was actually getting cast.  I've auditioned 4 times before at this theater only to be turned down for other roles.  So, I had a lot to prove.  I admit.  I had every intention of making them regret that I had never been cast before.  There's only one way to do that--be fantastic on stage. 

and I'm doing that.  Thank you very much!  I recieved a glowing review too.  So I feel I've been successful and things were going well.

I was happy to be part of the theater finally. Funny, though, my family knows how hard I tried to get in with this group, and anytime I had a small complaint about the production of the show--it was tossed in my face with a, "WELL YOU WANTED TO BE THERE SO BAD!"  as if I was suppose to pretend it was all sunshine and flowers all the time, and i was unreasonable to be realistic So, that's annoying.

but that''s not the problem.

Opening night, I was on stage and things were going great.  At the end of Act 2 Scene 3 where Charles finds out that Elvira has killed Ruth, and Ruth comes back to haunt Elvira--Elvira is already a ghost, by the way.

So, there' I am on stage, pretending to be attacked by a ghost (and esslentially beating myself up very much like Steve Martin after he's posessed by Lilly Tomlin in ALL OF ME) when I turn to make my great exit--and I feel a *POP* in my right calf muscle.

What was that?! I thought, as I hallored ---"OhhhhRuth!  LET GO!" and twisted my arm behind my own back.

I took a step to go--and I couldn't use my leg.

I took another step and hobbled--but it didnt' hurt.

When I took the third step to dramatically throw myself through the french doors--which I normally do with such force that the tech crew asked me to stop because I was breaking the doors--I gimped through and pushed it with my hand got off stage and crupmled to the

wall and thought "If I were in the NFL--this could end my carreer --and Oh Shit!  I have to run a 5k in 4 weeks! and is that what it feels like when a muscle tears it's self from the bone?  Ahhh!  That''s not good  Ewwww, why did it go pop....eeewwwww.!"

I had no idea what I had done to my leg.  all I did was turn around!

I'm in pretty good shape--and I wasn't doing anything out of my physical ability--so to feel that *pop* was so unusual.

I had a lot of pain and swelling, and no real idea what I had done.  I couldn't put weight on my leg for a few days, --but if i kept moving it felt better than if I rested it--and gradually it got better, so i figured it was a pulled muscle, and that pop I felt, (which every one tried to tell my was impossible to feel a muscle pop--again as if I'm unreasonable) was just a wierd muscle twist.

I went back out on stage for ACT 3 but I didn't move around much, and I missed several lines due to distracting pain that was settling in on me.

Yesterday, I noticed huge bruising and swelling and pain  in my lower calf and ankle and I wondered if that *pop* I felt wasn't one of my vericose veins giving up at the worst moment. I don't know if  veins --even the tired ones--burst like bubbles while you are using them --but I will never move from describing the sensation as a "pop" or a bubble bursting--and since I do have some bad veins due to standing and working for the past 20 years-- I worried about getting a blood clot--but then I wasn't too concerned-- I'm sure I'll either feel that develop or die unaware. People kkeep saying go to the doctor--go to the doctor--but he's going to make it worse.

If it weren't getting better, and it is--I would go--but there's nothing he can do except take my 20 dollar co-pay and schedule another 20 dollar co-pay for me to give him.

I have 6 more shows to do--and hopefully my leg will hold up. If it's not better in a week I'll go to the doctor, and I think I'll be getting that vein removal surgery sooner than I was planning. 

I've realized that I hesitated to tell this story for fear of getting unwanted medical advice, but I am curious to know if anyone ever felt thier leg "pop" or burst like a bubble.