I Was The Person Who Couldn't Stop Coughing

After hundreds of plays and shows, it finally happened to me last night. At 'Touch of the Poet," two minutes into the show I started a small cough which I couldnt' control. I was missing dialogue trying to suppress this stupid cough.

A guy that sits next to me, gave me a whole package of Halls and I managed to stop, he thought that I was gonna stop breathing.
Luckily after intermission, I was better and I didn't get any dirty looks or anything.

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I realized about 10 minutes before intermission of POET that I had forgotten to turn off my phone, and spent that time willing it not to ring If I Were A Rich Girl.

For coughing stories, at the presentation of OPPOSITE OF SEX, I had a terrible cough, and was popping cough drops, but still having coughing fits - I managed to keep it in, which caused what must have looked like many mini-seizures.

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I had to sit through the whole 1st act of a college production of "Macbeth" which was directed by my partners EX and started coughing from the opening until intermission. I'm sure he truly hated me after that. It was his fault he started it off with fog..that just irritated the scratch in my throat...I couldn't escape because all of the exits were being used by the actors who were carrying live torches. He's just lucky I didn't yell out "OH GOD make it stop" like I usually do. We had to leave after intermission..which I'm sure he was pleased being I ruined Act 1.

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Updated On: 12/3/05 at 11:10 AM

RENT or the coughing?

At a reading of a musical that a friend was involved in back in February, I was seated in the front row of a small loft space. I had a terrible cold and right after the show started, I felt an uncontrollable cough. After 15 minutes, during a scene change, I got up, apologized to my friend (who was standing in the back) and said that there was no way I could stay with such a cough. It wouldn't be fair to the actors and to the potential backers who were in the audience.

It's nice to know that you stayed all the way through. What a trooper! I am sure the audience was thinking "Oh, that poor person with the cough. How awful it must be to have a horrible cough like that and not know how to get out of the theatre until it stops. How terrible they must feel for disrupting the performance and ruining it for everyone else and risk giving whatever they have to everyone around them. I am sure they are as wracked with guilt as they are with the cough. How awful that there is not an usher near by to help the poor tubercular victim to the lobby where they might get a drink of water and take some time to relax and let the coughing subside. I sure do feel sorry for that person." Yea, that is what the audience (and the actor's) were thinking. Good for you!

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This happened to me with the coughing. I couldn't stop for about 2 minutes and worst of all I was in the front row center for Sweet Charity (the tickets were half price too)! It stopped fortunately a few moments after.