Enjoying Every Moment

It was the summer of 2018, and my husband Daniel and I were in Edinburgh, Scotland for the second August in a row. I was producing his one-man comedy show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the largest arts festival in the world, with 50,000 shows playing during the month in this majestic Scottish city. 

We’d decided to participate in the Fringe to hopefully build up Daniel’s comedy career and get him gigs around the world – after all, this was where agents were looking for new talent – and because his grandmother lived in Glasgow. We could celebrate her 95th birthday with her and Daniel’s other family members.

We spent months preparing for the show. Daniel wrote it and revised it over and over again, and we did a practice run at the Hollywood Fringe. It took a long time to secure a venue, find accommodations, print flyers and reach out to reviewers. Daniel did shows six days a week and we spent the rest of the time staying up late at the local hangouts to make connections and flyering to get people to come to the show. 

By the third week, we were so exhausted and a bit disappointed that a huge agent hadn’t discovered Daniel and told him, “I’m going to make you a star, kid!” just like in old timey movies. That’s what we anticipated would happen. But of course, life doesn’t work that way … especially when you’re in show business. 

We were having trouble seeing everything we accomplished and all of the blessings Hashem had sent out way. We were able to spend time with Daniel’s grandma. We were in Edinburgh, a beautiful city, away from the hot and sticky summer in Los Angeles. We had packed out the show every single night. And we were having so much fun.

We focused on the end goal, which was unattainable and out of our control, instead of focusing on all the amazing experiences we were having. 

We focused on the end goal, which was unattainable and out of our control, instead of focusing on all the amazing experiences we were having. One Sunday, though, when we decided to go to a random show about the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy, everything changed. 

The show’s theater was small and seated only 30 people. It was in a black, windowless basement in an administrative building not designed for live entertainment. The one-page program describing the show noted that the two actors were accountants in England, and this was their first Edinburgh Fringe. It was clear that this was not a professional production. I prepared myself for a disaster. 

However, once the actors came on stage and started performing, Daniel and I were thoroughly entertained. They were so convincing as Laurel and Hardy. They made us laugh and even earned some applause from the audience. There were a few small flubs, like when the guy playing Hardy almost fell off his chair, but other than that, it ran pretty smoothly. 

At the end of the show, which turned out to be interesting and hilarious, the actors received a loud round of applause. As the audience members filed out of the room, I could hear one of the actors telling the other, “I think this was our best one yet!” 

“Did you hear that?” I said to Daniel. “That’s so sweet.”

“He’s so happy,” Daniel said.

In that moment, when we heard the pure joy in that actor’s voice, we realized that we hadn’t been prioritizing the right things. Sure, it would have been nice for a huge agent to approach Daniel and make all of his wildest dreams come true. But was that realistic? And in the meantime, why couldn’t we be like these two accountants and just have fun?  

From then on, Daniel and I relaxed and decided on a new goal: we were going to enjoy every last minute we were at the Fringe. We laughed with family and friends. We explored different parts of the city. And we had a lovely Shabbat with his grandma. 

At the end of his run, when we weren’t even thinking about it, Daniel received a formal offer to sign with an agent and play in a bigger theater in Edinburgh the next year. 

And you know what happened with that next show? Well, it was the best one yet. 

Want to reach out? Email me at Kylieol@JewishJournal.com.

Kylie Ora Lobell is the Community Editor of the Jewish Journal.