The Guts and the Glory

I'm just interested to know where all of you out there who have made theatre your passion got the guts to go for it. I'm sure there are lots of people sitting behind desks all along St George's Terrace - or flipping McDonald's burgers for that matter - wishing that maybe they had given it a try. Acting is a dream that everybody keeps to themselves. No matter who you are I think it takes guts to say "I want to act" or "I want to write".
Am I the only chicken out there?

Well, not all of us are getting paid for it so don't think that we've given up EVERYTHING to persue 'the dream'...
Most of us have ordinary jobs or go to uni or whatever and make time for theatre stuff.
No, you're not the only chicken, I have many friends who say the same thing to me.
Personally, I think theatre is fun, its something I've done for as long as I can remember and I don't think its a question of guts. I have confidence in my abilities.
The thing I most often compare it to is sport. To me, sport is the real challenge. You see, a play is like a team game, it has to be a well-oiled machine, everyone has to work precisely together. If you have real confidence in yourself and your 'team-mates' (cast and crew) its more of an adrenalin rush than something terrifying. However, because I have less confidence in my athletic abilities, I find myself amazed at the guts of sportspeople. I will never forget the time I was asked to play a game of basketball at uni. I was so sacred I could barely stand up. I was convinced I would let the team down, everyone would be staring at me, and I would make a fool out of myself. The coach laughed and said, "All this from an ACTOR??"
In the end, I didn't have to play - the other team forfeited...

So its all relative - you're not really a chicken ;)
Hugs ~ Trace.
P.S: Thanks for changing the subject.