Following each performance of "My Three Angels," I join my fellow cast members in the corridor to meet and greet the audience. We thank them for attending, and if we're lucky they have kind things to say about the performance.

Well, Saturday night, a woman approached me, got a good look at my face, and immediately took on a disappointed look.

"You're wearing makeup," she said, dejectedly. "I saw you from the audience and thought you had the most beautiful eyes."

Gee, ma'am, I'm sorry to disappoint you.

Stage makeup, of course, is a given in live theatre, for both genders. The bright lights which enable the audience to see you clearly in a large auditorium tend to wash out your facial features. (Smaller, more intimate venues may not require makeup, depending on how they are lit.) So you put on pancake makeup, and blush, and what have you, overemphasizing your features. The makeup looks good on stage, as seen by the audience but ridiculous and garish when seen close-up under normal light. Since I only do a play every few years, I'm not too experienced, and I had probably used more or darker eyeliner than needed, giving me those dark, mysterious eyes with which my would-be admirer was so taken.

You're supposed to use the pancake makeup on all your exposed skin, or else when you scratch your nose your hand will be a different color than your cheek. One of my cast-mates appears in a nightshirt in one scene, and didn't want to have to make up his calves for every performance, so he got his wife to buy him some knee-high stockings.

It's all for the love of the theatre.

Our first weekend of the play went about as well as can be expected. We had a last-minute cast change, and so we were still in turmoil and there was a line missed here or there. But the audiences didn't seem to notice, much less mind.

Our Saturday night show was hit by the cold snap and the UT game, and had embarrassingly-low turnout. But we rebounded on Sunday. Often, the Sunday matinee crowd isn't as responsive as the crowds at the Friday and Saturday evening shows. But in this case, our Sunday crowd was larger than Saturday night's and was as enthusiastic as we could have asked.

We had an unwanted musical soundtrack on Sunday -- percussion from a Native American pow-wow taking place right outside, on the grounds of South Jackson Civic Center. The drums were heard at several points during our performance.

But the show must go on.

In all seriousness, I am having a blast with this production. I have the biggest part I've ever played, and lots of funny lines and business. I am so glad I decided to try out.

We conclude our run this Friday and Saturday at 7:30 each night. Seats are still available; call (931) 581-7767 or e-mail tickets@communityplayhouse.org . We'd love to see you there.

Just remember: maybe it's Maybelline.

John I. Carney is city editor of the Times-Gazette and covers county government and other topics. His home page is lakeneuron.com.