Should You Rehearse When You're Sick?

There really is no way to do this. You can't expect to rehearse for a play or gig when your vocal range has dropped two octaves and you're struggling to stay conscious.

I picked up the flu on Tuesday and these last three days I've been struggling just to get out of bed and forcing myself to eat at least a yoplait. Then there's my commitment to "The Last Days of Judas Iscariot". It's not fair for my fellow actors and the director to have to work around my absence, but then again, I can't really be of much help if I'm barely able to breathe.

Gus Ripa, our director, is very lenient on sickness issues. He always says we should leave if we have to but deep down inside, almost every actor that's been getting sick is saying, "The show must go on."

It's a good thing I got sick on a relatively early stage of rehearsals because if it had been two weeks from now, we'd be in some serious trouble.

So what's more important? Getting well for the long run of the show or learning a few notes that you won't even be able to remember because your fever-ingested head can't even process how the heck you got out of bed today?