Long-time actor Jim McMurtry hopes he won’t have to take the stage at the Capital City Amphitheater when the Southern Shakespeare Company presents “Twelfth Night” May 6-9 at Capital City Amphitheater.

He recognizes that this statement is fairly bizarre, but as the understudy for Malvolio, the play’s main antagonist, he is more than happy to take on the challenges of memorization and preparing for the unexpected.

“Some actors think of [the understudy] as a thankless job, but it is very necessary, especially in the times of COVID when you have to be ready for anything,” says McMurtry. “It’s a large line load, but at my age that’s not easy. So, I took this as a challenge to learn all the lines without the benefit of the blocking or the interaction with other actors, and to still be ready to step in if needed.”

McMurtry, 71, enjoys tackling the mental and time-consuming puzzle of memorization, especially since retiring from his 30-year career as a letter carrier. This role will be his first chance to flirt with the possibility of being onstage since the pandemic shut down theaters across the world.

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