Standing on stage alone, knowing there was nowhere to escape to or no-one to hide behind and about to speak the first lines of his one-man stage show, Ryan Richards had never been more nervous.
''In my head it was really funny, but I'd done this alone, so those first 30 seconds I was ridiculously nervous. The second I got my first laugh, I was like, `Thank God'.
''If I lost a line there is no-one up there to save me.''
A Boy Wonder is a comedy based around two scouts' friendship and their mission to save everything they have sworn to protect.
Having debuted in Auckland last year to good reviews, Mr Richards decided to bring the production home to Otago and Southland.
He grew up in Mosgiel and attended The Taieri High School before heading off to drama school in Wellington, set on becoming a serious actor.
He headed north to take up acting offers in Auckland after his graduation and had stayed. It was where he discovered a love for comedy.
''I ended up being cast in ads as the goofball, in the looser characters and I discovered I quite enjoyed making people laugh.''
So when the screen work dried up, (yes, he has appeared in Shortland Street) he and his friends decided to put some shows on themselves.
''I found doing those shows I loved theatre. It's not like the screen where you always have the option of another take.''
This time he decided to have a go himself doing a solo comedy play.
''I rang up Basement Theatre and asked if they'd be interested. Miraculously, they said yes.
''So in five months I knew I'd be up on stage for an hour by myself.''
Then came the hard work of developing the play, which he knew he wanted to be ''very, very silly'' and to incorporate everything he had ever wanted to do on stage.
His first thoughts were based around a superhero but after more consideration he remembered the good times of being a scout.
''I loved being a scout and the scouting world has heaps of opportunity for comedy with the promise and sign.''
Given his background growing up in small-town New Zealand and many visits to Central Otago - especially the requisite stop in Roxburgh for a Jimmy's Pie - the setting for the play had become obvious.
So the play developed around the small-town business icon - Jimmy's Pies - coming under threat from corporate giants. Jimmy's Pies owner Jim is the scout leader and the main character of the show.
''Jimmy is a very likeable character with a good sense of humour, a real South Island Kiwi bloke.''
Bizarrely enough, Mr Richards discovered his play echoed real life. When he rang Dennis Kilpatrick of Jimmy's Pies to ask if it was OK to use his business name in the play, he found out Mr Kilpatrick had been a scout leader in the past.
''So there was a real-life scout leader Jim.''
The play was quite physical as two of the characters, both played by Mr Richards, fought each other and, in some scenes, as he changed between as many as four characters.
''I'm drenched from head to toe in sweat. I didn't need any exercise over that performance period.''
Altogether there were five central characters that he played and three or four others, including Jim's wife, a 50-year-old.
While the play captured the humour in small-town life and the scouting movement, it was done in a light-hearted way.
''A lot of scouts have come along, they really get a kick out of it.''
There was the odd ''adult'' theme to the play but it was subtle, he said.
''The show is designed to make people laugh. It's very silly and very fun. We do the final battle on the banks of the Clutha River itself.''
Given the positive response from the Auckland audience he decided to bring the play ''back to its roots'' so he developed it further over the summer and with a new set design and production values it was ready to hit the road.
''I think the locals will really get a kick out of it.''
He and a technician would take the show through Otago and Southland for a few weeks, travelling in a van filled with the set and lights.
With friends and family still in the region, he was looking forward to coming home.
''It's nice to be coming home for work and it'll be a holiday for me too. I'm hoping to get the fishing rod out and cast it into the Clutha.''
