#meanwhile charlie just thought it was nice to play keyboard/piano during class and listen to music

[a-a-a-anon]

does anyone else think Charlie probably took drama class back in high school with Dee?

the man obviously loves musical theatre since he wrote Nightman Cometh and dressed up as the Phantom Of The Opera for Halloween - admittedly, he wasn’t 100% sure who the Phantom was but saying “he eats theatre people” is pretty close to “he kills theatre people”. he probably saw/helped out on their high school's production of Phantom in HS and then a decade later when pressed to answer who the character was that was the best connection Charlie could make.

and remember when (1) Charlie helped Dee film her terrible characters and even attempted to spice the skits up, (2) attempted street performances with her, (3) proposed they go out and do Def Poetry at a club together, (4) and watched her perform at a comedy club and then afterwards performed as well (with the same level of anxiety she had)? what if she started performing with him/in front of him in high school drama class and then it just became a Thing they do sometimes (even though Charlie still thinks she's pretty much talentless. though, if you notice at the start of 11x04, he isn't joining in with Dennis and Mac as they say it would be impossible for Dee to be in a real movie/watching the movie would be a waste of time, and he also isn't skeptical like they are when Grieco shows up, he's just like "i love that guy!" ...granted, Charlie does join in on calling Dee's movie a porno when the BJ starts)

another reason that he’d take drama? because Charlie loves costumes/characters/personas - can't forget the times he became Greenman, Bob Dylan, casual Texas oil tycoon millionaire Hoss Bonaventure, Richard Grieco, all-American/Springsteen Charlie, Wildcard Charlie, etc. it seems pretty much everyone in the Gang likes doing characters sometimes (such as Mac insisting on being a Swedish plumber or Dennis and Frank really embracing their policemen guise) but to me it seems Charlie and Dee like to do it the most often and even have reoccurring characters they pull out sometimes

last piece of evidence: in 03x09, Charlie says he would be comfortable playing keyboard in front of a crowd as long as he’s “in the back of the stage or behind some sort of curtain”... who wants to guess he played piano backstage or was otherwise hidden from the audience as he supplied the music for the singers/performers of his drama class?