Why I love theatre

Okay, so it's been three weeks since I last posted. Yes, doing a show while working full-time means I am NEVER home! Or too tired when I am home to post. The show opened this weekend and went very well. Two more weekends left, and I am now reveling in the fact that I have today off with nothing to do and nowhere to be. It's wonderful. Maya and I ran out to get doughnuts this morning, now she's watching TV and I am relaxing in bed. How I've missed this.

I know that many people who aren't involved in theatre don't understand why I put myself through this...the long hours, the time away from my family. So I wrote the following post on facebook to try to sum up why I do theatre and why I need it in my life.:

Fellow cast member, Lee Kelso, asked me last night why we choose to do this crazy thing called theatre. And it got me thinking...why do we? What is it about theatre that has caused so many of us to choose it as a hobby, obssession, or career?


Some of us might do it for the applause and recognition, or the escape from reality, or the challenge of the technical aspects.

After thinking about it, for me, it's the new experiences. Meeting new people - becoming a new person, on-stage and off. I think back to the beginning of my theatre roots, back to high school when I wanted so badly to follow in my sisters' footsteps. Kim and Jennifer were involved in plays and musicals, so what was the younger sister to do to keep up? After that first experience, I was hooked. From my very first show as a Girl #6 in Lil' Abner, to tonight's opening of Dial "M" for Murder, I look back on all of the different experiences that theatre has offered to my life over the past 20-some years.

From the many roles I've played... I've been a maiden in a tower, survived a great Biblical flood on the Ark, attempted murdering a nun (and then shot by said nun), aborted my potentially gay child, stole jewelry off of corpses, seduced and was seduced, sang about lost love, new hope. Each experience something different than before, and so different from my real life.

From the many people I've met...lifelong friends, former castmates that I run into down at Henry's, and most important, true love. My husband did, after all, meet me at an audition, fell in love with me during rehearsals, had our first kiss backstage, proposed to me onstage after a show, even got married on a theatre stage. Theatre is what has brought the most important people into my life.

So, on this anniversary of William Shakespeare's death, and what is apparently also been dubbed "Hug an actor/techie/theatre geek Day", I wish to thank all of my fellow theatre junkies for giving me so many new experiences and new friendships. Break-a-leg to all of my fellow castmates tonight and to all of the other actors and techies taking to a stage this weekend. Before the lights go down and the curtain goes up, remember what it is that makes you love this so much.

Busy, busy

Rehearsals are going well and will start to pick up next week. Show is in three weeks. Not doing too bad on the British accent, but really need to practice it for consistency. We partially rehearsed the murder scene tonight. Now, just to see if I can get through it without actually killing my fellow actor OR myself. This coming from a person who dropped a pound of frozen hamburger on her toe and thought I had broken it tonight. Why do your toes have so many nerve endings to cause such horrible and intense pain when you drop something on them???

Maya starts Spring Break tomorrow. I'm taking some days off so we can spend time together. Planning on going to a movie, seeing friends, Spring cleaning, etc. As long as the weather continues to be nice, I should be able to keep her occupied without either one of us going completely insane.  Hubby informed me that he will be taking her with him next Wednesday to a friend's house for a playdate, so I get the house TO MY SELF for most of the day. Hallelujah!