I am exhausted!
Over the past 4 months, I have been involved in 3 different musical productions and put together 1 studio concert. If you’ve never been involved in a theatrical production, let me tell you, it is no easy feat. When the curtain rises and the actors go out on stage, this is actually the end of a long and arduous process. The audience never sees all of the chaos and hard work that went into the creation of it and what is going on backstage to keep it going.
A production is like a giant puzzle with dozens of moving pieces that have to come together at the right time in order to create the magic that is live theater. It’s amazing! There are teams of people that each work on their own section of the puzzle. There is the lighting and sound crew; the set crew; the costume and props crew; the stage directors and managers; the musical crew; and, of course, the performers. This doesn’t include the non-production crew (i.e. the marketing people, the fundraising people, the event organizers, etc). And what usually happens, is that a lot of these very important jobs are run by a very small group; sometimes by just one person. It’s exhausting and exciting all at the same time.
Those countless hours of practicing, studying, meetings, and rehearsals culminate into a moment of magic that is unlike any other.
It’s hard to describe the feeling of walking onstage in front of an audience. For some of you reading this, that may describe your worst nightmare. But for those of us who love performing, it is the ultimate rush. It is the thing that fills us with joy. There are only a select few people who are really made for this type of work. It’s hard-really hard. It’s hundreds of hours of practice. It’s sitting at the piano or dancing in front of the mirror, going over lines, and researching a character; It’s memorizing, translating, and interpreting; It’s hours of driving, lots of caffeine, lack of sleep, and sometimes a poor diet. And that’s all before you start rehearsing on stage! But then… it all comes together and it’s like… home.
For those of you reading this who are performers, go out and make magic. Practice your craft. Get on stage and brighten the world. For those of you who are not performers, we need you. We need you! We need people who will support our craziness. We need to make you laugh and cry. We need your applause. We appreciate you.
Over the course of my theatrical life, I have experienced every part of theater life. I have been the performer, the director, the event organizer, the marketing crew, and the audience member. I am exhausted! And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Thank you for your support!
Fran