Working in the theatre will change you. It's an undeniable truth. It doesn't matter if you are Crying Woman #5, the Phantom himself, or work in the booth. Theatre will change who you are as a person, and that's not a bad thing. I still carry the lessons I've learned from the shows I've done like a handprint on my heart.
1. Teamwork
When there's only a week until opening and you have to block the last two scenes, bows, and run dress rehearsals, you really have to pull together and become a team. If someone needs help with their costume change, you roll up your sleeves and scrub their beard off while they change pants.
2. Modesty is overrated
When you're changing in a room up with upwards of 60 other girls, there's bound to be some mild nudity. When the room gets smaller, the girls get closer. I've helped an ex-boyfriend change pants backstage while Annie's fellow orphans scampered around. There was no modesty to be had.
3. How to get ready
Guys like to say that girls take forever to get ready. This is definitely the case for theatre girls, but it isn't because it takes us forever to put on clothes, I can tell you that much. We have perfected every aspect of getting ready, even if it takes us a little longer. Trust me, it's worth it.
4. Patience
You have to hold the same pose for what feels like hours for them to set lights. That kind of waiting gives you plenty of patience. As long as you're not waiting for opening night that is...
5. Humility
I don't care if you were the Phantom. The show would not go on without the directors, the orchestra, the makeup artists, costume department, stage hands, stage managers, set builders, lighting and sound crews, etc. who also put work into the show. Theatre teaches you that no matter how good you are, you will always need help to achieve your goal. The bows at the end of the show remind us to acknowledge everyone who makes the production a success, not just the ones on stage.
6. Improvisation
Expect the unexpected. Always be on your toes because you never know when a prop will go missing, someone will drop a line that you were supposed to respond to, someone will miss their cue, etc. They will happen. The show will go on no matter what. You learn quickly that you'd better get yourself out of the mess before the show goes on without you.
7. Hard work
I have been in productions where we have worked 17 hour days. In some places, this would be considered crazy, but in theatre, you do it for the love of your show. There's nothing quite like putting in a ton of most times literal blood, sweat, and tears to see it finally pay off and come together.
8. Perserverance
If each production stopped when things looked impossible, theatre would never happen. It wouldn't. In each show, there's that spot a couple weeks before opening when it seems that you won't nearly be ready in time. That is the time to buckle down and push through. You will make it, and you will pull it off.
9. Memorization
In your first show, you wonder how in the world you will remember all of your lines/lyrics. By the end of the show, you not only know your lines, you know the entire musical, harmonies and all. And if you say that you haven't tried to sing every part at once in the shower after a long rehearsal when it's stuck in your head, I will call you a liar.
10. Tolerance
There's always that one person who can't tell a box step from a cardboard box and will always be flat. You learn to appreciate that this person will guard the prop table with their life or will always give you an extra hand when costuming is busy with other people's quick changes. They're like that one annoying cousin at the family reunion, but the family still wouldn't be complete without them.
11. Constructive Criticism
You have a near-flawless run of the show, but there's always notes to be had. You needed to move more into the light in this scene, or you moved too quickly in that one. Where was your prop? Theatre taught me to take constructive criticism and use it to make the show better for the next audience.
12. Family
These people become something so much more than just friends. Somewhere between read-throughs, sing-throughs, blocking rehearsals, dress rehearsals, and the actual shows, these people become your family. The amazing thing is, no matter how far you go, they will always be there. My theatre family lost one of our own recently, and I saw people I hadn't been in a show with in 9 years at the funeral.
These family members have truly changed me and taught me so many lessons about life, myself, and how we all fit into this crazy world. So thank you, CF for being my family.
