If I've written about theater once, I've written about it a thousand times. I began my serious theater journey at my high school theater company, Wolfpack Theater. I'm so grateful to have been a part of such an incredible organization, so I thought I'd share some of my favorite things about Vista Ridge theater, including memories and traditions. Enjoy!

1. Mello's Kids

I was a freshman when our theater teacher announced that his family was growing. Everyone joked that he should name his son Marsh so that their full name would be Marshmallow. But now, both of Mello's kids are an adorable addition to the Wolfpack, and nothing gets Mello to melt as quickly as seeing his son march his way into the theater.

2. Project! Diction!

A rehearsal wasn't complete without at least one frustrated proclamation of "project! diction!" It happened so often that it became an inside joke. Its use is varied, but it works just about anywhere, especially if you can't understand someone(but it's usually only used on people who are generally heard loud and clear i.e., actors).

3. Singing when you lost your script

At Wolfpack Theater, if you forget your script overnight and the Stage Managers get their hands on it, you have to work to get it back. And by work, of course I mean publicly embarrass yourself. The process involves getting up and singing a part of a song of your choice(mostly a chorus) accompanied with choreography. My favorite videos to see on the Facebook page are the videos of people working to get their scripts back.

4. "Laugh"

The weeks leading up to opening night, Mr. Mello was always obsessed with being able to adjust to the audience laughing. In preparation, the "laugh" sign was broken out at the appropriate times, and the crew had a competition with who could laugh the loudest.

5. Smoking Spotlights

Anyone who was even half paying attention during tech of Wedding Singer could probably recall the one day that the entire light booth lost their minds when the BRAND NEW SPOTLIGHTS started smoking violently after being turned on. In the end, it was really just a goof up on our part when we were trying to fix something, but boy was it scary!

6. Tech

Speaking of tech, everyone and their mother knows how devastatingly boring tech week is(except for the light techs, who at that time are screaming incessantly). We usually built our cue list that week from scratch, which was helped by the fact that we had the BEST lighting and sound system in the district, but it still made for a very stressful and emotional three hours.

7. Saturday Rehearsals

Saturday rehearsals over spring break were definitely a highlight of musical season. We'd show up at about 10, work until 12, then would be the hour long lunch where you could either go off campus or you could sit and eat free pizza with the rest of cast and crew. It's a nice way to lead up to the last couple of weeks of rehearsal before the production.

8. Dress Rehearsal Bomb Threat

Only a small group of people remember the bomb threats the spring of 2012 at Vista Ridge, but they were nonetheless real. The most frustrating one that was called in happened to cancel our dress rehearsal for the production How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. We joked about holding rehearsal in the street, and probably having to move production if the school blew up, but it ended up being a false alarm(every time) and we still put on an incredible show.

9. Productions

Speaking of our shows, we put on some of the best in the district even while working in a glorified garage. Wolfpack Theater prides itself on its commitment to excellence, both on stage and off. We spend three hours a day for months on end rehearsing and preparing for opening night, and it shows. The hard work of both actors and tech has even convinced the school board to finally give us an auditorium to work out of!

10. IHOP

After opening, it's a ritual to head on over to IHOP and get a bit closer as a group. We laugh and joke about what messed up and what could be better, and usually show up in full makeup which can occasionally freak the poor servers out. Some people get pancakes, others cups of tea, and still others get mozzarella sticks. It's just a good time to be out with the people who make you smile the most, and we rarely leave until at least 12.

11. Paper Plate Awards

Paper plate awards are another time honored tradition that not everyone knows about. Basically, it's a mock award ceremony where we pick on some inside joke you've been a part of, or congratulate you on your extraordinary skill. It's a nice way to reminisce on the funny moments! All of mine usually had something to do with lighting, my senior one being "it was a de-light to have you".

12. Photo Auctions

Apparently this isn't universal?? But photo auctions are where we take our bio board photos and auction them off. They went hard at Wolfpack theater. Ground rules included no yelling, no rushing the auctioneers(stage managers), there was a limit of two photos per person -- so choose wisely -- and whoever raised their hand first got the photo. These rules were rarely followed. Photo auctions will forever and always be my favorite memories, especially because I have some pictures of some truly incredible people to put on my wall.

13. Senior Speeches

Every cast and crew party wasn't complete without lots and lots of tears. Senior speeches were guaranteed to rob every person of their dry eyes. This was the time when the graduating seniors announced why Theater was so important to them. Of course, these weren't reserved for seniors -- any person with something to say could get up and say it -- but it was often the thought that you'll never work with some of these people again that really got the tears flowing.