Whether you want to believe it or not, you were in some type of clique during high school. Among those cliques lies a very interesting one. The kids in this particular clique are a bit more out there and zany than others. The clique that I am talking about is the theater kids. These are the kids that are dedicated to putting on a great show, whether they are performing on stage or working everything backstage. Theater kids are some strange kids from the outside looking in, but I am here to tell you a few things about them so you can somewhat understand their madness.
The costume loft aka the gossip loft.
If you ever wonder why people just randomly go up into the costume loft, well here is the number one reason why: to gossip. Remember, these are high schoolers. They don't exactly keep the drama on the stage. So, the best way to keep up with all of the latest news is to sneak up into the costume loft and talk all about it.
Techies are addicted to singing and dancing along to the musical number.
The actors think they're going to have all the fun on stage in their costumes and magical-sounding voices gracing the audiences ear drums? Not on the techies watch. One of my favorite parts of my tech experience was being backstage during a musical number and improvising a dance number and lip syncing to the songs being performed on stage. No one could see us so there was no holding back. Shamelessly dancing like a crazy person ensued.
Actors were basically useless, and we knew this.
The part that the actors dreaded the most about each show was when it ended. Sure it was sad to be done with the show but striking the set was absolutely terrible. The techies would get out all of the power tools and hand them over to the actors. A part of me still thinks they did that just to laugh at our confused demeanor. Eventually, all the actors would either hide, observe or get the easiest job possible at the time.
The performing arts center ghost was terrifying and (most likely) fake.
No matter how old your performing arts center is, each one has a ghost haunting it. The PAC ghost is what my theater company called it and he would chill up on the cat walk to watch the show or he would mess with people that were up in the costume loft gossiping. He would push racks of clothes over, move a hammer over slightly and just make a noise every so often. Never mind the fact that the clothes rack is missing a wheel and the hammer was kicked by an actor while you weren't looking — the random noises are still unexplained.
Show week is when you gain a million pounds.
Stress begins to consume the theater kids as they begin to rush to finish the set and costumes. The actors begin to worry about their lines, their blocking and their cues. What if they forget something? On top of this, they still have their schoolwork to deal with. So, what is the best way to handle all of this stress? Eat everything in sight. All the candy handed to you, all the fast food runs you take part in and the early morning call-time donuts, you must eat it all.
We are one big, dysfunctional family.
During my time in theater, I can't even count how many times I heard the phrase "we are a family and I love each and every one of you." This is somewhat true, but lets not keep kidding ourselves. There are were rivalries, fights and just general petty nonsense. But even if you did not like your co-star or fellow crew member, you made sure to have their back even if it was for the scenes you two shared. After all, every family has its fair share of feuds.
My theater days may be over, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I met most of my lifelong friends through it and I made a lot of memories that will last me a lifetime, both good and bad.
