Dear friends and family,
They say that theatre is one of the greatest and oldest forms of entertainment. Well, if you've ever been in a show then you know that there's nothing else like it. I spend several months during each show devoting nearly every day to getting ready and rehearsing for just a few performances. I stay for long hours, often getting very little sleep, and I often give up my weekends too. My time away from the rehearsals is also spent working on the show, writing down lists of things the show needs, emailing fellow cast and crew members or promoting the show itself. I do all of this on top of whatever day-time job or classes that I take, so I spend a lot of time stressed out and tired. It takes a lot of hard work to make a show happen, and sometimes even I wonder why I do it. But when it's all said and done, I honestly wouldn't have it any other way.
So, I want you to know that a show takes more than the actors on stage to make it happen. They are there because that's where their talents are, but my talents lie behind the scene. Without people like me the show would have no light, no props, no costumes, no sound, no scenery... The list goes on and on. The work I do makes a difference and I am just as important to the final product as those people you see on stage. Which means that my contribution is worth seeing all the same.
I may not always ask you to see the shows that I work on, but when I do please know that it's because I'm proud of the work I do and I want to share that with you. I want you to share in the same journey I go on every time I watch the show. I want you to experience all the laughs, the anger and all the moments that make me want to cry. I want you to care for the characters who become my friends when they're off the stage. I want you to become invested in the story and truly believe its events. I want you to know that I was a part of making that happen. I want you see it and be proud of me because I worked hard on it, and because this show is just as much a part of me as I am of it (which if you haven't gathered by now, is a large part).
When I said that theatre is unlike anything else, I meant it. The friends I've made through theatre are some of the best people in my life. Each show I work on brings with it a new group of people (some old friends, some new); together we bring characters, places and stories to the audience that didn't physically exist before. Like magic we take an empty stage and bring it to life during every performance.
You know that I'm no magician, but I did help with the spell. So please don't write off my backstage involvement as a minor thing to keep me busy, or something that I did because I was bored. While it may have started there, I can assure you that it's grown into much more than that now. I care about the show I'm asking you to see, and it is just as important to me as it is to the performing actors. So your support means so much to me, especially when it's for something like this. I love theatre, and I want you to love it too.
With love,
Your Person Behind The Scenes
