You always hear stories about the quarterback of the high school football team or the valedictorian or, sometimes, a student with a stellar science project that gets state recognition. But hardly ever do you hear anything about the lead player or the company member in the back row or the stage manager holding together a set piece during a performance because, as we say, “the show must go on.” This is not a call for attention or a vendetta against a community that doesn’t value the arts as much as it should. However, it is a prayer for recognition and appreciation of something so pure, beautiful, and necessary that should NOT be as overlooked as it is.

Many families have photos of their children in various uniforms – soccer, basketball, football, baseball, cheerleading, you name it. My family, on the other hand, has photos of me in costumes from various shows or performing at recitals or festivals. Now, I’m not trying to underscore the importance of sports for children – athleticism is something that deserves some serious respect. However, sports are not for everyone. Some people would rather be under stage lights than stadium lights.

To continue this dichotomy between theater and sports, let’s create a system of analogies. The theater is very much like a football team. The director fine-tunes the skills of the actors and provides them with direction in reference to how to do what they’re doing. The actors work endless hours a week in preparation for a show that can be months away, in the same way that football players are training constantly, even in the off season. Actors and athletes alike frankly work their asses off in order to look a certain way that is objectified by their fields. There really aren’t that many differences between athletics and theater, or any form of art for that matter. The only main difference is that one is appreciated and encouraged by society, while the other is not.

The arts is a realm that is constantly under attack by public schools. And, to be honest, this is a problem. Art is important – think about how much money people pay to own certain paintings or sculptures. Music is important – we use music to make films, theater, and moments better, yet we’re ripping it out of schools. Any form of self-expression is important. But, one of the most scored against forms of art is theater. Now, I’m not downplaying any art form’s plight in schools: I was involved in many things and I know firsthand how they are attacked by school systems. Theater, like all other art forms, is ridiculed, underfunded, under-publicized, under-appreciated, and misunderstood.

Let’s be real here for a moment: high school theater is not necessarily pretty. The auditoriums and performance spaces are usually pretty crappy. They flood, the floors are falling apart, the curtains are moldy. There is backstabbing, love triangles, awkward crushes, insecurities – you name it, you can find it in a high school theater department. However, you can find so much more if you really look for it. There is talent, dedication, intelligence, drive, ingenuity, creativity, purity, beauty, and, most of all, love.

This love is a very complex thing. To want to do theater and do it well, you have to absolutely love it. Without a doubt. On top of that base love, people love other people within the department. They may love certain moments or lines within the show. They love the feeling of being in costume on stage with a mic taped to their face and neck soaked in sweat. They love the feeling of seeing their lighting design or costume design come together during tech. They love wearing that headset and sitting under a blue light backstage making sure everything goes as it is supposed to.

This love is really what makes high school Theater so beautiful. If a group of 30 high school students – usually labeled the “misfits” – love something strongly and endlessly, this shines through and makes a production unforgettable, despite any issues that are almost bound to happen.

One of the best components about seeing a live performance is the relative amount of danger that is involved - absolutely anything can happen. Set pieces fall apart. Costumes rip. Props break. Fire alarms go off half an hour before the curtain is scheduled to go up on the last performance of your high school career (true story). The main curtain gets stuck and you have to fix it (another true story). But, as always, the show must go on in the end. It's just part of the fun.

I can honestly say that I would not be where I am today without my high school theater department. And I’m not saying that because I am a theater major and intend to go into this lovely, beautiful field. I have formed for myself such a loving and strong support group through theater – best friends, mentors, and teachers. I have fine-tuned my work ethic; I have harvested within myself a necessary sense of self-confidence. And, above all, I have learned how to truly love people, life, expression, and art.