When I was younger, my mother would take my sister and I to the Nutcracker every year around Christmas time. Every year, I would be blown away with how talented all the dancers were and think, “Some day, that will be me.”

As I grew older and less coordinated, I realized my dream of being on the stage might never come true. As I got older, I started to enjoy doing behind the scenes more and more and being on the stage less and less. But, naïve me, still did not think that I could ever get my chance. Because of these doubts, that is why we need community theatres in cities. Without community theatres, children who dream of the stage could never get the chance to perform in a show like Cats or To Kill a Mockingbird. Community theatres create the platform that builds up actors and actresses.

They give people, who work during the day, a chance perform because that is what they love to do. It gives people like me who just love the theatre, a great place to work. Without community theatres, some actors and actresses may have never made it to New York because they never built up the courage. It takes a lot of courage to pack up your whole life and take a chance in New York City. That is why community theatres are a great middle ground where we can do what we love without having to move away from friends and family. If I were to have never gotten my job at my local community theatre, I do not know if I would have had the courage to change my major to Technical Theatre. I might never have realized that I can do what I am passionate about without having to move very far from my family. Every day that I head into work, I never feel down.

I know that I love what I do and that this is where I truly belong. Going to my community theatre, I see all these great and talented people every day and my mind will go back to, “Some day, that will be me.”