The past two
weekends, I’ve had the privilege of working backstage at several performances
of “Beauty and the Beast” by ShowKids
Invitational Theater, a children’s community theater organization which my
oldest son Avery has been involved in since he was in fourth grade. S.K.I.T., as the organization is
affectionately called, has been quite a blessing for my family, as it has been
the perfect creative outlet for my all-over-the-place child, who seems like he
was born to be on the stage.
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| Avery as Cogsworth the Clock. Photo by Dave Dabour Photography. |
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People often
refer to the “magic” of live theater – the ability of theater, through a
combination of sets and stage, and actors and actresses, and a captivating
story, to transport an audience through time and space and evoke their full
range of emotions, all in a matter of hours.
Directors rely on a similar kind of “magic” to pull together the various
component parts of the performance – the lights, the sounds, the sets, the
scenery, the actors, the actresses, the script, etc. – into one coherent show.
For two years, I have worked as a backstage “runner” during performances. My job is to follow the script and help gather
the actors and actresses from the dressing rooms to the wings so that they are
on stage before the curtain opens for each scene. For the duration of the show, I mostly stand
on the ramp that leads up to the right wing (ironically). This job has given me a
behind-the-scenes look at all of the hard work that goes into creating this “magical”
experience for the audience.
After
several months of rehearsals on Friday evenings and Saturday and Sunday afternoons,
actors and parent volunteers spend 20+ hours during the week before the show
opens at “tech week” rehearsals, where the stage, sound, lighting, hair and
makeup crews have their first opportunity to practice setting and striking the
scenery, raising and lowering the backdrops, testing the microphones, planning
the lighting, and transforming the actors and actresses into their respective
characters. On performance days, these
same groups arrive two and a half hours before each show to get ready.
During
performances, there is a frenzy of activity happening backstage – costume changes,
scene changes, hair fixes, last minute rehearsing – which the audience never
sees. The stage manager and stage and
lighting crews are all connected backstage with little microphones that allow them to
communicate moment-to-moment and resolve technical glitches in real time. In the dressing rooms, TV monitors allow the
actors and actresses and their volunteer assistants to see exactly what is
happening on the stage at any given moment.
This
backstage experience reminds me a lot of what I’ve been learning this year in
my experiment with the Law of Mind Action.
Although there is some level of “magic” that happens when we endeavor to
create something beautiful in our lives, an essential key to success is
action. Without hard work, S.K.I.T. shows
would not be as successful as they are, and
this little community theater organization would not have the same capacity for
transforming children’s lives. For many
years, I’ve used the notion of having faith and a prosperity consciousness to
abdicate responsibility for taking action and putting in the time and effort
required to achieve my goals. I'm beginning to realize that I need to have faith in God AND also do my part. Watching
these children see all their hard work pay off has been quite an inspiration to
me. I'm looking forward to being a part of the "magic" at their spring show.
~REBECCA
Coincidentally - and I know there are no coincidences - the theme of this Unity's Lenten Booklet for 2015 is "Learning to Let Go." It states: "Lent is a time for progressive unfoldment. As we heed the guidance of the still, small voice within us, the way is made clear. As we commit to following the steps we have outlined for ourselves, we are transformed. We are renewed, restored, rejuvenated - reborn!"
