Turning the Page

Tonight I went to my first theater producing class.  It’s a prestigious course that I had to apply to get into, and as the date of the first class neared, I wondered what it would be like.  What would I learn (I know very little!)? Where would the guest lecturers hail from? Would my other classmates make me feel welcome and what would they be like?  Would I be the oldest? Would I fit in?

All I knew was that I was excited.  I have been lucky enough to stumble into a world I love. I hope to work on a Broadway show before I die.  This is my first step. I may never get there, but I will try.

I can’t say much about the class, or where it is.  They’re strict about keeping what we learn in the classroom confidential, and I’m fine with that.

But I do want to talk about my classmates.

I’m not sure why I thought there would be a bunch of novices like me. I mean, no one has produced a Broadway show yet, but this crowd is VERY accomplished.  We had one guy from the University of Maryland Law School. One guy is finishing up at Yale Drama School.  He ran out of interesting classes to take so he’s coming to NYC once a week to take this class. Half the group works in theater in some capacity so they are already one step closer than me in that they are already in the door and have access to great scripts and story-telling.  There are two other moms in the classroom.  One started her introduction by saying she looks after a two year old during the day, but of course she finished by saying she is the lead costumer on Book of Mormon.  The other mom has her own production company and does a million other things. She had me reeling in my seat.

They were all so impressive. When it was my turn to talk about what I do and why I’m taking the class, I thought I’d be nervous, and I was.

But I realized something quickly while everyone was speaking that helped me get through my turn, which came and went rather quickly.

I am every much in this class as each one of them.  I have been accepted into the class just as they have. I have produced two plays even though I have so much to learn, but I have a small amount of real life experience. I have no reason to feel any less than any of them.

Our first guest lecturer was something else (as in AH-MAZING).  I wish I could talk about him.  But what I will say is that this man has lived his life producing plays and has loved every minute of it.  He confirmed everything I needed about taking this class and why I want to explore this part of me.

So, as I told everyone when my turn came to talk about myself and why I’m taking the class, “I want to wake up everyday loving what I do.”

It’s time to turn the page, and this class is my new beginning.

I realize that theater may never pay the bills.  That I’ll always have to do make money in other ways.  But if I can produce shows on the side, I’ll have so much fulfillment.

If it turns into something more, then BRILLIANT.