This was pretty much my view of R-girl’s first performance of Music Man tonight. I was the backstage parent volunteer so I haven’t even seen the show from the seats yet. I can’t wait until tomorrow night!! Everything sounded great from behind the curtains.
Speaking of behind the curtains… Mind if a veer off for a bit? Sitting there in the stage-left darkness all evening, I couldn’t help thinking about how much of life actually happens off-stage. Behind the scenes. Whatever metaphor you want to use. There’s always something going on that the intended audience doesn’t know about.
I’m not sure how I feel about that.
Recently, that truth really punched me in the gut, and has left me wanting to shine a floodlight on everything and everyone around me – on stage, backstage, under the stage, everywhere. And I probably will do that for a while. Or I’ll just skip the show altogether. (I know I’m probably taking this metaphor way too far, but bear with me.)
I do get that the floodlight approach isn’t practical, or possible, or probably even healthy. It’s certainly not inviting to be around, I know that. And then there’s the fact that a lot of people tonight could have looked at me and figured things were just fine – but in my personal backstage, it was a rough evening, physically and emotionally. Doesn’t mean I want everyone around me to know that.
I guess it’s just another both/and in our lives. There’s always the part that people see, and the part they don’t. At the moment I’m wondering if maybe the best we can do is to make those two as congruent as possible, and surround ourselves with people who do the same.
Either way, the show must go on.
Here’s to 3 more great shows, R-girl! Break a leg.
by julie rybarczyk
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Photo by yauhin1.
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