FEB
7

For the Love of Theatre

By Mike Steele 

Mike Steele has been writing and directing as far back as he can remember.  He spent the bulk of his teenage years performing in school and community theatre productions and continued to act through college while he completed a BS in elementary education and sociology.  Mike directs school and community theatre productions and teaches cooperative drama workshops, a process in which he incorporates writing into the creative process.   

The most romantic month is upon us.  It’s that time of the year when students forgo studies to instead act upon impulses, sneaking Valentines into the locker of a secret crush, or making eyes when they should be making more time to rehearse their lines.

On the other hand, for teachers, February can be the month that takes the romance out of the theatre season!  It’s the middle of rehearsals for the spring show, and life is full of drama.  The leading lady takes every chance to remind you she doesn’t like her costume.  The cast is supposed to be off book, but they’re still stumbling over lines and messing up blocking.  Meanwhile, your weekends are spent hunting for size 26x36 tuxedo pants, painting papier-mâché trees, and driving several counties over just to purchase a used fog machine.  Only yesterday, you woke up in the middle of the night to jot a quick note reminding the custodian that some of the stage lights have burned out.

But love can find a way!  There are a million things we love about theatre, so here’s a reminder about why we put ourselves through this season after season, year after year.

We love the students, and their energy and enthusiasm when they run into the auditorium for informational meetings and giggle at read-through.  We love watching their characterizations grow during rehearsals, seeing them shine during performances, watching as the shy and hesitant student finally lets loose and gains a laugh from the audience.  We love encouraging the student who randomly showed up to auditions only to discover a new passion, talent, and group of friends.  We love seeing the diva learn to share the spotlight, strengthening her own performance in the process, or watching the veteran performer lead his peers to a standing ovation.

We love the students, and their energy and enthusiasm when they run into the auditorium for informational meetings and giggle at read-through.  We love watching their characterizations grow during rehearsals, seeing them shine during performances, watching as the shy and hesitant student finally lets loose and gains a laugh from the audience.  We love encouraging the student who randomly showed up to auditions only to discover a new passion, talent, and group of friends.  We love seeing the diva learn to share the spotlight, strengthening her own performance in the process, or watching the veteran performer lead his peers to a standing ovation.

We love the pride in the eyes of our students, their families and friends, and the entire school community.  We love the parents who thank us for providing their children with a productive place to be after school, and the grandmother who hugs us on opening night, exclaiming that her grandson’s performance “was just like Frank Sinatra’s.”  We love the jocks who come to cheer on their teammate, the slackers who finally attend a school event, and the students walking the hallways, still wearing their play T-shirts.  We love the principal who compliments the production over the intercom during the school day, and the colleagues who pat us on the back in the teacher’s lounge.

We love making a difference in the lives of young people, giving student actors, singers, dancers, artists, designers, technicians, and handcrafters a chance to develop and showcase their talents.  We love finding the perfect monologue for the Broadway wannabe so she can nail her college audition, or providing an opportunity for the academic all-star to add another extra-curricular activity to his résumé.  We love that somewhere in the audience is a little kid discovering theatre for the first time, deciding that she can’t wait to audition himself.

We love the connections we make, and that a diverse population of students from across the school community has the opportunity to work together toward a common goal.  We love the new friendships that emerge among these students, our production staff, and the families who volunteer their services.  We love the inside jokes, the photos, and the videos that will remind us of this experience for years to come.

We love inspiring others, seeing a student hone his talents and eventually pursue a professional career in the arts.  We love the invitation we receive to watch a former student in her college or community theatre production, or the Facebook message from a former student, telling us that he’s directing a play at the school where he now works.

We love discovering new talents of our own, like learning how to use a sewing machine (because costumes don’t hem themselves).  We love the moment when we realize that hot glue and Styrofoam are the answer to a costume dilemma hounding us for week.  We love how the set looks even bigger and better than last year, and how we found a way to squeeze a few more students into the play this year. 

We love celebrating a successful show and everything leading up to it — the pre-performance huddle, the hugs and cheers and screams when the curtain closes, the eating of junk food at a diner after opening night, the dancing until our feet ache at the closing night cast party.

We love sleeping when it’s all over. 

And, most of all, we love when it starts up all over again for the next production.  We love that theatre is a lasting love, without end.