Last curtain call...

I miss being in plays more than anything. I miss it so much, I even miss the things I didn't like about plays-- the endless rehearsals where nothing seemed to get done, the frantic directors after dress rehearsal flopped, the nightmares the night before the first performance. I miss it all.
When I look back on the plays, I think they were the best part of my experience growing up. From "Oliver" in 2nd grade (with a solo in "Food, Glorious Food"), to "Fiddler on the Roof" (my first Galway Players experience), to "Bye, Bye Birdie" (my grand finale), I enjoyed every second of it. Okay... well that's a lie. There were definitely times I sat at Galway Players alone on a Sunday afternoon, wishing I were anywhere else but there in the auditorium, listening to Tilda clonk away on the keyboard (haha... clonk is a real word- no little red line under it) and having to dance with Indian men who didn't know their left from right, but for the most part, they were a blast.
I met so many people through the plays (the Cerny boys, Nick Schrader and Steven (my two favorite lighting boys), Matt Weaver, etc.) and got a lot closer to people during the plays (Kait, Tonya, Ashley, Lindsay, Dan R., Nate, Jayce, Ryan, Nicky V., Rike, Bradley Rooke, Charlie, Dan Clemens, Kara, Will S., etc.). Plays are just such a great opportunity for bonding because of the hundreds of hours of hard work you put into the show.

I still get a little teary-eyed when I go back to see a show, and realize I don't get to be backstage, having the last minute, "I definitely have to pee right now," feeling, or have the anxiety and then overwhelming relief of pulling it off when the curtain closes after curtain call and a cheer erupts from the cast backstage. I don't get to be up there, waiting behind the curtain, trying to sneak a peek at the crowd to see how full the auditorium is, to see if I can find my family. Ash and I don't get to be kick-ass chorus girls, saving a few numbers a show.


I'm not the one running backstage after curtain call to grab the flowers for the directors, the one rushing to the chorus room for a quick costume change, the one painting the backdrop, making the program, selling the tickets. I miss being backstage for the shakedown and helping the boys with their makeup. I don't get to know the inside jokes, or know when the mistakes that the audience never knows about happen (okay... so maybe I still know that...). I don't get to panic when someone is missing their cue, or messing up their lines, or not showing up on stage. I don't get to learn dances from Lisa, get fitted for a costume by Beth.

I don't get to have my hair done, pose for any pictures, get any flowers when it's over. I don't get to wait anxiously for the DVD to come back with the bloopers and laugh at the funny things we all did.
All I get to do is relive the memories of the best times of my life, and wish I could do it all over again.