The Beauty of Community Theatre

Our last three performances of 'The Tulip' are coming up this week. I like to think that the cast and crew have really bonded. The mood, the good feelings, have been building as if to reach a climax before we all, to one degree or another, go on our separate ways. This show, whether by design or not, has brought together some very old friends and those reunions have had a ripple effect on the lives of those previously estranged individuals. For some of us, we have been granted community by way of new relationships but, for others, community has been granted by old ties. It has been a very beautiful thing to watch.

I do not know the minds of the others; I do not know their thoughts. At the get-togethers where we will have collected the majority of cast and crew, I often like to sit back briefly and process this collection of personalities. Sometimes-- and often during this show-- that is so very rewarding. We all take what we will from times like these. Very often, perhaps more often than we truly acknowledge, the radiance of these special times shines long after the event has passed to memory.