Community Theatre

A local community theatre will be putting on a production of Ken Ludwig's BASKERVILLE: A SHERLOCK HOLMES MYSTERY in about a week. I am not going to write about Sherlock Holmes, though. At least not today.

When I was a student, I never took part in extracurricular activities. I was never into sports, I preferred being on my own, and I wasn't interested in spending my downtime at school. It wasn't until I got older that I started to think about the experiences I had missed out on.

In late 2023, my therapist advised me to get out of my comfort zone. Orders are orders, so I thought back to my days as a student, asking myself what I should have done differently.

I don't like sport any more now that I did then, but I've grown to love the art of storytelling even more. If I could go back to high school, I'd have joined the theatre club. Not as an actor, but in a behind-the-scenes capacity.

I already have a diploma, so going back to high school isn't really an option, but joining a community theatre is the next best thing.

Since I have a full-time day-job, I usually only volunteer on weekends, which means that my tasks involve working on the set: construction and painting. Before signing up, my carpentry experience consisted of nearly flunking Grade 8 shop class and assembling a few shelves at home. I don't know if I exactly enjoy it now (I can never quite shake the feeling that I might leave one of my thumbs by the saw table), but I am learning a potentially valuable skill.

The whole experience is giving me a new appreciation for how much goes into set design. I've always been most interested in the writing part of the creative process--the novelists, the screenwriters, the playwrights--but so much more than that goes into telling a good story. The amount of skill, knowledge, and work that goes into just a single set is impressive--doubly so with a community theatre, where no one is bringing home a check at the end of the day. I got to install the hinges on a door for a production of Theresa Rebeck's Mauritius. I know that I could only do that much because more experienced hands told me how, but, damnit, I liked helping. That's my fatal flaw and my greatest strength--I don't like to compete, but I love to contribute.

I don't see myself working in construction full-time. I like sitting at desks. But it is good to get out there and try new things, and that's easier when those "new" things are adjascent to something I already love. And I love storytelling.

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