The Draw of Live Theater

I can relate to how they're enamored of the world of live theater. It's fun to make a play. Each cast becomes a family. Rehearsals give that wonderful feeling of being a lug nut in a well-oiled machine. When you're cast in a play, you belong somewhere, you have  a place to be, lines to say, and a personality to project. A drab secretary from the courthouse becomes a singing nun; a coal miner becomes a handsome sea captain. All it takes is a book and music by Rodgers & Hammerstein. 

Who doesn't love the applause? No one ever gave me a standing ovation at the Pharmacy, or Nellie at the bank, or Greg in his cubicle at the accounting firm. We'll get it tonight, though, and we'll revel in it. If there's one thing in this world that folks need, it's to feel that they've done a good job. How rare that reinforcement is! Most of the work in this world is thankless; parenting, the drudgery of our daily jobs--we contribute so much that no one sees or acknowledges. But in the theater, when it's good, that gratitude is there, audience to actor. They let us know they like what we do with applause and whistles and standing ovations. You can't beat it. 

--Adriana Trigiani, Home to Big Stone Gap