Since arriving at Collington this May, Nancy and I have participated in so many old and new pleasures. Book clubs, memoir writing, tai chi, yoga, balance and beyond classes fill the days. Plus innumerable volunteer opportunities allow us to expand beyond ourselves. Growth is inevitable. Nancy has learned all about haunted houses and how to become the scariest of Collington witches. And I have become immersed in the theater. Let me explain.
After attending a few drama committee meetings, I volunteered to help out with the upcoming play, HEROES. Sometime after rehearsals started I was asked to help the assistant director; she needed a prop lady. My journey began by attending rehearsals and moving a few things around.
Experiencing the production of HEROES was a gift. Watching 3 wonderful neighbors act like 3 confused old men in the manner of vaudeville and observing amusingly stealthy Sister Madeleine plague the men can hardly be called work. Watching the director and assistant director ply their trade will never allow me to see live theater again in the same way. The inventiveness of the lights and scenery man just plain appealed to my engineering self. The chanteuse and her accompanist could do no wrong.
Contributing in my own small way — where to place a chair, fetch water, cue actors when to go on stage, tape ear mikes in place, push the button on the video recorder or even teach geese the correct way to fly — made the experience one that I want to take on again and again.
My biggest joy was the camaraderie and constant laughter to the very last bow. Thank you one and all.