Recently, I w
as privileged to be stage manager for our local High School’s production again this year. It was my third year being stage manager and it is so rewarding, but extremely exhausting. I am ready for a break, but will soon have the desire to jump back in. This Drama Mama is going to miss this someday!
I love being able to be involved in my kids lives and the theatre has been an outlet for that. It was very different this year with my son now in college. My daughter is a freshman so I have three more years to do this while I have a kid in high school. We have done theatre at local community theatres since my son was in third grade so we are no strangers to the stage.
It is funny how different it was this year without my son there. He has always been the driving force behind our theatre involvement. For the first time in many years, I didn’t audition for the musical at our local theatre and it will be quite strange to not be involved. I think we needed some time off, some time to recoup and refocus, but I will miss it. My daughter runs track and I am super excited to be able to be all in watching her. No rushing from a track meet to a rehearsal, no more worries if the track meet will be done in time to get her on stage for her scene. It will be a nice break, but strange.
I know much of my excitement and joy in my life comes from being involved in the theatre. The friendships you gain while in a production of a show is just wonderful and completely make the experience memorable. You become a sort of family after spending so many months, weeks, days and HOURS by the time of the run of the show, it is hard not to become close with those you work with. I will miss my drama friends, but am excited to see all God will open up for our next season. I know theatre will jump back in starting in May (Yes, this is another post I started and didn’t have the guts to post at the time, lol) when my daughter will audition for summer teen theatre and I will have the wonderful opportunity to watch my son as he was just recently offered two roles at a theatre for the summer. So, I will embrace this time off and get ready for the next step.
Is there something in your life you need to take a break from? Are there activities you need to step away from, even for just a short time, to help you refocus and recoup? A healthy habit for our lives is to set time for rest. Believe me, I KNOW it is hard to say no sometimes and just let others take the lead and you sit out, but in the end it is usually worth it. You never know what opportunities will come to you when you take time to hang your hat and sit back for a bit. I encourage you to look at your schedule and see what you could set aside for a brief time and let the rest so important in our lives to occur.