Last night my sister and I were meant to see MEANWHILE..., a new play produced by Brat Productions in Philly. I had auditioned for it, I know people in it, who directed it, wrote it, etc...long story short I was connected with it in some way.
Unfortunately, yesterday I awoke with a seriously bad back ache, to the point where it was uncomfortable to do ANYTHING unless I was lying down flat with my knees in the air. It was the worst.
I had complete plans on going to the gym, making my hair appointment, hanging with my sister, and then seeing the show. I had only heard good things about it and I was excited to cheer on friends. But I made the executive decision, after pushing myself through the day, that it probably wouldn't have been wise to go out and see the show with how horribly my back was bothering me.
This leads me to my topic...missing shows in the community. The Philadelphia theatre community is large, yet very small. We have this incredible group of performing artists that all support and care for each other. When someone leaves the community (such as grad school, or training) there seems to be a sore spot left.
This is what I LOVE about my community here. So much so that I find it difficult thinking about moving away for more training. I find excuses every year to stay just one more year.
What's rough is getting to see everything that everyone is doing. Often the runs are short, with same times and same industry nights. There's only so much I can do! And I find that I am constantly apologizing to people for missing their work, even though I see usually around 2 shows a week.
How do I rectify this? When I hear of a show coming up, I know that if I am going to see it, I have to immediately look at my calendar and pick a date. If I say "I'll figure it out later" it usually turns out that I'll miss the show. I also know that theatre is expensive, and with my budget I can only pay for so much. That's why industry nights and ushering is so valuable. And I CAN'T wait until the last weekend to plan on seeing it. It just never works out!
When push comes to shove, if I want to see everything it takes some serious planning. And hopefully no more back injuries...or whatever I did. So to the ladies of MEANWHILE...and other shows I cannot see, I'm very sorry and I promise myself and all of you, my friends, that I will do better at planning. It's truly my loss in the end.
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