The Joy of Theater

Last week, the 3 younger members of Elements got to put on a little showcase with scenes from Ibsen and monologues from Shakespeare. I am one of these 3 younger members, and I would have to say that it was one "HUGE LEARNING EXPERIENCE!" Everyone kept telling me, "you are learning, and that is what it is all about", but I still found this hard to believe. In my head it was about performing, making a good impression and living up to the name of Elements Theatre Company. But, as we got closer to actually performing the showcase, I realized that what it was really about was sharing what we had learned on our trip to Chicago, and the love of theater. I knew that no one in the audience would be taking notes and critiquing our work, so I just had to do my best for the joy of it. I also am happy to say that as nervous as I felt, it was a lot more fun than I expected. I thought that the butterflies in my stomach would take over, but instead I felt like we fell into a rhythmn and the audience seemed to really enjoy it. I know that I can stand on this experience as one where I learned a lot, but even more importantly, I could really experience the raw joy of theater.