Another opening, another show...

Opening night for “The Baker’s Wife” went well last night. That’s not to say there weren’t snafus – a few dropped lines, missed song lyrics, oh, and the set piece that broke and almost knocked over & out our director – but on the whole it wasn’t bad. Audience was about 70-75 people, from what I heard at intermission, and they were a good audience – laughs in the right spots & the most important thing: APPLAUSE.

After we took our bows at curtain call, Leibrecht stopped the band for an important announcement. He invited the president of the school, Kirk Boschert, up on to the stage. Kirk said a few words, then presented Mark with the check for the Cathy Brickey scholarship. Cathy was a student (and Guild player) in the 1970’s. In the 80’s, her life was cut short too soon when she was killed in a car accident. Her parents set up a scholarship fund in her name for select students who are planning on pursuing a college degree in the Arts. In 1999, I received the same honor as Mark, when I was selected to be the recipient of the scholarship. It’s such a neat thing, and such an honor.

Once the applause died down, we picked up where we’d left off. The bows had been taken, but there was a bit of singing still to be done. I have to admit. I became really sappy during the curtain call singing. My eyes teared up, and there was a lump in my throat that I had a hard time swallowing. The lyrics made me think of this thing we call “The Guild” and “The SAT”…this FAMILY:

“Every day as you do
What you do every day
You see the same faces
That fill the café
And if some of those faces
Have new things to say
Now your whole life
Now your whole life
Is new”

No matter how many shows I’ve done there, no matter how many repeat cast members we’ve had / have / continue to have, every experience is new. No matter how many times I see the same faces, every experience enriches my life in a new and different way. I have made memories and friends through this place – some have come and gone, while others I know will last a lifetime. I can’t express how full my heart feels when I’m on that stage, with those people, smiling, sharing our lives with each other. It’s an experience that just simply cannot be duplicated elsewhere.