We have now finished and struck our production of  “Murder in the Cathedral”. I consider myself extremely privileged in this whole process. I have had the opportunity to watch the audition process and the casting process, warm up the actors vocally and physically during rehearsals, paint drops, sew costumes, and (my personal favorite!) “walk” the knights backstage.
I suppose there are places out there SOMEWHERE that may have similar opportunities to be so widely involved in a production. But you know what? The people here are just plain cooler. Why would you want to paint a drop for hours on end, unless you could join the painters around you in singing at the top of your lungs to rock n’ roll, and occasionally listen to a bit of Dane Cook? What would be the use of staying up until 3:45 in the morning stitching hoods and capes and jackets and tutu’s, unless you could be surrounded by people who appreciate the finer points of the movie “Clue”, and then join in a late-night-run to Whataburger for food? One of the loveliest moments yet has been applying a stage-tatoo to the back of a “priest” while she read aloud to me the play “Art”.
It’s moments like these that make me walk up to the Chair of this dept., (Joe Frost) and just say
“I like it here.”
A simple statement; but you should know… I mean it with all my heart.