The Downed Curtain...

We gather before a downed curtain and wait. Friends roam behind the downed curtain anxious to perform. Butterflies flutter in stomachs both in front of and behind the beautiful red fabric--fabric that stands between us and them. Slowly the clock ticks down and the lights begin to fade.

A downed curtain contains a mysterious proposition--almost anything may be behind that curtain. The performers, the tech crew, the audience--each will experience a different sensation, be it physical or emotional or both. The sensations come at a cost, a cost we've all paid.

Curtains separate reality from fantasy, exceptional from the ordinary, truth from what we want to believe is true. They remind us that even a mundane life can be enriched by imagination, determination, sweat, tears, and patience.

 

We sit in the balcony and feel the excitement churn beneath us. The music starts and we shift to the front of our chairs to improve our individual vantage points. The music builds, orders are given and ropes, weights, and gravity work together to lift the downed curtain. 

And that's when the magic begins...