A Note Of Thanks...To The Cast And Crew Of "Pirates Of Penzance"

On Friday a group of people gathered in a green room before an opening of a play began. Two months earlier, some met for the first time, others had worked with each other before. Each person in the room felt excited and a little nervous. Like many, this theatre has its own traditions, one of which is to circle up, hold hands, give last-minute notes, and even a thought or prayer.

It's also a time to give special announcements.

Last Friday, before a show my daughter and I are in began, a cast member brought three boxes into our circle. When called upon she explained why she brought the boxes, and her response almost brought me to tears.

It's amazing how close people can become in a short period of time when focused on a common goal. I bring that up because those people in that room did something incredibly thoughtful for my family and for two other groups. We've had some tragedies in our theatre community of late. A family lost a son and his funeral was at the same time as my father-in-law's. The theatre has two stages and another show opens next week. The people in the cast and crew assembled gift boxes, and one came to us.

When you lose someone close, something that helps is having things to think about so you won't focus on all the bad. When my mom died more than a decade ago, we had the funeral to plan, the house to sell, all the details to get through. My father-in-law passed away a week before we opened a new show. Anyone involved in a huge project knows the closer the deadline, the more things you have to deal with. I had an advantage of focusing on the play. It eased the pain.

So, when these wonderful people presented us with a box of goodies and things to make life a little sweeter, I thought it was me that should be thanking them, not just for the box, but for everything else. They've offered prayers, condolences, and thoughts of comfort to my family. The theatre became a sanctuary from all the details of life.

A good writer friend once told me I do too many plays. He's said if I had used those literally thousands of hours writing instead of learning shows and performing them, I could have several novels written. He's right, of course, but I'd be missing out on amazing experiences on and off stage. I'd never meet these beautiful people and be a part of something wonderful. Thank you Pirates of Penzance cast and crew. Your gifts and comforting words mean the world to us. God bless.