Monday, August 5, 2019

Fairy Dust...Everywhere!


If you were to walk the stage at Ogden Utah's Peery's Egyptian Theater, or backstage, or the loading doc, or the dressing rooms, or the hallways leading to the dressing rooms, or the stairways leading to the dressing rooms, or the green room, or the theater bathrooms, you'd see it. All you have to do, is look down.

Fairy dust.

Okay, technically, it's small square-ish pieces of metallic flakes. And I don't blame the cleaning crew at the theater because 1. they're excellent at what they do, and 2. it's almost impossible to clean them all up. I'm sure they're magnetic, which doesn't help. No, when you liberally throw handfuls of the stuff every show, it's bound to travel. 

It's traveled from at least one county to the next. I've seen it in my house, on my floor, on my clothes, even in our laundry. If someone saw the show then hopped a plane to another state or country, there's a good chance our humble fairy dust traveled with them.

Today, as I entered the theater, I saw more of the dust on the floor and it made me think. The small squares are a physical manifestation of the spirit of our show. The purpose of any show should be to create something that lasts, that leaves the theater with those in the audience (and in the show and behind the scenes...). I envisioned that dust representing the feeling we share as people after watching a production. It stays on the stage, it's in the wings, on our clothes, in our hair (or on our heads...), it clings to us as long as possible--the stronger the impression of the show, the more it holds fast to us.

The fairy dust Peter Pan throws about, well...it's real. It's magic. It transports us to a different world, a world of make-believe.

The show ends this Saturday. I wonder how long I'll keep seeing fairy dust at my house, in my car, on my clothes.

I hope it's a long time.


No comments:

Post a Comment