Theatre Can be a Dirty Business
Theatre Can Be a Dirty Business
The actor in the spotlight sings a show-stopping number as beautiful chorus members execute stunning choreography and bring the house down. This is one side of the business of theatre—the magical side, the clean and beautiful ‘there’s-no-business-like-show-business’ side. There is another side, though - a dirty, dusty, grimy, gross side. And I have witnessed this side many, many times in my decades of work in community theatre.
I have seen volunteers, people who are being paid NOTHING, crawl through the murky underside of OCT’s stage (yes, there is a crawl space under our stage!) to investigate an electrical issue. I have seen them shovel tens of hundreds of pounds of plaster they’ve removed from our ceilings and walls into wheelbarrows and roll them out to the dumpster. I have seen them vacuum carpets, mop floors, scrub toilets, haul scrap set pieces, put up set walls, take down set walls, paint, trim weeds, fix windows (and roofs, and ceilings, and…), wrangle loads of costumes, wash popcorn makers, and countless other grubby, mucky jobs. I’ve seen it, and I’ve done some of these things, too. Some. Definitely not all. Ish. I’m not going to lie: it can be really yucky work.
So, theatre can be a “dirty” business, and the people I’ve witnessed dive into this dirtiness do this, not because they are insane (well, not certifiably insane), but because they understand how important their contribution is. And their commitment and drive are contagious. Like the best and most beautiful virus you can imagine, this commitment and drive catches on, and then—before you know it—other people are spreading this beautiful virus to even more people…and creating a passionately “infected” COMMUNITY. The dirty work gets done, and the people doing the dirty work have found that the work they are doing is building a foundation for the transformative things that happen on the stage. Somehow, everyone’s got the virus, and no one wants to be cured. Everyone wants to dig in and ‘get dirty’ because it makes their lives better. This ‘dirty’ work has been fundamental in building friendships, supporting passions, and making this little corner of Spring and Grove a more magnificent place.
Theatre can be a very, very dirty business with very, very (but not certifiable!) crazy people. But there truly is no business like show business. It is all completely worth it. Let’s hope there is no cure.
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