For this series of blogs I am to pick a community that I’m a part of and explain it along with the discourse that goes on within. This being the introduction, the community I chose is community theatre. I first became interested in participating in community theatre when I was nine years old, and was in my first show by ten.

My mother and sister had just been in a musical production of Tom Sawyer, and throughout all of the rehearsing and shows that they put on I would sing along with them in the car and even hear and memorize some of the lines. So when that community theatre organization was having audition for their next show, I showed up. I’ve been a part of the Queensville Players for 10 years now and have been in many musicals and plays as a member of the ensemble or a supporting cast member, as a member of the backstage crew, as a member of the lighting and sound booth, and just somewhat recently as a stage manager.

There are many things that appeal to me when I think of community theatre. I have always loved to sing and while I’m not a great dancer, the choreography is something that I enjoy as well and pride myself on once I’ve memorized an entire dance for a scene. And while the singing and dancing is a big part of it, the acting is almost more enticing. When you’re singing you can always just be you, but acting provides a glimpse into the mind of someone else, even if it’s munchkin #3. You put yourself in a head space different to that of your own, and take into account their motivations and aspirations, who and what they like and don’t like. It’s so interesting to fully invest yourself into becoming someone else who might be completely different from you, all just so you can tell a story with your fellow cast members.

The people meet in theatre are like you. They enjoy singing and dancing, putting on a show, and pretending to be someone else. I find you can learn a lot about the world and teach yourself about perspective when you spend your time trying to think how your character would. And the people I’ve met from being in shows have become the best friends I’ve ever made.

There are many more things I could say about theatre but I imagine a lot of that will come later.