Picnic Post-Mortem

A show's closing performance is always bittersweet. There is a flood of emotions that pours over you, right as you take your first step on to the stage up until you take your final bow. That feeling of "this is the last time I'll do this!" after every one of your lines, your movements, your interactions, and with every entrance and exit you know you are literally one step closer to saying goodbye. There is a sense of accomplishment after a successful run that you can't find anywhere else, and this show was particularly strong in that sense. Watching the show come together and grow is always exciting, especially when there is new blood involved. "Picnic" follows Madge Owens as she finds herself and learns what it means to fall in love and grow up, and she runs after the new guy in town, Hal Carter. The actor that played Hal was a first time performer, and watching him grow in his craft, and discover how wonderful theatre can be was a once in a lifetime experience, and I am so very proud of him.

The cast of a show quickly becomes like your second family. In a relatively short time period, the cast and crew of "Picnic" were my constant companions, I'd spent every evening with them and most weekend nights, and as the rehearsal period went on I found myself becoming attached to these people, as you always do. Saying goodbye to them today was hard, even harder than I thought it would be. It made me think about how hard it is going to be when I leave for my internship in the fall. Everything happens for a reason, and I'm ready to see what those reasons are.