"There's a kid in the middle of nowhere sitting there, living for Tony performances singin' and flippin' along with the Pippins and Wickeds and Kinkys, Matildas and Mormonses. So we might reassure that kid and do something to spur that kid. Cause I promise you all of us up here tonight. We were that kid and now we're bigger."- Neil Patrick Harris, Tony Awards Opening 2013
I met my first love when I was five years old. We met at my church, and I knew instantly that I had found my place. I was a part of a small show, but the moment I stepped onto that stage, the stage seemed to embrace me like an old friend. I always knew I was lucky to have found such a true, genuine love at such a young age, but I had no idea that that love would stick with me for the rest of my life. Here I am, almost fifteen years later, still just as in love as I was from that very first moment. Our love story is just like any other story-- there are times where I thought we would just have to call it quits, but despite all the ups and downs, I have remained hooked.
Recommended for you
Throughout my life, theater has been a pivotal part of who I was. I remember years gone by in terms of what shows I was in or what shows I got to see. I have boxes and boxes full of playbills and t-shirts and old props and pieces of costumes that I got to keep. So many of my stories start with "When I was in ____," or "When I went to go see ____, this thing happened." I have gone so many years with theater in my life, and I don't think I will ever know a life that doesn't have at least a little bit of theater magic in it.
Like millions of people around the world, I found this indescribable magic while I was performing or watching someone else perform. There's just something about theater that has always been able to capture my heart like nothing else. The lights, the costumes, the feeling you get when the audience first erupts into applause...there's just nothing like it. Yes, there are days that test you beyond what you think you can handle, but at the end of the day, you go back again and again. Why? Because this is what you love to do. You love to get on that stage and soak up that light and pour your heart out for the people in the audience. Through every nerve-racking audition, every dreadful cue-to-cue rehearsal, and every costume that makes you feel less-than fabulous, your burning love for the art keeps you around.
I've always been that kid in the middle of nowhere who "performs" in her room for her parents and the one who cries at shows because of the sheer beauty of finally seeing a show you know all the words to. I've learned so much about life from the characters I've played and the ones I've watched on stage. The words and lyrics jump out of the scripts and scores and into my heart. The stories that I've learned stick with me and make me feel as if I have lived a million different lives.
I've been to Oz with Dorothy, I've fought Scar with Simba, I've heard the music of the night, I've been caught in the war between the Sharks and the Jets. And, as much as we love the classics, new shows are popping up every day, and we love those new ones just as much. New stories are being told, and we keep moving forward. That's one of my favorite things about theater, so much can change, but the heart and soul of performing never really change. So, to slightly paraphrase Hamilton, "There's a million things we haven't done, but just you wait."
