The title of this post might easily lead one to believe that the subject matter is going to be dark or heavy but I don't think that is the case at all. Black Spring is simply what came to mind as I was thinking about two of my favorite things...nature and the theatre. I don't think that I have ever really written anything here about my career as a theatrical technician, other than referring to it in the profile tidbit. But then something clicked in my head today, which inspires me to write about the topic now.
One of the things that, for some reason, drew me to the theatre right from the start was the feeling I got from completing the run of a show and then restoring the stage to black in preparation for the transition into a new production. It dawned on me today, very much with the feeling of a light bulb flashing on over my head, that this transitional period is rather like spring in the natural world. The stage has been cleared and cleaned and is ready for the new production to sprout forth.
In honesty, the biggest reason that they seem so similar to me is probably the fact that they inspire very similar emotions in me. Springtime always fills me with an eager calmness and inspiration; a real sense of balance. The same is true for being alone (or sometimes in a small group) in a freshly restored-to-black theatre. I doubt I can really describe the feeling...I am not much of a poet. But suffice it to say, it has been an overwhelming feeling right from the very first time I experienced it. I also came into the theatre a bit later than many do, as I didn't get involved until my 3rd year of college. Most people seem to get involved in theatre in high school or even younger so I think a slightly higher maturity level allowed for a deeper connection, or at least a deeper appreciation of the connection.
But I think, at the end of the day, this is probably in the genes of most technician-types. We all tend to take a strong feeling of ownership for our "space" (slang tech term for theatre or venue), which is probably why so many of us make good managers. I know that as much as I love almost everything about my return to the land, I do still sometimes long for the stage and the cycle of the theatre season.
Anyway, now that spring seems to be upon us here in Northern Alberta, the return of these emotions reminds me once again of a freshly black stage. I suppose Spring will always be Black to me in many ways, but that is not a bad thing at all!
3 years ago
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6 comments:
Spring is the new black! :) Lovely post and though I'm not involved in the theatre I totally get what you're talking about.
Cheers,
Amber
I'm pleased to hear that Amber!
just saying hi.
How do you grow such nice corns? I had terrible luck with corn. Nothing seems to work. Do you prep the soil...the breed you plant?
I understand. I feel that way about creating things, only I think white-canvas for example. Or in spinning fiber now that I'm into that. I'm glad that you have something that fills you with those feelings (not a poet myself either).
I don't really get to do it much anymore though, Linda. Its next to impossible to be a theatre tech and to farm because teching is so rarely a 9-5 kind of gig. Luckily I still have spring itself!
Thanks for visiting and saying hi Weekend Farmer. I'm not really sure how I did so well with the corn last summer. Might just have been luck of the draw though I did irrigate it quite a lot. No real special soil prep tho, and the breed I can't recall. It was just some typical packet-of-seeds-from-the-store kind. For all I know they could have been transgenic though there was no glowing in the dark or anything like that.
In all honesty, the luck was likely in that they were in a nice part of the garden, and they were given lots of water. I guess they did get a couple dousings of nettle tea early on too.
I hope that you can find something that will fill in the gap which also gives you that same feeling. Spring is awesome, but obviously, it doesn't last.
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