closing night

my parents were there. and my high school speech teacher's widow. and my friends john and laurie, with whom i had not spoken in several months. and my friends justin and alyssa and their friends. and my teacher friend fran, who brought a friend.
i sat next to my sweet mom and put my arm around the back of her chair. my dad sat next to her, and she massaged his hand during the performance.
my high school speech teacher was one of the major influences of my young adulthood. he encouraged me to be an actor, believed in me, set an example of someone who committed his life to his art. he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage at an early age and passed away sometime around 1998. the theatre at the high school i graduated from and now work in is named after him.
the kids did a wonderful job. it was their final performance of the play, so they were all very focused and emotional. i was reminded of sydney, an acting teacher from college, who once told us that we should think of every performance as our last. this improves our commitment to the finality of the moments we play, makes our performance more vital and alive.
we struck the entire set after the play, with help from many dads and moms. we took apart all the platforms, doors, flats. we stored the lumber. we dragged things. we deconstructed. it was satisfying.
tomorrow i will see a touring company production of EVITA at the majestic theatre. it will be a nice way to end the week and to begin the upcoming week.