Time in thy flight.

I was cruising around the 'net (and I really shouldn't, because it's a waste of time, but at three am I've got nothing BUT time) and seeing many things that touch my heart; not necessarily in a good way.....

The Crown Uptown Dinner Theatre in Wichita KS is closing today, after thirty some-odd years of bringing live professional theatre to the masses of Kansses. As always, I'm sad to hear of another theatre biting the dust in this economy. Yes, I feel badly about another opportunity lost for the professional actor, but more than that, I'm sad because these are the places that are supposed to be keeping the live theatre ALIVE. These are the places where people go because they can't or don't want to go to NY, or LA or CHI or MSP. We, as a society, NEED these places, as palaces against the societal worries of our times.

However, I'm gratified the a new endeavor has begun in Lincoln City, IN, with a new play about Father Abraham. I spent a few summers down there, toiling in the outdoor drama YOUNG ABE LINCOLN, and I knew many good people and had myself a ball. I was sad to see the old story go, but am glad that there is finally something to take it's place, especially since this is the Bicentennial of Lincoln's Birth, I believe.

It's at this time of year that I feel the pang of not doing. There was something special (the benefit of hindsight allows for some romanticism of the past) about those days in the summer theatre circuit. There were new opportunities with every endeavor; new faces, new levels of talent to play to, new audiences, new experiences. The people I met along the way defined the time; and continue to define me in many and various ways.

Sleeping on the deck of the Showboat, because it was far too hot indoors.

The sound of the crickets as the show begins in an outdoor drama in IN, or OH, or KY.

One of my favorite quotes, after being crushed nearly to death by a piece of scenery during a late night dress rehearsal: "You know, there isn't a single part of this play that I like."

Playing cards until dawn, only to be awakened shortly after falling asleep by a bagpipe convention.

Sabrina. Kevin. Eric. Barbara. Angela. Casey. Ben. Todd. Dave at the piano. The denizens of Eddy St. Shakespeare's Daughter. Chris and I taking hostages for cookies. The smell of a bonfire. The sound of applause.

I don't get a chance to hear that sound very often anymore. I rarely get applauded for my analysis. Miss it terribly.

Oh, if I could only halt the time in it's flight.