Edema Rue

To the theatre, regarding blood,

Sweat,

And tears.

That is what you are built from. 

The blood,

The sweat,

The tears,

And the people who shed them. 

Behind all the twisting curtains, the glamorous costumes, the rich trappings, there are hard stone walls.

Beneath the frills is a sturdy wooden set.

And soaked into every board of that set is blood.

And beneath every screw there is sweat.

And behind every tease there are hidden tears.

But now is not the time for tears or teasing.

Now is not the time for building and breaking and belonging.

This is the time for sweat.

The cast becomes a family

From hours spent together

And now is the time to put in those hours;

Now is the time to work. 

Forget everything but lines,

Choreo,

And vocals.

Let the world fall away,

And work

Work

Work.

And treasure every moment of the pain

Because this is a pain I chose.

And this is a pain that leads to a moment in the spotlight.

And that moment leads to more moments.

And those moments are bliss.

The work…

It is work that I will do.

It is a pain I will take a thousand times over.

Because look;

Look!

It all starts to click.

When the leads speak, or breath, or stay silent,

I start to shiver

With terror

And excitement.

So though the work is hard,

I am adding

My blood

Sweat

And tears

To your collection.

And though the days are long,

I am learning

What it means

To be yours.

And for as long as you will have me,

That is what I will be.

Your servant,

Your acolyte,

Your tool,

Your child.

I am yours.

Rue