Smythe posted:

there is nothing more thrilling than the moment right before opening, a full house, vibrating talent, rows of press, the development office quivering with anticipation - months of work, weeks of 80 hour weeks teching and polishing and making it all perfect, all boil down to the 10 seconds before the first cue. Once that first Go, the pre-show recording telling people to turn off their phones plays it's all our of your hands, off to the races. it's exhilarating. I've been in this business a long time and it still takes my breath away. The whole process flashes before your eyes. The first time you read the script in a dimly lit office after hours, in rehearsal when the director threw their script on the ground and stormed out. The hours spent troubleshooting some hosed up tricky cue. The designer who had a crying meltdown trying to get some poo poo right. The disastrous dress rehearsal that left you talking an actor off the ledge on the phone in the dead of night. All of it for this moment. WOW!