Sweat, Stairs, and Rock N' Roll

The word community is derived from the Latin word "communitas" (com="together"+ munus="gift"). As the cast and crew toiled together in the hot, dirty space that will be their home away from home for the next couple of months, the meaning of this word became abundantly clear.

After some initial grumbling and a few "if looks could kill" glances directed at our fearless leader, the work of creating a usable rehearsal space began. This consisted of some pretty unsavory jobs, including moving heavy set pieces, disassembling large objects, and endless sweeping. All of this accompanied by cassette tapes of music, which some of the cast had heard of, but never actually seen. (Insert uncomfortable high school flashback here).

As the night progressed, strangers introduced themselves, acquaintances became better acquainted, and friends got friendlier. People who would never cross paths in "real life" became part of the same community, a group of like-minded individuals working together toward a common goal.

Eventually, the space was clean, work gloves were shed, and there was nothing left to do. And that was when the community was truly born. The gift of coming together became evident as people stood around, talking, processing their shared experience, and just generally soaking in the atmosphere of the space that they had created together.

Personally, I'm grateful to have witnessed the creation of this little community, and to the people who made it happen. I can't wait to see what happens next.