In theaters across the world, this moment is the same, and I love it dearly, with all my heart.
After the comforting dissonance and expectant energy of musicians tuning in the pit, the call of "places for act one...places please", and then...... there's a lull.
That glorious, time stretching anticipation of suspended magic.
Lights all wink out and a swirl of sensations come into sharp focus - that moment in between.
The smell of the theater, that unmistakable gentle must of old velvet curtains, makeup, perfume, hair spray, aged wood, paint and brass.
The sound of your breathing suddenly loud in your ears, the tittering bustle of the audience quickly hushed.... attentively waiting.
Standing in the wings behind enormous, rich folds of closed curtains, looking onto the vast stage so full of that magic stillness of "about to start- about to come to life."
It carries with it a rushing sense of history, of shows that have come before with their lights and pageantry.
The excitement builds and suddenly that moment's spell is broken, with the lightning stroke of a baton, as the overture starts.....
And we're off into the show, into the journey- Curtain Up!
April 2011
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