It was a cruel realization when I signed up for the required theatre course, Lighting Crew, this semester: I'd have to face the one thing that theatre majors of all people should get over REAL fast.My fear of heights.
In a field which incorporates hanging lights, pulling curtains, dropping in microphones, acrobatics, and the like, a fear of heights can seriously hold a theatre person like myself back from experiencing the finer elements of the technical work that goes on behind the scenes.
It was never a big deal for me riding roller coasters in theme parks or even climbing the 990-foot-tall Eiffel Tower. But get me on a lighting catwalk and my legs turn to jelly as I gaze down into the expanse of the theatre house below me, which wouldn't be such a comfy landing.
Alas, the day came when my fears came around to face me. On the first day of Lighting Crew, we were set to hang lights for August Strindberg's Miss Julie. I entered the Studio Theatre in Towson University's Center for the Arts with my head held high, even though deep down I was ashamed that someone involved in an art where anything is possible could possess such a fear.
As it turned out, I wasn't the only one. Some of the other crew members requested other tasks that didn't involve being so far above the stage. I opted to face my fear and do what I came there to do: hang lights. The cool thing about the Studio Theatre is that the entire lighting area functions on a giant steel grid directly over the performance area, so if the lights (or a person) should fall, they would be caught by the steel grid. The springy grid was actually quite fun to walk on, and after a while, I started having conversations with some fellow theatre majors on the stage below who were painting the set, and I forgot all about my apprehensions from earlier that day.
My light circuiting handiwork, which took several hours but was fun all the same, can be seen in Miss Julie, which runs until Thursday at TU. Tomorrow I'm seeing the show; see you after right here.
I remain your fear-conquering Drama Queen.
Good for you! This fear has intensified for me a bit in the last year--I had a bit of anxiety climbing the Duomo in Florence in January, even though it was my second time doing so. Love the new header!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I like the picture but the space next to it is kind of driving me nuts; I'm trying to play around with it to make it work a little better.
ReplyDelete