In The Company of Actors

When I was small, my parents would always tell me to find friends who share my interests. Never would I have imagined that theater would be that interest and find myself in the company of thespians. It was indeed a choice I made back in college, and it seems to have been a turning point of some sort, because if I chose differently back then, I would have been in the company of an entirely different group...like...lawyers.

But jokes aside, I do share their passion for the theater art form; but I did so in a different way. Most of my thespian friends were, of course, performers. The stage was there canvas, as some people would say, and they painted it very well. I, on the other hand, built the canvas they painted on. While they performed, I watched, and made sure nothing went wrong. I was a stage manager. So whenever I saw them perform, I was always at a loss for words at how good they were, and then made sure the lights worked and the books on the damn bookshelf stayed together! :p

But that's long past. I have graduated from college (thank god!), I have a job as a manager of an NGO, and I am still in the company of the same group of people. Although we have had different jobs and occupations, performing was always the thing that brought us together. (well, for them, I just made sure nobody got hurt or too drunk on many an occasion)

Now, I see them make something of themselves as performers out there in a world that's more cutthroat and competitive as time goes by. And by far, as I see them prepare and practice, I realized that they do deserve that elusive spotlight. I realized that they have talent that is so bright, people will still see it in the dark. It may not be today, or tomorrow, but I firmly believe that one day, I will go check a newspaper or go online and see their names in the bright lights of stage. That's what people like me do, believe in the people who go onstage, and hope that they do their part well.

So I'm in the company of actors. A group of people who will go make a name for themselves someday. Although I'm cut from a different cloth, I still share the same passion as them. The world is their stage. And although the road may be hard for them; hey, helping them make the journey smooth is my job to begin with. And it's a job I would gladly do.

GOODLUCK TO ALL YOU GUYS!