Getting Bitten by the Theatre Bug

by: Tabitha Garnica

"Our days are tied to curtains, they rise and they fall."

“We’re a special kind of people known as Show People. We live in a world of our own.”~ Curtains

We all have a story about the event or series of events in which we were first drawn to the theatre.  Many people call this, “getting bitten by the theatre bug.”  For those of you who do not know, the theatre bug is a phrase used to define the seemingly irrational urge or desire of one to make theatre a major part of one’s life. 

 The truth is, we theatre people are crazy. We have to be.  Think about it.  We spend our lives watching shows, listening to the same songs over and over again, subjecting ourselves to the horrible experience of auditioning, dreaming of the horrifying experience of performing in front of hundreds, and enduring the pain of constant rejection and disappointment.  The scariest part is –we love it!

The movie cover I memorized when I was a kid

  How was I bitten by the theatre bug?  Well, my dad walked into work one day and came across a co-worker grieving the loss of her father.  While he was comforting her, she spoke about the enormously positive affect her father had on her life.  What she was most thankful for was that her father gave her a love of theatre and old movies.  It had made her the person she grew up to be, and gave them a bond that was unlike any other.  This resonated with my dad, and he decided to try this out with his painfully shy five year old daughter.  One day, he brought home the movie, Meet Me in St.Louis starring Judy Garland. I vividly remember staring at the cover of the movie after I had seen it, as if I had just discovered gold.   That was it.  I was hooked.  I started watching musical after musical, and have not stopped since.  And yes, it did give me and my father an incredible bond, and I am thankful for this every day of my life. 

 No one saw my theatre bug bite coming.  As I previously stated, I was painfully shy.  I was “that girl” who was too shy to even get up to receive her diploma in pre-school.  If someone who I did not know spoke to me, I simply refused to speak back.  I had this tiny voice which very closely resembled that of a mouse.  It is probably the biggest irony of my life that theatre is such a passion.  It usually happens to those children who are hams, and do outgoing comedy routines for their parents, or always feel the need to be the center of attention.  But no.  It happened to me, and let me say that this has made my life as a theatre person incredibly interesting.

The truth is, you never know who will get bitten by the theatre bug. Look for the clear signs.  Symptoms may include: constant daydreaming, singing when they think no one is listening, watching the same musical or play millions of times, and reading audition notices as if their lives depended on it.  If you or a loved one has been affected by the theatre bug, PLEASE, foster this passion carefully, immerse yourself in this beautiful world, and NEVER let anyone EVER talk you out of it.