At this Time of Year, My Thoughts Turn to …

At this time of year, my thoughts turn to November. November? That's right, November. You see, at The Fountains, the place where I live, the residents put on a variety show every year in November. April is the time of year when the Director of the variety show needs to enlist a cast, a crew, and a set of acts to constitute the show. Last year, and this year, I am the Director.

I have no business being the director of a variety show. I have as much theatrical experience as a stuffed animal. But last year it appeared that none of the experienced people was willing and able to direct. I had so much fun being a minor part of the show the prior two years that I was unwilling to let the show die due to lack of a Director, so I volunteered. I enjoyed the experience enough so that this year I signed up for a second term.

Wikipedia says: “In contemporary theater, after the playwright, the director is generally the primary visionary, making decisions on the artistic concept and interpretation of the play and its staging.” I'm not that kind of director. My approach to the job is to be more of an administrator, getting things organized and leaving the many talented and artistic residents here to exercise their own vision and create enjoyable acts to delight the audience. So at this time of year I'm concerned with recruiting creative writers, organizing meetings to discuss ideas, and letting the community know that we need volunteers. This is the time of year when I spend sleepless nights worrying about whether we will have enough good ideas, and enough cast, to be able to put on a show. This is the time of year to think about hiring a pianist, and reserving the auditorium for rehearsals and performances, and talking to the administration about possible scheduling conflicts. It is time to think about the sound equipment, and the stage lighting, and having the stage set up. True, November is a long way off, but my concept is to get everything organized at this time of year, and only have to deal with polishing performances in October and November. That is why, at this time of year, my thoughts turn to November.

Written as an assignment for the writers' group at The Fountains in May 2017.  The assignment was to write on this topic.