Theatre Life.

The two of us met when we were cast in a production at our local professional theatre in the Big City. We were both 18, fresh out of breakups from our former partners and thrilled to be part of a energetic cast and crew. The production was well received but just a few weeks before the end, the promoter ran off with the proceeds and the show closed early. It was a blow to all of us who had worked so hard and the beginning of a time in my life when I unfortunately realized that not everyone in life can be trusted. A life lesson I carry.

Out of all that turmoil, we ended up in a relationship that a few years later resulted in our marriage, our house, our careers and then our children. Through it all, we would continue to be involved in the theatre world as much as we could. Our children have grown up with conversations at the table that are probably not typical ("who has an audition coming up?") and each of them has been involved in the arts in a variety of ways. I'm proud of their collective and individual creativity and am happy we have been able to maintain connections within our own arts community. Definitely not a boring life!

In August each year, we are either performing or delivering a production at the second largest Fringe Festival in the World. This year, our team wrote an original work and it's been well received at Fringe. Today is our last performance. I always get sad for the last day. We work so hard and its well worth the energy. But the curtain closes, we take our bows, strike the set, go out for a last meal together and then we're drive back home to resume the "normal" life we must live in between the performances, the cheers and the camaraderie. It's a great community to be part of and I'm grateful we've been able to carve out experiences with our family and our theatre life.