Facebook keeps reminding me of what my life was like a year ago, four years ago, ten years ago…I was seldom home, always stretched thin, juggling responsibilities and activities but I was out there doing things and fulfilling my calling. I often commented that I was exhausted but exhilarated and a lot was accomplished in that time of my life. My husband and kids were with me in the thick of things, each of us pulling together in a joined effort to build and create with our students, casts and their families. We were good at pushing through together.  

Change… Loss… Grief…It’s something with which I am well-acquainted, but this latest experience has taught me even more about myself than I could have imagined.

Like most people, I have been forced to stop living one way and start living a dynamically different way since the pandemic shut everything down. I have felt at times quite isolated, and often a bit sad. Mid March brought an abrupt and dramatic stop to everything. As if we had been hit suddenly with ten feet of snow, everything just came to a full stop. I was home. Home… As the weeks passed I had to remind myself that this wasn’t a snow day or a vacation. I still had to change out of my pajamas, exercise and get to work. It was very challenging for the first few weeks. I missed time with my family and friends. I craved the energy, laughter and connection to life that seemed to be waiting for me on the other side of my front door. 

Enter Zoom, Skype and Facetime; three tools I had seldom used before. It actually was an effective and simple way for me to continue to see and work with my private voice students and conduct CTSI classes and meetings. I started using Google Classroom and found it to be an incredibly effective way to assign work and invite accountability from students. I started using zoom to visit with my family and friends and soon realized that it was a great way to stay connected. I no longer felt so alone.

My parents taught me that roadblocks are actually invitations to see something in a new way. There is always a path forward. You just have to think about your objective a bit differently and wait for the epiphany. Innovation is always the result of this scenario. It is important to be able to use our imagination as we set goals and create plans, but it is vital to be able to reimagine when we hit the inevitable roadblocks. 

I have reimagined my life many times for many reasons. The invitation to change has come in many forms. I was sort of forced by my parents to move from Indiana to Southern California at age 18. That is where I met Michael and became a professional singer. I was inspired to move back to Indiana when our daughters were young. Michael and I reimagined our careers and moved into teaching so that we could enjoy being with our girls and provide a normal lifestyle for them. When they were older we reimagined again that we could open a 9000 square foot performing arts studio offering much more than just voice lessons. We reimagined that Evansville could have more than one community stage. And when the time came to say goodbye to the studio, Michael and I reimagined that we could create a non profit children’s theatre company which could continue to serve kids and families in our region.

Just two months after closing D’Alto Studio of Performing Arts and experiencing the independence of our new non-profit, Children’s Theatre of Southern Indiana, Michael’s heart gave out and he passed away in September, 2018. In the many days and nights of the greatest grief of my life, I had to reimagine myself as a single woman running a brand new company. We had no building and no money, but luckily we had a dedicated board and many friends. We made the choice to rent under-utilized community spaces and operated out in the open. In our first year we held Saturday classes and produced two plays and two musicals. In our second year we added a weekday class and produced seven musicals. Our eighth musical, Matilda, was postponed due to the pandemic.

Coming into year three, we must reimagine once again. The abrupt and full stop of traditional classes and live theatre has invited us to think and plan in new ways. Because Zoom and Google Classroom are so effective for most classes, we have been able to create many new opportunities for students and instructors living near and far from our area. Our online Wizard of Oz Production camp provided students connection and community and presented new things to learn such as the difference between being a stage actor and a screen actor. We learned how to use Zoom for productions and ended up with a very entertaining show.

What is next? Well, that too has forced us to reimagine. Until Covid19 is under control we won’t be going back into traditional classes and shows. The industry is coming up with streaming and on-demand options for performances which is great, but we are still not ready for traditional classes and rehearsals. Remembering how easily colds, strep and flu are spread through show casts we just don’t want to take the chance that it would happen with the Coronavirus. 

If you are reading this I want you to know that there is no roadblock preventing us from reaching and interacting with the children and teens who need us. Children’s Theatre is still very present, pumping out love and support, education and experience to our own community as well as to communities far away. We are incredibly blessed to have the best instructors, excited students, effective tools and growing technology. It may be several more months before we are able to work together physically, but we now offer more classes than ever and have plans for a full theatrical season, some of which will be online and the rest live on our favorite local stage at 321 in Evansville. I hope that even more students will find us as they reimagine their own education and performance experience and that you will join us online for new opportunities to learn and grow.