Monday, August 16, 2010

No Place Like Home

12 days to go. 12 days left of unwelcome spiders. 12 days left of mosquito bites. 12 days left of not sleeping in my own bed. 12 days left of no air conditioning. 12 days left to spend with new friends. 12 days left until I see old friends. 12 days until HOME!

It’s hard to believe our time at BTF is coming to a close. One apprentice has already left to return to school, and it seems that we are saying goodbye to various staff members everyday now. It is the beginning of the end.

As I walked through the streets of downtown Stockbridge today, I thought back to the first time I ever drove through it. What was once very unknown is now engraved in my memory. What at first seemed aloof and strange is now no more unfamiliar than the old stomping grounds of home. But home, it is not. At least not for me.

It’s hard for me to understand how a period of time can go by so fast and slow at the same time. In one way I feel like I just arrived, and in another way it seems like I’ve been here forever. I’m always trying to rush time, and then I look back and wonder how it got here so fast. As I look forward to going home, I am striving to cherish every day that I have left, as I know that I’ll always treasure this time of my life. So many memories. So many friends. So many blessings. But so many bugs…

It’s Theatre Camp for grown-ups. And believe me, it’s not for the faint of heart. We’ve all done things this summer we never thought we could do, not the least of which includes surviving our living quarters. Anyone who’s ever been to the Lavan Center knows exactly what I’m talking about, and for those of you who haven’t, just imagine an old campground converted into an insane asylum that was abandoned about 20 years ago.

We still have a couple of weeks left, which are filled to the brim with activities. From Master Classes, to Suzuki, to Yoga, to Linklater, to rehearsals, to nightly performances, to our approaching Showcase, we don’t have much downtime scheduled before we leave. That’s a good thing, though. It’s good for me to be busy. I’m much more productive that way, and it will keep my mind off of the fact that I miss home. I have 12 days left of my apprenticeship, and it’s my mission to make each one of them count.

Just for the record, I really have enjoyed my time here in Stockbridge. It’s been an amazing summer, and I have learned so much. There’s no part of me that regrets spending my summer with the Berkshire Theatre Festival. But Dorothy said it best. There’s just no place like home.

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