who…*what*…ARE you, anyway? by Liza Morales

The word is "theatre kid." And that's "theatre" spelled "T-H-E-A-T-R-E", not "T-H-E-A-T-E-R." I don't know why. But it is. And it's important. And yes, calling myself a "kid" instead of a "child" grates on my southern upbringing. But that is the phrase, that's who we are, and that's how you spell it.

But beyond the name, under the surface, what ARE we? What makes us tick? Why do we do what we do?

We are the theatre kids.

We are dramatic.

We get out on stage and do things everyone would be embarrassed to do in real life - actually, a lot of the time things WE would never do in "real life". But that's okay.

We listen almost exclusively to show tunes.

When we're alone in the house, we belt show tunes and try out new riffs and accents.

We will dance to anything and everything, and can't hear a dance number without choreographing it in our heads, and maybe trying it out on the spot - wherever we happen to be.

We practice our choreography anywhere and everywhere.

We quote musicals in every conversation.

We sing all day long - a cappella, or with accompaniment. Our showers are Showtune Central.

We're used to going to the grocery store or restaurant during tech week in stage makeup. Don't judge.

We have a bazillion inside jokes with our cast mates and theatre family.

We wear show t-shirts most of the time.

We drink throat coat and tea with honey like there's no tomorrow.

We would always rather be in NYC.

We save every playbill from every show we've ever seen.

We get very attached to our cast mates and parting from them after a show is quite painful and involves lots of hugs and kisses and promises to have reunions in the near future. (which don't happen)

We consume inhale food at an astonishing rate during tech week.

Our favorite movies are musicals, and if it's our turn to pick the car music, it's going to be a show and we are going to sing along.

We all have an inner Peter Pan, in that sometimes we just gotta crow.

We get very emotional about anything theatre related.

In other words, we drive everyone else nuts.

We're busy. "Oh, golly...I'd LOVE to. But I have rehearsal." is our slogan. We can rattle off how many minutes are in a year without a second thought….and probably know how many of them we spend in rehearsal. And periods of time in our life are marked by what show we were part of, versus seasons.

We are walking encyclopedias of….useful?….knowledge. Like the exact number of performances for Broadway's longest running shows. Or the names of every single cast member who's ever been in Newsies. Or how many shows Andrew Lloyd Webber has written. Or how many times a show has been revived…and inevitably killed again. We know actors and actresses and directors like our relatives know sports players. (thanks, Wikipedia!) When our favorites leave to do other projects, we get an achy feeling in our stomach and might even cry.

We never quite realize how confusing, complicated, or creepy our favorite shows might be we have to explain the synopsis to someone less informed. Oops. Guess you're right.

We can be very judgmental of others talent, normally because we know we aren't as good as them and couldn't sing that song or do that show as well as they can anyway. But on the flip side, we are also incredibly inspired by those who have achieved great heights, and we work to be more like them.

And speaking of accomplishments, ours can be quite odd. Like being able to name, in order, all the colors in Joseph's coat. Or sing "One Day More" by yourself. Or do the Witch's Rap or "Your Fault" from Into the Woods…or any song from that show for that matter. (grin) "Rock Island" from The Music Man is also a fun one to master. And "Sit Down You're Rockin' the Boat." None of which are familiar to anyone else.

We suffer from PSD, a unique symptom affecting only actors. It stands for "Post Show Depression" and it can be very severe and last for several months - even years. And it's inevitable, if you love what you do. One of the downsides of being a theatre kid. But what goes up must come down. And in the end, it grows you.

We all have dreams. Dream roles, dream shows, dream theaters. (yes, you can spell that the other way) We're willing to try and fail to make those dreams a reality. And some of us will achieve them. Others of us will not. Some of us will "make it" on the stage. Some of us will pursue other lives, and keep it as a hobby. But it never leaves you. And when you're too old to be a theatre "kid", and you become just an "actor" - you'll never forget the early, crazy days.

We are the theatre kids, and we do our best to make the world a happier, more creative place. We're a funny bunch, and you may never know all the drama that goes on in our lives when the spotlight's turned off. Sometimes we need stabler people to bring us back down to earth, but overall, we know how to balance.

It's fun, you know. Being a theatre kid.