The long hours and time away from my family, the drama, the stress… sometimes I wonder why on earth I do theatre.  I have gone weeks at a time where I hardly see my husband, the house becomes a disaster area, I’m exhausted and I run out of clean clothes and fresh groceries.  Yet despite all that, I still do theatre.  And so do the wonderful people below… read on for their reasons!

“The people… Playing new people, and telling stories.” — Ceris Thomas

“The money!  Oh wait, that’s prop money… sigh.” — Greg Mizon

“The escape.” — Julia Lacasse

“The fun! (And sometimes swords)” — Monica Maika

“The violence.” — John-Michael Murphy

“I think it helps instill empathy in people. After playing so many different characters with different backgrounds, I think it makes me more understanding. The world would be a much more courteous and friendly place if everyone did theatre…  TV & movies cannot (as accurately) share & present true human emotion, action, reaction and thought. TV and movies are edited and “touched up” before being published. Theatre is in the moment and true to events which occur.” — Heather May

“Theatre is my therapy. Thoughts, emotions, behaviours, etc. I wouldn’t be comfortable exhibiting or be able to express elsewhere find homes in the rehearsal hall & on stage. I can work through things in rehearsal and performance easier than I can in “real life,” if you will…  Theatre, and its creation (at least in part,) by my hands is something I can easily take an enormous amount of pride in without feeling guilty in any way. Even if it’s crap, it’s something you helped bring to life. And that ain’t nothin’.” — Kaitlyn Rietdijk

“Simple – it makes me happy.” — Mel Becke

“The challenge and for the longest time it was my only creative outlet.” — Lisa DesGroseilliers

“Oscar Wilde sums up my thoughts rather neatly with this quote: ‘I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.'” — Kristin Thomas

“The fun and challenge, camaraderie, where else would I meet folks as crazy as me – aside from my family.” — Ellen Mallett

“The relationships with the cast and crew, the ability to safely (it’s only for three months, after all) dig into myself to find parts of me I haven’t accessed before, the sense of accomplishment, the fun of being on stage!!” — Steve Ogden

“Theatre is a beautiful outlet.  The people are what make community theatre so fantastic. Spending so much of your time with the same group of people during the rehearsal process and run of a show can really make us feel like family, and that’s the best part.” — Steph Molloy

“There is nothing else I’d rather do with my life than act, sing dance, quote musical theatre, perform duets as a solo, fangirl over broadway (which over 1/2 of my friends don’t understand), and work with the most amazing people on the planet!!!” — Lisa Craig

“I like the challenge to portray each character.” — Peter Nye

“The great people I get to hang out with who know how to play and have fun (including my family).” — Tania Harvey

“My alter ego says, ‘Why not’.” — Patt Brocksom

“Because I’m addicted. It’s a drug. But a good one!” — Meredith Blakeney

“I’m nuts.  Nice to be among a bunch of nuts.” — Art Fidler

“I must.”  — Dale Hirlehey

Why do YOU do theatre?  Share in the comments!

Photo Credit: Andrea Hutchison

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