A Tribute to the Masque

Okay, I need to admit: I hate things that are too cheesy. I like to have a positive outlook on life but it does not strike me as very honest to not offer some form of criticism as well. Otherwise it sounds like some kind of pep fest for the person or idea that you are discussing instead of a time to delve into some critical questions. (Ah, the perpetual independent thinker I am...) However, I have recently been asked to write some kind of tribute to the Masque Youth Theatre and School, where the director Sylvia Langworthy is retiring. I was involved with the Masque actively when I was younger, so this is what I finaly found myself writing, trying not to be overly cheesy in my approach:

When I heard that there was going to be a collection of stories about Sylvia and the Masque, I was excited to participate in this. However, as I sat down to try to write, I found myself unable to do so effectively. The timing is actually pretty bad because I am finally able to look at these stories, acknowledge how they impacted me, and release them. The reliving of these stories at this point in time formulates questions about what was and what could have been. Right now I am at a place where I am more concerned about what I am now and who I might be able to become even though I have plenty of interesting stories I could tell. Yet, within this context, however, I would say that the Masque and Sylvia has left quite an imprint in terms of some of the values that I am finding myself leaning toward.

I am in graduate school with Berkeley, California as my main geographical base in preparation to become a minister in the context of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. One of the things that they often stress to us is that as future clergy members is how important it is to find people that we would want to be around who are not affliated with the church so that we have a sense of social support somehow. While I have a variety of interests that I could see myself happy to pursue outside the context of the church, the thing that I always think about as a top priority is getting involved with a local theater in some capacity. The community that is formulated around putting a show together is beautiful really as it draws people from a variety of backgrounds and interests together who are interested in bringing a show to life. The creativity that is involved in putting a show together still captivates me the same way it did when I was a child. I truly can not think of anywhere else that I have ever experienced the combination of community and creativity as I have in the context of putting any play together. The Masque is not the only place that I have experienced this in the context of theater. However the Masque is the place that really introduced me to these concepts and I am forever indebted to that.

Also, I think that wanting to be involved with the Masque as well as doing well in school really suited me well. I have a very creative, over active mind. Being in plays really suited me quite well because it was the beginning of articulating my world of imagination to other people. It was also good for me because being involved with plays, especially under Sylvia’s direction, taught me a lot about discipline and priorities at a young age. It actually helped me to become a better student, which I am forever indebted to her for as I am now in a masters degree program.

In many ways, Sylvia and the Masque has left a positive impact on me. Maybe my criticism comes from the fact that often what works for us as a child is not the same as what works as an adult. Yet as my reflection demonstrates, I still bring in a love of the arts, especially theater and literature into my adult world as well. Sylvia and the Masque really nurtured these tendencies of mine as a child, which made me become the person that I am today.