KristyWes

Monday Night

Monday night was a heart-full kind of night. Bittersweet, happy, nostalgic, gratifying.

I had an Improv show, but not just any show: the last class show of the highest-level class offered at my theater.  I did it; I finished the training program; I'm an Improv 'graduate'! 

6 weeks of classes + 2 weeks rehearsal time + 8 weeks of shows = 4 months we've been working at this thing, my classmates and I.  

(Add to that all the time spent in lower level classes + plus required electives + plus practice groups + yadda yadda.  You get the point.  This was a long time coming.)

I've been looking forward to this class being over.  Though a good experience, it was also a tiring one - claiming two nights a week for the past two months.  I wanted those nights back, I wanted free time, I wanted flexibility in my schedule again.

But - as the end approached - I got all sad and sentimental.  I was going to miss my classmates, miss working with them and laughing with them and seeing them regularly.  It's not goodbye forever - I'll see them around.  But it won't be the same - can't be the same - as these past 4 months when we were teamed up in pursuit of this common goal.

But back to Monday.

The (super silly, super fun) reggaeton warm-up exercise our teacher taught us. The theater, packed with friendly faces. The Monoscene, the strongest one we’ve done to date. My line that came from nowhere, from the ether (maybe the best line I’ve ever said in an Improv show?) and that ego-fueling feeling of standing on stage, listening to the laughter you just effected. Walking off stage, my part done. The joy of getting to watch the rest of my classmates be their freakin’ hilarious selves.

After the show: hugs and smiles all around. The feeling of accomplishment, the relief of ending well, ending strong. The walk around the corner to the bar, catching up with a long-lost friend. Drinks all around, words of affirmation, Cajun french fries, Knicks vs Nets on the tv, talking about the past, wondering about the future. Re-hashing. Mingling. Meeting new people and talking about Spain. Learning what a ‘water back’ is and talking about love. Looking around and loving all the people I saw sitting there.

Staying out way too late for a Monday.

Going home smiling, thankful.

Very, very thankful.