“Once” Program
By Ramona Flightner/ @ramonaflightner
I went to New York City this past weekend to celebrate a family member’s birthday. I like NYC, but I find I can only handle short visits. It is such an enormous city with so many people that my Montana soul begins to feel trapped by cement, concrete, the press of others on the sidewalk. I begin to yearn for space and quiet.
Anyway, on this trip, I found inspiration again. I am slowly writing at home, but I am experiencing none of the large bursts of creativity that I had while writing my first book. It seems that with each change of scenery, inspiration returns. I wrote on the train and early one morning before everyone got up and new ideas kept popping into my mind.
I must preface everything I am going to write from here on out by stating that I am not an avid theater- goer. I like the theater and appreciate it, but I am in no way a connoisseur. Thus, with those words in mind, I would highly recommend begging, borrowing, doing what you can to somehow obtain tickets to the play, “Once.” It was absolutely fantastic with wonderful music, amazingly talented and versatile actors and a moving story.
Outside the theater
My aunt had read that if we arrived early to the theater, we would be allowed onto the stage to have a drink. With that in mind, we arrived when the doors opened, found our seats, bought our drink, and joked about “being on a Broadway stage.” Then, we were advised to stand to the side of the stage as most of the cast came out and began to play in the center of the stage. I loved being on the stage, watching them and the fun they seemed to be having as they played together.
We were treated to thirty minutes of lively music with a few slow songs thrown in for measure, before the actual play started. When it began, the only way we knew it was by the dimming of the lights. Fantastic.
I found it inspiring to watch the actors and musicians on the stage obviously enjoying themselves, as though proclaiming to the world, “this is what I was meant to do and I am doing it.” As I journey on with my writing and research, I was reminded again of the joy in finding what makes my soul sing. Very inspiring indeed.
Photo of the album cover
