Community Theatre is such a beautiful thing. The lights of the marquee at night become the highlight downtown, making your evening stroll feel like a scene in a Hallmark movie. Seating up to 115 guests per performance, the Historic BeeKay Theatre is small but mighty. Here is a place where you can see a fantastic show without paying Broadway prices. Every performer, director, or tech and crew member does this as a hobby, but that doesn’t make them any less talented or passionate than a professional. Here is a place where the diva or prima donna is becoming a thing of the past, at least in our lovely little theatre.

We’re here to have fun, entertain, and bring a great story to life. Our cast and crew members become a family. We can go from not knowing one another to building incredible friendships. How could we not when we spent so many months rehearsing together? We become each other’s biggest fans and supporters. From that first audition to the final performance, it is amazing to watch each other grow.

Then, there’s something magical about that first performance. After months of practice, you finally get to share this beautiful thing you’ve poured your heart and soul into and worked so hard on. You step out onto the stage and perform for a full house on a warm summer evening or just a few people brave enough to leave the house during a winter snowstorm. You can’t see a single person in the audience because those stage lights are bright and blinding, like walking out into the sunlight after you’ve been in a dark room. You have excitement, nerves, and extra energy because, for the first time since you started this long journey, someone is there to react.

One of the beauties of live theater is that every performance can be different, and the audience plays a vital role. Whether it’s laughter or gasps, it becomes fuel to elevate the performance. A response from the audience lets the actors know they’ve been touched, that they’ve felt something. At the night’s end, you take your bow, knowing you’ve told the story to the best of your ability. The audience gives a standing ovation, and you feel good knowing that their $20 price of admission was well worth it.

The last show comes with tears and high emotions. After committing a story to your memory and your heart, then reliving it several times a weekend, it’s the last time performing a favorite moment. Behind the scenes, it’s all hugs, congratulations, and goodbyes. There’s a different energy altogether. Maybe some of us will work together again in future productions but nothing will ever feel the same as the experience happening right now. With the final performance, a production becomes a treasured memory.

Tehachapi Community Theatre Association, otherwise known as TCTA, comprises a combination of new actors, youth, veteran actors, and those well on their way to becoming veterans. No matter their age or years of experience, everyone can learn something from every production and offer something new. Acting isn’t the only talent, either. A production requires great directors, people to build the set, artists to paint the set, someone to find or even make all the props used in the show, and a costumer with sewing skills and even some historical knowledge to help accurately bring those period pieces to life. Volunteer ushers will take your ticket at the door, sell star grams (a way to send a special note to cast and crew members), or sell tasty treats at the snack bar.

Like every family, you love to watch it grow. TCTA puts on about four plays yearly, each running for three to four weeks. That’s four opportunities to audition and share your talent, four opportunities to try something new, four opportunities to get dressed up for a great night out, and four opportunities to come together as a community to make memories and share the joy of live theatre.

This was written by our contributing writer, Karina Coghlan.