Nurture vs. Nature

Many people wonder weather or not they were raised to be who they are or if they were born that way. That question has been on the thoughts of many for a very long time. When I think about how I came to be I am forced to say that I was raised the way I am now.

For as long as long as I can remember stories have captivated me. My father told me stories as a young child before bed. I would read all day. I remember reading about Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Fin. I read about the journey of a ring and halfling fighting against each other for all of civilization proving that a single person can change the fate of the entire world.

 My mother is a musician and every night I would hear her play soulful stirring music. I learned how to play the viola at first. Then the Guitar. Then the drums. And now bagpipes. Music has always been a big part of my life.

My grandfather was an engineer and would lecture me in physics, math. and sciences. He designed the Lunar Lander, The Mars Rover and the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile. I was interested in all of them and wanted to embrace them all. 

Then I discovered theater, the art of story telling, and loving it. I was told that I could be anything I wanted to be and at that time I was was too old to want to be Batman, being a part of theater was the next option. I fell in love with the phantom serenading the beautiful Christine Daae'. I fell in love Richmond defeating King Richard the III. My family was supportive and pushed me under the stage lights, it was soon made clear that I was not suited for for the stage at all. I then hid behind the lights and told stories from a far. 

High school had started and the future was on my mind. I could not become and artist and forget what my grandfather had taught me. I could not become an engineer and forget what my the artistry my mother had taught me. I could not forget the stories that my father had given me. It seemed that they all wanted me to become a technician and that they had all been planning it for a long time. I was raised to be in theatre by my family I was not born that way.

A Technician Manifesto

When I say that we technicians demand perfection I want you to completely understand what that means. We have sleepless days and nights. We do not rest until we deliver our product.
Our product is simple, We are story tellers, entertainers, and artists; we provide the world in which stories are to. We demand perfection. We will not compromise our integrity, our artistic vision will not falter. We provide craftsmanship. What you see on stage is EXACTLY what you are supposed to see.

This is our manifesto. Within these words is our credo and what we stand for. Within these words is artistry, dedication, and commitment to the artistic vision. Within these words we explain our sleepless nights and our long days. Within these words we explain why.

Why we torture ourselves with the pursuit of perfection is simple. A good story requires nothing less and that is what we provide. We can go any anywhere in the world and produce a smile. That is the goal we strive to meet.

When people ask us if we regret not being in the light. We look up from our work and say truth that is found in all technicians. Our work speaks volumes. Each moment is a page in a book and each show is scene in a script.

Our voice is speaks as loud as the actors on the stage. As William Shakespeare wrote, "a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more" we feel that holds true for the stage as well. The voice on the stage, in the stage, is heard for an hour, nothing more. Within these words, is the voice contained by the world on the stage that people see.