Bravery

Today I was in my writing class and it was my turn to workshop my chapter. That means that people will give praise and then ask questions.
I must have gotten that deer in headlights look because my instructors encouraged me to not give up and whatever.
OK the deer in headlights thing is just a look I get when I'm processing stuff sometimes. I'm tough. I'm resilient. I don't give up. I can handle workshops.
But it made me think how being a wardrobe girl has prepared me for writing criticism.
As a wardrobe girl part of my job is to take care of my actors. This means telling them that they are beautiful, thin, talented. It means telling them that the audience loves them. It means always encouraging. It means listening to my actors. Sometimes it means cheering for my actor while they are getting ready before they go onstage. So since I can do this for other people I can do this for myself.
One thing that I love about theater is the amount of courage it takes to get up in front of an audience and tell a story. To enter into a contract with a different audience every and portray a character. It takes a bravery that I am in awe of every day.
I admire the process of creating the art.
But I like to think that being in the presence of this bravery every day has made me a better writer. It has gotten me to the point where I can put my work out there and take suggestions and compliments and be a better writer.
Seeing the process of the way a play comes together makes me realize that writing is a living ever changing thing too. When I think of how every time I read certain books I feel differently it feels like the same way when I feel when I see plays. Every performance has the chance to show me something different.