On with the Show

Saturday morning cartoons were a highlight of my childhood. I would wake up early, make a bowl of cereal, and settle in for hours of tv magic. My entire morning would be planned so I would not miss a minute of the fun. One of my favorite cartoons to watch was The Bugs Bunny Show, which had a particularly catchy and memorable theme song.

“Overture, curtains, lights
This is it, the night of nights
No more rehearsing and nursing a part
We know every part by heart. 

Overture, curtains, lights
This is it, you’ll hit the heights
And oh what heights we’ll hit
On with the show this is it.”

That song perfectly captures how the cast of a show feels before they are about to take the stage on opening night. We have rehearsed, we know what we are supposed to do, now let’s go out and do our best. To this day, whenever I attend or perform in a show, this song plays in my head as the curtain is about to open.

As of the writing of this post, my family and I are in the middle of tech week for the yearly summer musical that we perform with a local Catholic theater group, The Father Scheid Players. For those that do not know, tech week is the week before a show which is used to incorporate all the technical elements such as sets, props, costumes, lights, and music into the performance. It is the week where everything comes together. Where the director’s vision is realized and the hard work of the actors, choreographers, set builders, costume designers, and stage crew all synchronize in time for opening night. In every tech week I have ever been a part of, there is a point where it feels like the show is never going to come together but somehow it always does.

The main person responsible for bringing everything together is the director. Every show has a script, characters, scenes, props, costumes and in the case of musicals, songs, but each one of these pieces individually does not make for a good show. The director is the person that from day one of rehearsal, has a plan for how the show should be performed. If we think of our lives as a play or musical, we might mistakenly think of ourselves as the director. We have free will and we alone are in control of our actions. It may seem like we can plan all aspects of our lives just as a director would do for a show, when in reality, we are merely a performer on the stage. The real director of this grand production we call life is God. Unseen and unheard, like a director would be to a show’s audience, God is providing instruction and direction to us regarding how we should live our lives. That is not to say that He makes us do certain things, that could not be further from the truth, again we have free will. An actor can decide if they want to listen to the director, but if they choose not to, the show can easily go off course. The same is true in life.

There are countless examples of God providing direction. There are the physical elements such as the Ten Commandments and Scripture, but God also provides direction through prayer, inspiration, and those that we encounter in our daily lives. He is constantly directing and shaping things for his vision of our lives to be realized. God works behind the scenes every day, setting the stage for outcomes that will offer abundant blessings. We just need to believe and have faith that He is with us, guiding us along the way. As Psalm 32:8 states, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”

Without the proper direction everyone involved would be lost but that alone is not enough. Those in the show also have responsibilities and tasks to complete to ensure a good performance. This holds true in life as well. We must have faith that, even though we cannot see Him, God is working in our lives to pave the way and show us the correct path. We must also listen to and follow his direction. It is not enough to hear him; we must actively listen and comprehend what He is trying to tell us. As Pope Francis stated, “We will never be disillusioned or lose our way if we are guided by God.”

At the start of tech week, there are many things that still need to be worked on and it can be hard to imagine everything coming together in time for opening night. On the first night, there is a plan for how the evening should progress, but that rehearsal rarely stays on course. I am sure we have all had instances or are currently going through situations where it seems like our lives are off course and nothing is going as planned. Just as the performers in a show would look to their director for guidance in those situations, we can do the same by turning to God. All shows are bound to have a few missteps and never turn out perfectly. In life we do not always get the desired outcome that we are hoping for, and we will inevitably encounter pain along the way, but we must not let that deter us. An actor does not walk off stage if they miss a line or make a mistake. Rather, they have faith in the training from their director and continue with the show. The same is true for us. No matter what we endure in life we must continue relying on what God and His son Jesus Christ have taught us, because with the proper direction, we can make it through the most difficult situations.

As Saint Edith Stein stated, “Lay all your cares about the future trustingly in God’s hands and let yourself be guided by the Lord.”

So, every morning as the curtain rises on a new day, let us first thank God for our many blessings, ask for an open heart and mind to listen to His voice and then approach our day with a strong and steadfast faith in almighty God to guide the way. No matter what is waiting for us as we start the day, may we have the confidence to get up on stage and say, “On with the show” knowing that with God’s direction, we have everything we need.

Update of a post originally published 4/4/2022.