Compassion At Any Cost
Written by Artistic Director, Ethan Nienaber
If you’ve seen shows on our stages or volunteered on a production in any capacity, you probably have a sense of how much work goes into mounting the stories we tell. It truly takes each and every person playing their part and doing the job that they signed up for. But much like the first couple of sentences you have just read, that is often much easier to say (or read about) than actually do. So, I always ask myself the same questions when we finally open a production and get to share it with audiences, “I wonder if everyone knows how hard this team worked… Do they see the effort? Or do they just see the results?”
At the end of the day, the answer to those questions is really none of my business, and that’s a good thing! I would venture to guess that everyone who has had a hand in supporting our productions or has volunteered at QCT to make the magic happen isn’t doing it solely for the applause at curtain call. We all pour ourselves into the work of mounting a show because the journey and process of getting to that final product is really how those little moments of magic and joy add up. So as I write this blog post, sitting in the darkness of the Rowell Auditorium with our tech team busy at work all around me, I am reminded how much we pour into every little task – not because we are thinking about the applause but because we are excited to challenge ourselves to see if all of those little tasks will synthesize together to create the bigger picture we’ve all been imagining for months.
The process of putting COME FROM AWAY together – from the moment that we had our first concept meeting, through auditions and rehearsals and shop fabrication and technical rehearsals to finally get to opening night and sharing this story with audiences – isn’t any different than what the people of Gander experienced in the five days after 9/11. These very real experiences that we get to share on stage were a true test of that community, and I believe that every show we produce at QCT is the same. We challenge ourselves to see what we can do with the resources we have, and if we all do our part to create those tiny moments of magic individually, they eventually come together to create a wonderfully memorable and moving experience.
But how do we define that magic and that effort? What does it actually take to make those mini magic moments happen? Well, in the case of this production, I always come back to the phrase that has been our guiding principle from that first concept meeting – “Compassion at any cost.”
When you start to investigate the selfless acts of kindness and compassion that the people of Gander offered the stranded airline passengers who doubled the town’s population size when the American airspace closed following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, you learn very quickly that they acted on instinct because they had no other choice. That instinct and intuition came from the very basic belief that because we all have one thing in common – being human – that we all deserve dignity, respect and as much comfort as possible in the wake of a tragedy.
Compassion is also exactly what the team of dedicated artists working on COME FROM AWAY have given each other throughout our process. Compassion has been our answer to every challenge along the way. If we learned one thing from the process of putting this special story on stage, it is that we can accomplish anything if we are willing to open our hearts and support one another – unconditionally. I hope that as you consider seeing this show, you think about someone else in our community or in your family or friend circle that could use a little compassion and a little hope. Because no matter the challenge, as long as we have one another, we can get through everything and achieve darn near anything. Just like the people of Gander did 25 years ago.
If you’re debating whether to give this show a chance, don’t miss your opportunity to do so, because if you’ve ever spent a moment of your life believing in the power of community and the connection it brings, this show is for you. I promise you will leave the theatre with more hope and a renewed belief in the goodness of humanity. Plus, you might find your new favorite musical album to put on repeat in the process! We’ll keep a candle in the window and a kettle on for you to come and enjoy the tonic for the soul that this story provides. COME FROM AWAY runs from April 17-19 & 23-26, get your tickets to this special show on our website or by calling our box office at (217) 222-3209.