Lamain
Opening night began with everyone on stage, standing in a circle for the traditional “break a leg” pep talk. It was something I had learned when I had worked at the Red School House, a school for native Indian students in St. Paul.
I had asked “Why do we gather in a circle for our school meetings?”
Porky, the elder of the tribe told me, “It’s because in a circle we are all equally close to the center.”
I again reminded the cast, as I had done so often during rehearsals, that we were all equally important. By way of example, I reminded them that if the person who opens and closes the curtain fails to do their job at the beginning of the show, there would be no show. We were all stars and our ultimate success depended on each of us giving our very best. I reminded them where we had started from and where we now were that night. We held hands, and for a brief moment said our individual prayers, praying for each other and for ourselves, and then it was show time! We had a story to tell and songs to sing.