Backstage at most shows I've been a part of there usually are packages of Ricola laying about. Ricola are the only all-natural throat drop containing no synthetic materials used by professional performers. These little drops are saviors for the voice when performing the difficult music and dialogue night after night.
It was a friday night, my friend and I were going to the theatre. Andrew, a fellow actor you might remember from All Shook Up, was in the passengers seat of my car. He found a pack of Ricola, unrapped on and savored the taste.
"This is what we taste during shows," he noted. And he was right. Theatre has a very distinctive taste.
The performance was followed by a long drive to find a place to eat. Five Points, a classic 24-hour diner was all that was available. The era of these diners seems to be slipping away from us and is mostly frequented by theatre-goers.
As we sat, we noticed groups of high school drama kids in make-up enjoying a post-show meal. The theatre was all around us at midnight, reminding me that in the midst of our world, the theatre still exists and burns brightly. We tasted it in our late night processed hamburgers, in our un-sweetened hot tea, and in my glass of merlot. So many a time have shows finished and those involved ended up in a diner all through the night. We revel in our transcedent conversations, how we will conquer the world, how these tastes remind us of the theatre or of each other, or how the world might not be ready for us yet. But whatever it might be, thank God for our blessings and that these tastes are so close to home.
"When we share our points of view
You get a glimpse of me
I get a glimpse of you
And I dont really care
If I dont change your ways
We will always have a tasty place
Am I really all the things that are outside of me?"
--from TASTE by Animal Collective
featured on their 2009 album "Merriweather Post Pavillions"
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