Hello hello hello! Welcome all to the 12th installment of Throwback Thursday: Rose Edition! This week we will be talking a little bit about Meghan Boucher.Meghan is currently the Costume Rental Manager here at The Rose. In the past she has also worked as a stitcher, stagehand, and stage manager for various shows at The Rose. If you ever need to rent a costume, she’s your gal! Meghan gave us a good blurb about her first theater experiences when we asked her to share–here’s what we got!
“The first time I really remember going to the theater, I was 8 years old and my Girl Scout troop went to The Rose. I remember it being a big deal- we all dressed up and I felt very fancy walking into this huge, beautiful building. We were seeing “Where the Red Fern Grows,” a show about a young boy growing up with two hunting dogs. Obviously real dogs weren’t used, instead they were puppets. The funny part is, we as the audience weren’t supposed to notice the puppeteers- but they are what I remember most. I was mesmerized by the these actors dressed all in black, and how they were crawling on the floor, and crouching, and just dedicating themselves to bringing those dogs to life. I was so sad at the end when the red fern grew, and it was because those puppeteers had made those dogs feel so real to me.”
Of course, having those moments that you remember for the rest of your life is part of why we do what we do. And, as we do, we asked Meghan to share with us how theater has impacted and changed her life. Her response:
“If someone were to have told 8-year-old Meghan that one day she would be working at that theater, in a theater at all, she probably would have laughed uproariously. If you had told that to 18-year-old Meghan she would have also laughed. Theater was just something I enjoyed watching. I never saw it being a career. But now, here we are. My parents hate seeing shows with me because the whole time I whisper about how the set moves, how those costume changes happen so quickly, what those people in the back of the audience are doing.
Knowing the work that goes into these productions make them that much more amazing to me. After watching Elphaba soar during “Defying Gravity” I wished I had worn waterproof mascara. When the Nazi flags dropped in “Sound of Music” my heart stopped. And at the first opening note of “The Lion King” chills ran up my spine.
Theater has the ability to make the audience feel emotions they might not have otherwise experienced. And having worked in theater now, it has amplified those feelings for me to the point that I feel bad for the people sitting next to me in the audience. And after watching performances like that, all I can think about is going back to work and helping create those feelings for audiences at The Rose.”
Meghan is an absolute joy to work with and I’m sure most would agree with that! The fact that she has chosen theater as her career path is a blessing to everyone at The Rose!
Thank you for sharing your experiences and time with us, Meghan!