Number 59: Send a thank you letter to a mentor

There's a reason we named you Papa Bear. To be honest, I'm not even sure how that started or who started it. I picked it up from K (I've got you to thank for that too!) and it has always made sense to me. To us.

There's this thing that's always been a part of me. This ridiculous thing I'm passionate about. This thing that makes sense to me when nothing else does. This thing that motivates me. This thing I understand better than anything in the world and can't stop doing, no matter what. There was a time when I couldn't figure out how to MAKE THEATRE. (If I'm really being honest, when this story starts, I didn't even know what that meant. I just knew it was the only thing I had ever cared so much about.)

In September 2005, eighteen-year-old me went off to college thinking that everything would be easy like it was in high school. And it wasn't. I wanted so badly to be on stage my first semester, and I didn't get to. And it had me second guessing myself... until January 2006 rolled around. You did a simple thing. Something that could have turned out to be nothing.  You cast me. You said the part is yours. You are the right fit for this. You fit with us theatre folk. And that was it. Because that one little thing started a domino effect. Because this....

Turned into this:

 And SOMEHOW, two years later, THAT turned into THIS:

Although, it was chance that the first time I flew to Chicago was for your wedding... it seems oddly karmic, or at the very least, appropriate considering how things have turned out. I've been "the big sister" my whole life, and it was nice to realize that I had a big brother watching out for me. Because although you've given me some amazing advice over the years, it was often what you didn't say (I know I deserve more "I told you so's" than have been uttered), that led me in the right direction.

And so I'll say something I've said before, but I can't say enough: THANK YOU. Thanks for that one little part. Because that part introduced me to a whole new world of theatre. And in that world, I met K. And K introduced me to ML. And without those introductions, I never would have ventured out on the scariest thing I had ever attempted to do. And if The CoLab had never happened, I never would have had the courage to do the second scariest thing I've ever attempted to do, pick up and move half-way across the country. I know what you're thinking, and I promise I'm not over-embellishing. I know I'm here due to a lot of hard work, determination (sometimes to be mistaken for pigheadedness), a dash of stupidity, a little magic, and a whole host of other wonderfully supportive folks; but there was something about that first play at Brandeis that shaped me.

I've learned so much from you as a director, an actor, a theatre professional, and most importantly, as a friend. When I make my Chicago stage debut this month, I'll say it again. Because sometimes I forget how much I love what I do. And I was reminded this week of how much the theatre is not just a part of my life, but a large part of who I am as a person. So Papa Bear, thank you. For everything.

(And let's face it, after this post, there's no way any of the five of us can blame you for aiding us towards our collective future as a FAMILY of starving artists.)