Is My "Theatre Nerdiness" Showing? Good

Jennifer Butler

When asked the best way to describe who I am, I used to hesitate because, in all honestly, I am a theater nerd, but was never sure if that is something I wanted to tell someone I just met. But why should I hide that? Theater is my whole life and sometimes I feel that it is all that I talk about. Theater is not just what I do, it is who I am.

I always have some sort of show tune playing in my head and I have to fight the deep urge to not belt out the song while I am at work or in a public place. I am already socially awkward enough, I don’t want to be known as the weird girl who is always singing some show tune. It really shouldn’t matter but nonetheless, it does. I know that there is other music out there besides show tunes but show tunes tell a story that other music cannot and sometimes I need that escape from reality while working. For me it isn’t what genre I am going to listen to today but more about what show am I in the mood listen to. I listen while I am at work, I listen to show tunes in the car and when I need to write. Not just show tunes but music, in general, is a huge motivator for me. I challenge myself on a daily basis to see how much work I can get done before the cast album hits the finale song.

It is not just the music that makes me a theater nerd. I love to watch and watch again movie musicals instead of the television. And even though I am usually busy working on a show, I do what I can to see shows that my friends are involved in and to support their theatrical endeavors.

Within the past year and a half, I think I have hit a whole new level of “theater nerdiness” when I started writing for this blog and found a whole new group of people worldwide who feel exactly the way that I do. I mean, not only do I get to talk about theater on a daily basis but now I get to write about it and have people out there all over the world who want to read about, and react to my theatrical endeavors and adventures.

Being a part of a theater company and a production means that you’re involved with a special group of people. And when you find the right group of people who are like you, you connect with them instantly. They don’t judge you when you know all the words the entire cast album or they don’t mind when you cannot stop talking about the production that you are currently working on or the show that you just saw. People who don’t make a judgment when you start to sing a show tune but join in instead. That is the precious sound of theater nerds uniting. The more I become involved with theater, the more I am thrilled to wear the theater nerd title proudly. Because it really is who I am and who I will always be.

Photo: Prince Edward Community Theatre