My first time backstage at a show
A few weeks ago, I was a wrangler at the Premios Metropolitanos de Teatro in Mexico City. These awards are like the Olivier Awards in the UK or the Tony Awards in the US, so it was a great opportunity to be there as a volunteer for a job that isn’t as easy as it is. it seems.
Ever since I was little, I always wanted to be part of those big ceremonies where a lot of people attended to celebrate one more year of cinema, music, fashion and art. It was probably five or four years ago that I found out there was a huge event that recognized the best of Broadway and being there one day became part of my to-do list – it is always there but one day at a time -. So when I had the opportunity to be at the Premios Metropolitanos de Teatro in my city, I knew I had to be there no matter what.
This year is the first where I go to the theater at least once a month and I have been involved in everything that happens with the industry here in Mexico. Thanks to that, I joined the theatrical production company on my campus and thanks to my professor, whom I admire very much and who taught me so many things during these four months, I was able to leave and be part of the great team that is responsible for the show.
I’ve never been a wrangler in anything this big, the only time I had that responsibility was at our school musical auditions and it was kinda scary because there were only 5 wranglers for at least 100 students who wanted to be in the musical but in the end i had so much fun. Now a small – but important – part of this ceremony depended on my job of taking two actresses who were presenting an award, oh and I forgot to tell you the ceremony was broadcast on national television and on Youtube so it is where I knew I needed to do my best to get to the stage on time and not make the actresses nervous or anything like that.
In the end, everything went as planned and even if the organization was not at the top, I learned a lot and had a great time. I was tired because it was a long day but I was happy. What I enjoyed the most about this whole experience was being able to spend the day with my classmates from the Theater Production Company, talking, cracking jokes and having fun all night long. Once again I realized why I love theater so much and why it’s one of my favorite places in the world because most people who work in this industry are so passionate and believe that art can change the world.
Getting a fresh perspective from a ceremony like this was something I will never forget. The sad thing is that I couldn’t see the actual performances of some musical numbers I saw during rehearsals, but being backstage was a little stressful but really awesome. Another thing that made this day ten times better was meeting people I admire, from journalists to actresses, actors and even celebrities; who do theater and do something to grow the industry in our city and even in our country.
