Every Actor knows the moment.

You’ve been rehearsing for ages in a hall somewhere. A rehearsal room, a church hall, whatever.

Now, you’re in the theatre for the first time. It’s a weekend – probably a Sunday. It’s cold. You’re using working lights; the glamour of stage lighting is something for another time and place. The orchestra isn’t there; you’ve got one guy on the piano. He’s bloody good, and massively undervalued, but he ain’t a pit band.

You aren’t in costume; you’re in everyday clothes.

But you’re on stage. In the theatre.

You sing out loud, and nothing comes back to you. You may have a powerful voice, but that’s a big empty space. So you sing louder. Whoa there, tiger… save that voice…

This is where theatre is made. People who talk about "art" just don’t get it. Theatre is hard work. Repetition. Practice. Technique.

But when the audience comes in, the band is there, the lights are on, the makeup and costumes are there… THAT is living…

Most of the theatre is not glamorous. But who cares?

Disney’s Beauty And The Beast, by Limelight Productions, Dunfermline, plays from 05-09 October 2010 at the Alhambra Theatre, Dunfermline. Contact me for tickets.