It’s hard for me to believe it but five years ago today my first post went up on Theatre Aficionado at Large. I was amazed when this blog turned one year; I’m completely astounded it’s now five. It all started when I was invited to see a performance of Spring Awakening, and afterwards at a Starbucks on 8th Avenue, Noah Himmelstein and the immortal SarahB encouraged me to start a blog. I was reluctant to do so, as I had (and still have) no desire to be a formal critic, but a blog ultimately seemed better than sending the same three or four people a lengthy e-mail with observations about what I had just seen. And thus it began.
Over the last five years, I have had the great privilege to see many shows and events, and I’ve been invited to see more than I can possibly cover. This is wonderful, and I am still grateful and astonished by the courtesies I’ve received. But most importantly (and I apologize in advance for the sentiment), what I treasure most are the friends and acquaintances I have made as a result of this blog. The internet can be a weird, crazy place at times filled with very weird, crazy people, but have been lucky to meet so many people from all over the world, whom I would have not known otherwise. I treasure the brunches, dinners, post-show drinks, emails, tweets, comments (even the ones from people I’ve managed to piss off), text messages and phone calls. So many of my readers and fellow bloggers have become important people in my life. This is one of the greatest gifts that I have ever received by merely being a fan.
Thank you for reading. Thank you for engaging me in conversation and debate, and for making me a better writer. As the site enters Kindergarten, I look forward to more spirited adventures, opinions, obsessions and whatever else the future may bring.
Congrats on the milestone! I’m glad your venture online brought us into each other’s orbits.
Group hug….
Glad you started writing!