Got to Serve Somebody!

You all know (or should know) that I'm no Bob Dylan fan. While he may be a great songwriter, he's greatly lacking as a singer. However, back in his pseudo-christian days (when we were in college), he did a song called "You've Got to Serve Somebody." Somehow we turned it into "You've got to serve somebody tater-tots" since that was one of the only eatable things in the cafeteria at St. Thomas College.
It seems an appropriate title for a post on volunteering. I really like volunteering and spend several hours a week doing so. Lately I've been reflecting on my volunteer activities and why I enjoy them so much. Here are some of my current volunteer activities.

• I started out as a reader for the State Services for the Blind in 1988. I always enjoyed reading and thought I had a good reading voice so I applied. I read some novels, then a show for teenagers. For the last 17 or so years, I've been reading a show on spirituality. I read articles and books on spiritual practices and activities. I stay away from dogma and doctrine. It usually takes me about 75 minutes to read a one-hour show (broadcast Sundays). 
• In 2009, I started volunteering for the Minnesota Fringe Festival and have increased my commitment to them every year. I added in serving on a theater board (Theatre Unbound) in 2010 and have started volunteering for other local theater and arts organizations as well (Mixed Blood, Torch, Hennepin Theatre Trust, Illusion, Cowles Center for Dance). 
• In 2013, I started volunteering for Quatrefoil Library (our local GLBT-focused library) and work primarily as a desk volunteer. I always wanted to be a librarian!

There are hundreds (thousands) of organizations that need volunteers. I choose groups that use my talents and skills in new ways, or that feed an interest/love I already have. I love theater so volunteering for theater companies is a natural extension of that passion. I love books and want to be supportive of GLBT organizations so the library was an easy choice. I like to read and find reading about spirituality inspiring (sort of pun intended) so the SSB was a great option.
I also like easily defined and finite tasks. My work tends to be very broadly focused and never-ending. Ushering at a play takes a few hours and has clearly defined responsibilities (take tickets, hand out programs, make sure nobody misbehaves, clean up afterwards). I also like the appreciation and support I receive from the staff at the organizations.
What don't I want to do? I'm not good at asking for money (no matter how much I support the organization). I prefer not to work with groups of children (I've mentored a teenaged girl and loved it; I tried teaching senior high religious education and didn't like it). I don't want to do something that's too much like my job.
Sometimes I wonder about turning one of my volunteer passions into a career but I don't think it would work. Years ago, I did a lot of volunteer work for my church and thought I'd combine my passion for spirituality with my leadership skills so I went to seminary. It wasn't a good fit though. I didn't want my spiritual life to become part of my job (and vice versa).
At this point, I'm not planning to take on any additional volunteer commitments. I'm not closing the door on it though - who knows what exciting opportunity might come along!

The Magic of Theater

Since I was named after a musical ("No, No Nanette" from the 1920s), maybe it's no surprise love theater as much as I do. In addition to naming me after a musical, I remember my parents taking me to a musical at what is now the Ordway Performing Arts Center back in the 1960s when I was six or so. I don't remember what it was, but I remember going.
In high school, I figured out that I wasn't meant to act - and I was definitely not meant to sing. I usually got to be an extra (an aging nun in "Murder in a Nunnery," the wench in "Once Upon a Mattress"). Then I was asked to be an assistant director for "Mattress" and realized that I was much better off behind the scenes (or in the audience).
The first play I remember seeing at the Guthrie Theater was "Oedipus The King" with a high school class. We sat way off on the side and I saw how the flowing blood was created when Oedipus tore out his eyes (small pouches in his hands that he popped at a key moment). that image stayed with me - I think it was the first time I realized that these magical moments on stage had a very real and practical method behind them.
Another one I remember was "My Sister in this House" at Actor's Theater (performed on campus at St. Thomas). It was a horrifying story and probably the first time I saw Sally Wingert perform (a long-time Twin Cities favorite). That story is still with me and I'd never see it again (no matter who is in it).
These images (and hundreds of others) stay with me longer than movies or TV. I think it's the immediacy, the knowing that it's a LIVE performance and there's no rewinding or editing allowed.
The best performances pull you in and can transform your life as you watch lives being transformed on stage. You can feel the emotion of the performer - whether it's written as a stage direction or something that unique person brings out on stage.
So yes, I love theater. Marie says I go more shows than anyone she knows (besides people who are in the business). In the last few years, I've volunteered at several smaller theaters and at the Minnesota Fringe Festival. It's a fun way for me to contribute and do more than sit in the audience or send a check.
Our love of theater is what brought Marie and I together. She spent years working as a stagehand and I spent years sitting in the audience. We still haven't figured out if I ever saw a performance while she was working - probably. Now we go together or we go separately and talk about it afterwards. I remember one play we saw that we both hated; we still spent hours discussing it.
My favorite moment at any show is after the lights come down and before the performers take the stage. I close my eyes and take a breath, feeling the anticipation in the audience and that of the actors, musicians, and others involved. I open my eyes, the lights come up, and then it happens - magic!