When you’re 12 or 14 years old, it’s quite a thing to step out from behind the backstage curtain, follow your blocking, and literally feel the heat of the spotlight from the back of the auditorium as you say your lines, always with the fear of flubbing them in the back of your mind. It’s a rush that even many tough adults still avoid at all costs, remembering the fear, but it’s one that captures a few young spirits and never lets them go. Years pass, and they may pull up in a limo when they come home to meet an old friend at Nosh or The Roma. There can be no doubt that the current greats once played a sunflower or a goat in a second-grade play and somehow outshone the whole cast, ever more seeking rapt attention and honing the art of portrayal.

Â