In Lee Theatre, we are prepared to face many unforeseen problems whether they are broken props, missed lines, torn costumes or even minor electrical fires. The other day however, we were faced with quite possibly the most surprising emergency in our history, a flood, during tech week nonetheless. No, it wasn't from all the snow; it was long before any of that even was thought of. At Lee, which is undergoing renovation, we are in a constant state of construction and somewhere along the way, a pipe in our massively filled prop room burst, spewing freezing cold water all over our stock of books, furniture, costumes, and other important items to our department.
We raced to save what we could, relaying bucket after bucket of water outside. The chaos was only heightened when the SGA (Student Government Association) room also began to flood as well. After we figured out a way to stop the water, we assessed our damages.
It wasn't pretty but thanks to the quick actions of about 20 very dedicated (and at that time very wet) theater students, we had managed to salvage quite a bit. Unfortunately, this flood will affect our department for the rest of the year and possibly for many years to come. We can't find the props we need for our shows, we have to build new costumes, and everything is in a different location, sometimes even a different room than it used to be in.
We, as a theater department, will keep doing what we do however, because it's our life, and as we say in theater, the show must go on.