There are a few things in my life that I am absolutely proud of achieving. Yesterday that list got one more line added below it.

When we started the day all of us were crossing our fingers for the rain to stay away. There was nothing left to chance, every prop, costume, furniture was checked and double checked. It was an evening that was a month and a half in the making, not to mention a stressful last couple of weeks. The guest list was long and the actors were very nervous(Well dah!)

It was around 5 pm that the first signs hit us. The past week or so had seen short heavy showers in the evening everyday. Since we were performing on an open air stage we were hopeful that the rain would either keep away or make a splash and dash :P

By 5:30 pm the rain was heavy and consistent. Many among us cheered the early rain, as the show was scheduled for 7:30 pm and we were hopeful for the rain to be done by 6:30 pm. That was going to be the second disappointment of the day.

By 7:30 there was a decent sized audience(large if you consider it was raining!) and we were busy trying to make sure that they were dry. But we had a call to make, considering that the rain wasn’t going to stop!

The decision was as unanimous as it was surprising… We decided to perform in the rain! All of a sudden there was this amazing feeling of positive energy in the group and we rushed to our stations to get ready with the essentials before we started.

The show started under rain and on wet slushy mud. The stage was slippery and the furniture drenched. I remember the last thing I told my actor when we were inspecting the stage before starting and the question of how we would manage it came around. I just smiled at him and said “Impossible is nothing” (Was not a brand endorsement :P ).

The next hour and half was the craziest we have ever experienced. There were actors sitting and falling on the ground. There were others sprinting on it. And others lucky like me who had a cane for support ;)

As the echoes of applause greeted us after the finale, we realized we had achieved something special. Maybe there weren’t many ppl there to see us do it and maybe our makeup came off half way but we all never gave up.

It seemed like a fitting end to the play. There have been more occasions in this play than any other, for us to quit and leave. Many of the reasons were very valid and frankly nobody would have called us quitters along the way… But the point was we did not quit. We literally survived the storm and made the show happen.