This month, October 2023, marks the 40th anniversary of me being in my very first musical, Annie. This means that I have been singing, performing, or somehow involved with Musical Theatre for 40 years. (!)

This milestone made me think about who I was then, who I’ve become since, and more importantly, who I was meant to be.

But the real revelation was that I’d forgotten who I’ve always been.

My 10 year old self, who spent almost a year of her life blissfully rehearsing and performing in Annie, the Amy who was unapologetically, unabashedly FULL OF JOY for Musical Theatre and sang unashamed and uninhibited: SHE is who I’ve forgotten and who I desperately need to reacquaint myself with.

…we sing now, and always, because we love it: the doing of it, the act of it, the feeling and the sound of it.

Because, let’s face it, we must; we have to sing because it is an essential part of ourselves. As Cornelius also said, our voice IS us. So, virus, or no virus, we sing on.

Our souls are listening, if no one else.