“I have three messages. One is you should never never give up. Two is you are never too old to chase your dreams. And three is it looks like a solitary sport but it takes a team.” – Diana Nyad upon completing her lifelong quest to swim 110 mi. from Cuba to Florida.

Diana Nyad’s recent achievement is truly inspiring, that’s for sure. Anyone that holds that kind of drive and determination and physical stamina to achieve an endurance goal of this nature will certainly give us all pause. But it occurs to me that there are so many people that I know that are involved with theatre in Charlotte and they are also living  breathing examples of these words.

-The playwright who was told by a teacher in middle school that she didn’t have talent for writing, so she didn’t, for a long while. And then many years later as an adult she picked up a pen and wrote one successful play, and then another.

-The mom of two that really wanted to start something of her own. She didn’t know how it could work, but just knew she’d figure it out somehow. Now she runs a theatre company.

-The actor that had a dream of the kind of theatre she used to do and an idea that people would still be interested in it. She’s revived a defunct company and is now producing.

And these are just the top three I can think of, off the top of my head. Surrounded by the Nyads of Theatre, I am constantly reminded  to never give up, that I am never too old, and that it takes a team.