Theater Festival Or How I Got A Thumb Up From Olga Dreģe

On August 11, there was a theater festival "Kā to dzīvi vajag dzīvot" (How This Life Is To Be Lived) on the open air stage of Stelpe. Amateur theater groups from District Vecumnieki and beyond had come to celebrate. Each one of them had brought a short piece of show with humorous content.

The special guest on the occasion was Olga Dreģe, actress of theater the Daile, Latvian performing art megastar. 

The parade gathered at the school. Skaistkalne Brass Orchestra with their leader Jānis Kalniņš are our guests again.

The parade went from the school through the alley to the open air stage where there was the celebration.

 

My responsibility was the opening speech. As if it were not enough, I had to sing "The Year of Cavaliers" (Kavalieru gads), an iconic song from an iconic play - "Gösta Berling" by Swedish playwright Selma Lagerlöf. It was actually my first time to sing solo, and that happened with Mrs. Olga Dreģe watching! That was one of the biggest challenges I had ever faced when doing something in public.

While singing, I could see occasionally Mrs. Olga Dreģe behind the scene. She stood there and held for me a thumb up! Do I need to tell how grateful I was for that feedback of hers? Yes, it encouraged me and helped me a lot. 

The theater festival coincided with Olga's nameday. So the flowers from the spectators and fans went not only as a thank you for the performance but also as a nameday greeting.