I don't get to the theater enough, that's for sure. But I've always had respect for everyone involved with it, and sort of a romantic vision of it as a parallel world where the actors transform into different people, and the audience escapes into an alternate reality, at least for a few hours.

Once a year, Geva Theatre opens its doors to the public, not for one of their many productions, but for "Magic in the Making," a special glimpse at the show behind the show. I headed over around 5:30 p.m. on Monday, March 23, for the event, and there was already a crowd. A friendly Geva worker handed everyone a map as we walked through the doors, and explained we could go anywhere and everywhere - the costume shop, the make-up room, the Mainstage, the Nextstage, the prop shop. I remembered that years ago, with a school field trip, or Girl Scouts maybe, I'd gone on a similar tour. Back then, we oooh-ed and aaah-ed over the fabrics and works-in-progress in the costume shop.

This time the main attraction was the "Sweeney Todd" set. By a show of hands, most "Magic in the Making" attendees had seen the show, and were familiar with the set. It was obviously thrilling for some of them to walk up on the stage, wander around, and chat with people that designed and built the scenery, and those responsible for lighting it just so. I didn't have time to explore the whole place, but stayed for a demonstration of the chair contraption "Sweeney Todd" seats his victims in. From the balcony I watched as two people disappeared from sight, not unlike a magic show.

I milled about awhile longer, catching tidbits of conversation and explanations of lighting and set-building techniques. I realized the theater had taken on an entirely different feel. It was absent of the usual anticipatory atmosphere you get there before a show, but instead took on a certain buzz of energy. Maybe, I figured, it was because the people we never see were in plain sight, and all of us, usually sitting statically in seats, were appreciating it all up close, in hands-on fashion.

Sometimes, I thought, you don't want to know how the magician pulls it off. But every now and then it's fun to find out, and you come away with a new appreciation for the art.