Arts community shining light on diversity

“There’s a light in the darkness of everybody’s life.” This lyric from “Rocky Horror Show” rang true after the last dress rehearsal on Jan. 19.

Waterloo Community Playhouse, where the “Rocky Horror Show” is currently showing, was a participant in The Ghostlight Project. The Ghostlight Project is a national movement in the theater/arts community that alludes to the light left on stage to shine a light in the dark theater.

The movement took place last Thursday, Jan. 19 at 5:30 p.m. in every time zone. Artists, allies and anyone who stands up for marginalized voices gathered after the performance, to shine a flashlight or light from their phones into the sky, showing solidarity with anyone who needs solace in this time of darkness.

The night before the inauguration was strategically chosen by the movement because a lot of people had been feeling hopeless and needed the solidarity to give them hope. Along with lighting up the sky, participants filled out a sheet that said, “ I AM (insert noun or adjective here) I FIGHT FOR (insert cause here).”

Greg Holt, director of “Rocky Horror Show” and instigator of the event at the playhouse, then collected everyone’s sheet that they had filled out at the event, and he has since posted them in the aisles of the theater.

Artists around the world have participated in the act, some on the Broadway and West End level, others in their own rural communities, like Waterloo Community Playhouse. No matter what end of the political spectrum they fall on, The Ghostlight Project is a gesture from those in the theater and arts to show “There’s a shining star, no matter what or who you are.”