People are drawn to people who create things. Cake bakers, architects, computer game designers,  people are drawn by a sense of interest and intrigue to people who think things up off the top of their heads and make new things out of everyday ideas and hunches.

On a tv crime show, we wait until the moment the detective suddenly gets that spark of insight that puts mundane facts together in a new, previously unseen way. We are amazed when scientists think outside the box and develop a new theory based on known yet overlooked information. We’re delighted to see a sculptor create a new object by welding together everyday ones. And we love to watch everyday people, our friends and neighbors, take on new personalities, display hidden talents, and make us forget who they are and who we are in a  local community theater production.

One of my friends  forwarded a clip to me from the 1980’s TV show “Fame”, which reminded me that shows about creative people are not new, just rare.  We now have  television programs like “Glee” and “Smash,” and the movie “Black Swan,” which all deal with creativity in the performing arts. Much of the drama from these shows comes from the fact that the people involved work with other artists on both a personal and an artistic level.

The problems faced in these shows are surprisingly similar, whether the location is a local high school or an international stage. And that’s how it is in real life. Who’s sick, whose voice is shot, who doesn’t show up for their solo, whose accompanist can’t carry it off, who gets along with who, the world of amateur performers is riddled with minor surprises that keep everyday, unglamorous people on their toes and that challenges each player to become more creative than they ever knew they could be.

Additionally, real life small performing companies have more of a struggle when faced with the same problems as big organizations because they have fewer resources to fall back on. Hence, the need for more creativity.

Developing a team that works creatively as one is as fascinating as any sports team drama and just as real. Getting many personalities to fuse into one with a common goal is just as challenging. And observing adults act like children and children act like adults is just as amusing, not to mention eye-opening.

An audience watching/listening to a performance only sees the end result. Anyone who sings in a Church choir knows that the hymn is just a small piece of the experience of putting together the music. A violinist knows that practicing the sheet music is only part of preparing for the recital.

So, when is television going to put together a good show about community theater? The tales to be told are endless. The personalities to be found run the gamut of quirks, talents, and neuroses. The problems that arise, the problems solved and the problems that remain unsolved, would provide scripts that would last longer than Law & Order.

From the cliques that intimidate new people to the friendships that only develop when one collaborates creatively, from the people who don’t show up, to the ones who do but can’t produce, from romance and kindness to jealousy and envy, from comedy to heartbreak, and from disappointment and failure to success, imagine how tension-filled and uplifting a show it could be.

Where are the writers? Where is the producer? I’d watch a show like that.