Half hour to curtain. We actors were finishing off our vocal warmups on the theatre floor.  A sold out house was streaming into the lobby, the pre-show wine and conversation buzzing. This was to be  the closing night performance of David Mamet’s RACE, my theatre company’s play that had sold out several times during its run in Vancouver and been so well received by local theatre critics and audiences.  The collective energy in the building was crackling and the cast and crew were hyped for one final go at this sublime piece of theatre.

I guess the show was just a bit too hot.

7:35pm.  The fire alarm starts to ring.  Our first thought, of course: false alarm.  Then, the technical director notes smoke at the back of the building.  The cast exits into the back alley, the audience is cleared onto the front sidewalk as fire engines stream in.