Lights up!

In August of 2012, Megan Grace Godfrey began an apprenticeship at Imagination Stage. In August of 2012, Jack Novak moved to Washington, DC from Chicago. Megan’s boss, Tyler, also happened to be a Northwestern grad. He offered Jack a gig at I Stage, working the front desk and house managing. So, for several months, Megan and Jack worked in close proximity to one another. In fact, the apprentices were on a rotation to assist with house management, so they’d occasionally work together directly. In the early months of 2013, the other apprentices started trading house management shifts when Jack was on the schedule so Megan could work with him. And that was how they courted—while herding school groups into theatre seats. Finally Jack decided to ask Megan out. There’s more to that story, but you’ll have to come to the wedding to hear it. Jack picked out a classy wine bar and—just in case—a decidedly un-classy dive for a possible second round. Little did they know they were about to embark on the most epic date in Bethesda history. It was May 10, 2013. Naturally, they met at Imagination Stage. Naturally, all the apprentices helped Megan get ready for the date in the dressing rooms of the mainstage theatre. Naturally, Jack brought his backpack—who knows why? Let’s assume it was because he had to come directly from a gig. Jack had learned that Megan didn’t like taking busses, so he started off the date by making Megan get on a bus. About 8 hours later, after the wine bar, after sharing a clementine that happened to be in Jack’s backpack—again, who knows?—after the dive, after walking around Barnes & Noble, after introducing Megan to espresso, after seeing “The Great Gatsby” at the Bethesda Landmark, and after walking—NOT taking the bus—back to I Stage, in a light drizzle, and finding themselves holding hands, she dropped him off at the Metro station. Before getting out of the car, Jack leaned in and said “would you mind terribly?” and they shared their first kiss.