Memories

 light the corners of my mind.

A couple of weeks ago I helped the on post high school with the production of their musical The Little Mermaid Jr.  I was their make up artist. When I started, I was worried I would be surrounded by whiney, drama and angst filled teens, but I’m happy to say that I could not have been more wrong.

The teens I had the pleasure of working with were fun, friendly, kind and polite to not only me but, each other.  They were funny and intelligent and I enjoyed several conversations with a few of them about everything from music to literature.  It was very refreshing to see so much parental involvement too; every night there were parents there to help sell tickets, concessions, or just help set up.  The costumes were almost completely done by parents and people in the community, and they were quite stunning and creative!
Above all, it really brought me back to my own high school drama years.  Especially as I walked into a dress rehearsal to the director whipping those kids into shape in the typical director fashion of forceful yelling. (I was waiting for the clipboard to be flung in frustration, but alas.) I’m still unsure if funding has been so diminished for the arts since I graduated, or if we were just lucky, but at Hinkley High School, we had an orchestra/band program to play in the pit for us.  That meant we got to experience singing with live accompaniment as opposed to an orchestral track.  We got to rehearse the vocal, instrumental, and theatrical aspects of the performance separately, and then experience the excitement and rush when we finally put them all together.  It was FANTISTIC!
We also had a theater and actual dressing rooms labeled “Men” and “Women”  We always rented backdrops and there was an entire class devoted to set design.  I really never thought about it back then.  About how lucky we were to have an experience pretty similar to the way a professional theater would have it done.  But I don’t think it’s something I could have fully appreciated as a student.  What I did appreciate and what was made so fresh in my mind while helping out; the memories, the friends, the feeling of accomplishment as a team and as an individual.  The months of hard work, the climax of opening night, and that small, strange feeling of sadness in the pit of your stomach on closing night.  I remembered the pranks for each show and being ridiculously nervous about a stage kiss.  I recalled how insecure I was, being the only freshman on stage (how can I possibly compare with all these amazing upperclassmen?) , in contrast with the confidence I felt as a senior on stage.  And the best part for me helping out the students now, was knowing that they are going to feel the same way, and learn the same life lessons, regardless of the technical differences, and loss of funding to the arts.
The Vilseck  high school has a cafa-gym-torium, and had to rent most of their sound equipment.  The director told me, that until last year, there really was no drama program for these kids.  They are hoping that with continued community interest, they will be able to grow and expand their program.  That means that the productions not only have to be selected with the available talent at the time (sometimes kids PCS with their families smack in the middle of the school year) and age appropriateness, but also with the interests of the community in mind.  With out our small community attending and buying tickets, there wont be any expansion and growth.  But I have a feeling they will grow.  Their drama teacher is devoted to, and passionate about her students.  She gets them excited and pumped, but somber and serious when necessary.  She’s one of a dying breed of teachers and these kids don’t know yet how lucky they are.
I can count on one hand my amazing, life altering teachers and there is hardly a day that goes by where I don’t think of something they said, or taught me.  I admire and respect them more as an adult than I ever did or could have as a teen.  As an adult I clearly see the ridiculous bureaucratic hoops that teachers have to jump through every day, but, thinking back, I don’t remember ever noticing.  So props to all the passionate teachers out there.  You really are remembered, and you really do make a difference.
I’ve already signed up to help out next year with makeup again and vocal coaching, and I’m excited!  I’m excited to be small part of something that was so important in my own life that will hopefully be the same for these teens.