By Julie Riggs
English Chair K-7, Lakehill Preparatory School
The first time I ever directed a play with eleven and twelve year-old stars, I was sure it would be my last. The children seemed so unruly and unprepared that I was envisioning total humiliation when the audience arrived. An hour before show-time in a last minute rehearsal, I was losing my voice and my patience as the actors broke character, missed cues, and horsed around. Then something magical happened. The parents took their seats, and the cast became a unified machine, staying in character, responding to cues, and making the audience love them.
On my next attempt, one of my actors was so severely dyslexic that he could not read the script, which was a cutting from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but he burned with passion to perform. I recorded the whole scene on a cassette and gave him a part with few lines. He became that elven spirit, putting every cell of his body into the role, and his joy was palpable.
I long ago shifted my idea of success from a flawless performance to a fun one, and I have often modified or created a part to suit an actor rather than saying ‘no’ to an eager child. My scripts are unwieldy, my plots improbable, and rehearsals often chaotic. What we do is definitely not theater with a capital T. But the excitement and happiness of a drama club performance, could it be contained, could power the lights on Broadway.
I can’t think of a better reason for doing anything.