They Have Done the Impossible!

by Toni L.P. Kelner

Last night and the night before, I sat through an extremely long production of The Sound of Music. The lighting was bizarre, the sound quality was awful, the sets minimal at best, and the actors were clearly new to the game. The chairs weren't even comfy. In short, I had a wonderful time.

You see it was my daughter Valerie's school play, and it was the first time most of these kids had been on stage. The drama club teacher, Mr. Tay, had never directed a show before and the school had never done a play before, let alone one as complex as The Sound of Music. It has a large cast, lots of singing, several settings, and an insane number of costume changes. (Valerie was playing Marta, one of the Von Trapp kids, and needed five whole costumes with a wide variety of accessories. Multiply that by seven, just for the kids!) And they only had seven weeks to put it all together!

Given all those limitations, it was insane to even consider doing this play. But they did, and succeeded gloriously. No, it wasn't a perfect production. (Except for Valerie's performance, of course, which was flawless.) There were missed lines, scenery mishaps, and other glitches. That didn't matter. It was still incredible.

It's like the old joke about a dancing bear--it's not how well he dances that's the issue, it's the fact that he dances at all. So whether or not every line and every note was perfect, the fact that these kids got up there and sang and danced and acted was the amazing part. Seeing that a eighth-grade girl could be convincing as the governess Maria, or that a sixth-grade boy could sing Captain Von Trapp's part so beautifully, or that a faux Mother Abbess could be convincingly comforting, or that a a young Frau Schmidt had comic timing... That was just gravy. (And did I mention how wonderful Valerie was as Marta?)

I was particularly struck by the difference between the two performances. Or rather, the way in which the kids behaved beforehand. When I dropped Valerie off at the school before the first show on Friday night, she was tense and anxious, and the other kids I saw were even more nervous. But after the show, when they realized they'd actually pulled it off, they were freakishly happy. Then Saturday, when I dropped her off again, the kids were confidently heading backstage, joking and laughing. The Saturday show was better, too, more confident and assured. That was the real magic.

In the show Firefly, Captain Mal Reynolds says, "We have done the impossible, and that makes us mighty." So I offer a virtual toast to the cast and crew of the 2011 SJS Drama Club Production of The Sound of Music--particular Mr. Joshua Tay--who have done the impossible and been made mighty!

Comments

[Nikki Bonanni]

Congratulations Valerie! That's awesome :)

[Nancy Lauzon]

Toni,

Great blog! What an accomplishment for these kids and teacher. There's nothing like being part of a big show. I was in a 'Music Through the Ages' production, it was really mammoth, and it was my favorite memory from Grade 9. So much bonding amongst the kids, and a lot of confidence building after such an achievement. Congrats!

The Chick Dick Blog
http://nancylauzon.blogspot.com

[Mary]

It's so great to hear about kids being brave and stepping up to challenges. Congratulations, Valerie! And all supporting Moms and Dads. :)

[Hank Phillippi Ryan]

Hurray Valerie!!! I kept clicking on the photos, hoping for video!!

xooxox

[krisneri]

Congrats to Valerie and all the cast and crew! Great pics. It's true about the confidence derived from having already done something -- like acting in a first production or writing a first novel -- the knowledge that it can be done makes it easier and more fun next time.

[Dana]

Very cool! Hooray, Valerie--brava, brava!