This should qualify under the entertainment forum. For the second year, I went to see my local high school students perform their yearly spring play. Now, this is not my alma mater, but was one of our football enemies back in the days of yore. However, in adulthood, all things being relative, it really doesn't matter anymore. Tonight they performed Hello Dolly and I was absolutely mesmerized at the talent these youngsters are blessed with. Their timing and expression filled my heart with absolute joy. Do any of you attend these shows whether you have children, grandchildren or not in them? I love seeing the kids put their heart and soul into such a venture today. I hope someone here does have the same experience as I do.
I've gone to see a few of the productions from the drama club at the high school here in Millinocket, and I was impressed. Given the size of the town, I was expecting something far less impressive. In my own high school days, I don't know how good we seemed to the people in the audience but we had a good time with it. I stuttered in high school, not as bad as some other people did, but enough to be embarrassing. I didn't do that in elementary school, so I suppose it was a comfort-level thing, as our high school was in another town, and I didn't know most of the people there. I got over it in a few years. However, I learned that I didn't stutter when I was reading something aloud, probably because they weren't my words, and I found that I didn't stutter when I was reciting lines in a play. I even joined the community drama club in Stephenson, where I went to high school, which included children of all ages and adults. In high school, I was in the junior variety show, and I was in the senior play in both my junior and senior years. In my junior year, the senior class was using a Get Smart script, and they needed someone short to play Mr. Big. Oddly, I can't remember what we did for our senior play, but we had fun with it. I can't imagine that the junior variety show would have been very impressive for the audience because we screwed around a lot. In a skit featuring one of my classmates, who thought he was better than the rest of us, we changed the lines without telling him so he had no idea what he was supposed to be doing or saying, and we changed a song from the approved one, which was "This Land is My Land," to an anti-war song. Since they would have us sing a song written by a communist, I don't know that this change should have caused a fuss, but it did. Our advisor was not at all pleased. Going back to my original comment though, I thought the Millinocket drama club did a much better job of it than I thought we had done when I was in school but, then again, I remembered it from another perspective.
I also "acted the goat" in my school drama group@Ken Anderson. I can still remember my very first acting line. I slurred the words " 'alf a mo gov 'alf a mo". I played an undercover English policeman disguised as a drunken cockney tramp to get the gen on a criminal gang. I got the acting bug from that very first play and later on I acted in semi pro theatre and on television. I even had a few small speaking film roles. Ken I also ran my own theatre company. One of our productions was Edward Albee's famous play "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf ". We had a popular one month run at an inner city theatre space.. One job outside the company was producing and directing the end of year play at my son's school. I recall my leading lady got a bad case of stage frite, then the set collapsed, ruining all my hard work. I slinked to the back of the hall in utter embarrassment. Needless to say the school never invited me to produce their end of year play again.
My mom was a chorus girl back in the day and so, was exposed to show "biz" types most of my young life. In addition, I, as a nurse worked at a hospital in Burbank, CA which of course catered to the entertainment industry. However, I don't think they impressed me as much these kids did last night. They did a drama last year which was also excellent and won many awards for that one. I personally was never interested myself in becoming a member of the drama club in high school and I recall hating it when I had to participate in elementary school plays. But, I love seeing good talent and feel it should be lauded and encouraged in our youth.
I figured 'alf a mo guv, 'alf a mo resonated with you Patsy. Sometimes I can not remember some minor thing I did two hours earlier yet I can recall the first line of a play I did 50 years ago. Aint live strange.
Haven't been to one since I left home, years ago. Each senior class in our high school put on a musical every spring, instead of a play. The music teacher was the director. He was a slave driver, perfectionist, temperamental type. It resulted in great productions, but it was all about him and his reputation. But I digress.... The class ahead of us did Oklahoma. It was first rate. I had occasion to correspond with the girl who played Laurey a few years ago. I never knew her personally in school, but remembered the performance. She said it was still the highlight of her life. I can understand that.