Learning to perform on stage is really learning to live comfortably with fear. ..Isaac SterThis is one of my favourite quotes ~ for all sorts of reasons but it is sadly pertinent today because today was the dry run for the street theatre dramatists.
I understand fear. I know all about stage fright. What I do not understand is accepting defeat before you even begin.
All term the 20 or so kids involved in the drama club have been making masks, learning how to develop a character, a little bit of mime, a little stylization with the intended aim of doing some actual street theatre. The idea was to attend the pool party on the island & do a dry run to iron out any kinks before doing a show in town. The dry run was a good idea; street theatre is really scary.
Quite a number of kids pulled out immediately from the pool party run. Still there were about 8 kids who said they'd do it, enough to develop a theme. Ditz was pretty excited about the whole thing; party; swimming; dancing; acting; socialising = Ditz heaven.
I ran Ditz along to the public pool about 4.30 & went in to confirm the pick up time to find that the drama teacher had been fielding calls all day as one after another of the drama group woosed out. She was pretty disappointed. Not surprised. All public school kids. All being teased about drama class. Some bullied mercilessly. No way, no how were any of those kids getting up in front of their peers & making themselves into a target. Ditz was the only kid to turn up with her mask expecting to act.
With no~one to act with & no~one for support the drama coach expected that Ditz would pull out too. She doesn't know Ditz! As Ditz so succinctly put it, 'I joined drama class so I could act!' Yep, she donned her mask, got into character & did her Ditzy thing. Did she get teased? You bet your bottom dollar she got teased. Were the other actors envious? Yep! And that's the thing, isn't it. It never, ever gets any easier. Never. There will always be someone who wants to criticise unfairly. There will always be mockers. It is always going to be hard to put yourself out there & attempt to convince people of something improbable. Acting is all about taking risks. Big risks. No~one is going to hand you your Oscar on a silver platter. Life does not work that way.
And I have the unsocialised homeschooler!
9 comments:
Good for her! Shame about the other kids - if you live your life afraid of what someone else will think about what you do, you'll do very little.
I think this is very, very good and reveals your higher level of critical thinking along with your moralðical values only learned in life lessons as reflected in this post.
wow.. i am so impressed. seriously impressed. my kids absolutely abhor being up in front of people, and i feel the same way so i have never pushed them in the slightest... i've gotten more than my fair share of huff about it too, but i always thought it was so much silliness. reading this has made me feel a bit differently though (thanks ganeida.. you do that a lot for me♥)
like i said, i am impressed.. both with ditz and her mama;)
I am by nature an extrovert and proudly so. Getting up on stage never bothered me because after all, I was going to be getting attention! Extroverts ADORE attention! I remember doing dramas at church and once I even had to "faint" after getting all emotional, over the top don't you know! I'm surprised I didn't receive some type of award.
"And this slice of cheese for Cheesiest performance goes to..."
MOI!
Connie
Oh, my! What a disappointment on many levels, but you just cannot keep the real stars from shining their light, can you? Tell Ditz we are proud of her.
I understand the heart of the true performer. You probably would guess that my Princess is definitely a "the show must go on" type also. I can see her doing the same. Actually, if she were older, I can see her calling everyone in the group to get them excited and telling the nervous ones that she will be there to help them.
Ohhhh... poor Ditz. I'm so sorry to read she was alone!!
Moly, I feel the same way! Why not do something you want to do because of what others will say?
ABW: thank you for the kind sentiments. I think it's more a case of 'Look at me! Look at me!' on Ditz's part though.
Persuaded: Now girl, there's different sorts of getting up & doing your thing. Ditz had a mask & a character to hide behind & that always helps.
Constance! lol, Somehow I knew you were the extroverted sort.
Seeking: Ditz has thought of a few things she wants to say to the group next week starting with, 'I'm very, *very* disappointed in you all...' lol. She sounded exactly like her choir mistress!
MrsC: Yeah, it spun me out too. I can't imagine having the guts to do that at her age. I can't believe no~one at all backed her up
What a bunch of woosies they all are! well done Ditz, I'd have been there with her ;o)
xc
Ganeida: She sounded exactly like her choir mistress!
And there is the irony--a life lesson I am sure she will remember for some time.
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