Day 91: Curtain

It was the last night of our performances, and at the cast party we started cleaning and packing up. After I closed the curtain for the last time, I had a quiet moment backstage with only the only things we left out- the light trees, a few set pieces, and the flats that are still hanging. (I wish I had more pictures with the kids, but I was too busy "working" and didn't really get anything good, and I wouldn't post them anyway.)

Since I'm feeling very reflective tonight, here I go...I often ask myself why I do Drama Club when all I do is worry about how much time it takes and how I don't have time for work or family or much else, really. Then I find little moments that remind me why. Like sitting in the audience and noticing the hilariously improvised moments onstage when someone forgot a line. Or the way I can't help grinning when the actors finally get something right that we struggled with in rehearsal. Or curtain call-- I just simply feel so proud. Or the countless parents who have thanked me for giving their children a life-changing experience that they'll never forget. Or seeing the growth in some of the kids in just three months, going from shy, tentative little 9- and 10-year-olds to confident kids who are now actors.

I know that a lot of my own students, even though they'll spend 180 days with me, will eventually forget everything about second grade (maybe they'll even forget me), but I hope Drama Club is different. I hope that when these fourth and fifth graders look back on elementary school one day, that Drama Club stands out in their minds as a time when they felt as happy and proud as I feel right now.