As a teacher, I spend a majority of my days with children. I know that just because they are young, doesn't mean they aren't capable of doing amazing things. This group of young people has amazed me since they walked through the doors to audition. They were professional, respectful, and extremely talented. Casting this show was great, because of all of the talent that showed up to auditions. When they came to that first rehearsal, I knew we had something special.
Helping kids learn about the world and to be a better human is why I love teaching. Despite what you might think, my favorite classroom is not the one I'm in for 185 days each year. My favorite classroom is the theatre. The great thing about theatre is that kids don't realize they're learning, and boy do they learn! There's so many things that kids learn in theatre that they may not learn elsewhere; teamwork, self confidence, responsibility, respect, creative thinking, and also that everyone is important.
As a director, I know that theatre is a place for those people who haven't found their place, to find their people. I remember being in middle school, and not sure about what crowd I belonged to. I was so happy when I ended up finding my people in choir and the drama club. I hope that this group of young actors has found "their people," or at least some of them, in this cast.
These kids have put in so much work for this show, and I know that you will see that onstage. I told the cast one night when we had finished rehearsal early that they were much easier to work with than an adult cast (let's keep that between us, lol.) They showed up to each and every rehearsal ready to go, to listen, to act, to become their character up on the stage, and I couldn't be prouder. I hope you are able to escape the madness we live in today to enjoy the madness that is Wonderland.
