From the director:
Phew. We did it. Actually, they did it. I say this again, year after year, how impressed I am with the students and how they pull together and unite to bring such an amazing production to our audiences. All of their hardwork has come to fullfillment, and I couldn't be more proud of them.
This year we did not focus so much on a theme, though I kept one in the back of mind that I pondered nearly every practice and sleepless night throughout the season. As with many musicals, the theme begins to unravel in the beginning and slowly reveals itself in the final scenes and songs of the play; this one was no different. In the production we see Percy leave his well-known home for one that is alien and downright confusing. He meets new friends and adjusts to a new "normal," only to find himself sent out on a mission that he did not ask for and to face monsters that are scarier than anything he has encountered before (but only somewhat, have you read about his stepfather Gabe? Geesh!). However, once he faces the monster, faces the deepest and darkest cave, he finds it to be not quite as scary as he thought as he overcomes the challenge and gains strength for the next. Percy is not alone in this concept as the campers spend much of their time training for a fight that they do not know if, or when, will happen. For some, this becomes so much scarier and more intimidating than the actual fight itself.
Is that not true for so many of us? The idea of what could happen or what might occur is so much scarier than the actual thing itself. Yet, once we face the fear, or the conflict, or the fight, we gain perspective and see that we were making it out to be a much bigger deal than it was. I certainly see this in my own life. It was through this musing on the plight of Percy, Grover, and Annabeth, and how their experiences relate to my own life, that the theme finally made sense to me for our production: Facing our fears makes them smaller.
Percy faced his fear of Zeus's anger, losing his mother, and being betrayed by a friend and he came out better for it. His fears became smaller because he faced them head on and did not run from the fight.
I encourage you to ponder this idea for yourself. Are there fears of some thing or fears of the unknown holding you back from chasing what matters or what is important? What would facing that fear look like? Would meeting it close up make it smaller and less frightening? Like the song "Bring on the Monsters" says, "There'll be times when your faith is shaken" but you've "got to know where the real fight lies, [and] when it's time to rise and stand your ground." Just keep in mind that, like Grover says in the final song, "we don't have to go it alone."
Blessings on your journey to face those monsters and blessings to those who will join you in the fight.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Cowles
