playbill vip

Every year we have a musical at Ravenel, we are presented with new challenges. Our first year we had no idea what we were doing and had to learn things along the way. Our second year, we had the challenge of going bigger and doing more on stage! This year, our third year, our challenge was much simpler: sickness. This year, we fought against the various illnesses. We worked as hard as we could with the kids well enough to come to practice. But, I think we have overcome this year's challenge to present something we are proud of!

Finding Nemo Kids is a story about overcoming challenges and facing your fears. This year, we have many kids who are branching out and trying new things to face their fears. We have kids who are shy and reserved during the school day. However, on stage they come out of their shells and really shine. We have kids who were born for the stage and light up the room. We also have kids who are just trying something new and seeing if this is for them! (spoiler alert: it is!)

I discovered how awesome the theater can be when I first went to see a musical at the Peace Center in Greenville. My high school Tri-M club went to see Wicked. I will never forget all of the things I saw that afternoon. It lead me to discover how amazing live theater can be. Now I go as often as I can to watch various musicals and plays! My only regret is that I never sought out opportunities to particpate in acting myself. However, I am doing my best to make sure my students will have those oppurtunites. I also know that I would not be able to offer this type of experience for my students without the full support of the school, adminstration and the countless teachers volunteering time and resources to help us succeed. 

I sincerely hope you will continue to encourage the students you see on stage tonight to keep going and growing their talents. The arts is a challenging, but rewarding, path to explore. Keep encouraging our children to grow their talents and to seek out these experiences, even if the outcome is not what they had hoped for. Theater can be full of rejection unfortunately, but with hard work and determination, that rejection can turn into wonderful opputunties and amazing experiences. Keep encouraging and looking for oppurtunites for them to shine. Keep showing them that the arts can be an amazing place to make friends, learn something new, and grow as a person.

And remember...

Just keep swimming!

Adam Brooks

Director