28th Season; 60th Production
"I’m trying to follow
I’m trying to lead
I’m trying to learn what is true
I’m trying to be what you want and I need
But we all have a little more homework
We all have a little more homework
We all have a little more homework to do"
- 13 The Musical
Welcome to UHS Drama's Production of 13! The lyrics above are sung by Evan Goldman, a young boy on the brink of manhood as he turns 13 and prepares for his Barmiztvah. Unfortunately, he is whisked away from New York, where he was the popular kid, to the unknown, in rural Indiana. He must navigate a new school, new peers, and new pressures of fitting in. Of course, the teen years can be trying times: fitting in, acceptance, and more. This is the reason why I chose this production to be this year's musical - I think this is a show that all of my students can relate to.
These students have so many pressures facing them: the pressure to take AP Classes, the pressure to bump up their academic resume, the pressure to get a scholarship, the pressure of fitting in and finding a place to belong, among others. The pressure to be the "cool kid." No one is perfect - anyone who is reading this can readily admit that we aren't perfect. Whether we are 13, 33, or 53 or any other age , we can agree we are never fully learned. We always have a little more homework to do, much likes the students in this musical try to navigate their social lives. We should never be satisfied with what we have learned; we should always be willing to see each other in new lights or new ways. One of the most important lines from my favorite novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, is spoken by the wise Atticus Finch - when he says: "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view—until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." I think that is an important lessons for the characters in 13 and the students on stage who inhabit them. We become so wrapped up in our own lives that it becomes hard to see where others are coming from. They try to follow to do what is right or what is expected from them. They try to become leaders among their peers setting examples without letting "power" get to their heads. They try to be what their peers, their teachers and their parents need them to be without hitting a breaking point. They try to learn what is right from wrong, but at the end of the day, they will make mistakes. They are still learning, and they still have homework to do.
Thank you to everyone who has helped make this show possible. I couldn't do it without you. Thank you to my amazing and supportive Drama Booster Group - you pick me up when I fall down, you are there to teach me when I still have homework to do.
Thank you to the audience for attending, and I sincerely hope you enjoy, 13!.
Fondly,
Stephen Ward, Director
Be Safe. Be Well. Be Phenomenal
