A Note From The Director:
Sometimes stories tell you, when they need to be told.
When I was hired this spring to direct our school musical, I instantly started creating a list of shows I thought would be perfect for us to do given our current situation. I had narrowed my list down to three shows, when I found myself taking a drive and coincidentally the song “Wheel” from Tuck came blaring through my car speakers. My eyes filled with tears as I listened to the lyrics. In the middle of a global pandemic, surrounded by the emotional heat and heartbreak of a nation, amid the troubles, anxieties and many unknowns, the song raised so many questions. For those of us desperately trying to survive day to day, what are we meant to do with the time that we’ve been given? This beautiful musical, based on the book of the same title, embraces the message that Life is what we make it. I fell deeply in love with the story all over again, and I knew it would be the perfect fit for our community.
It wasn’t long before every person involved in the production fell in love in their own way. We loved each other. We loved the challenges of bringing this story to life. There were jokes about masks and canes and leaving enough space for the Holy Ghost. We wept in solidarity every time Young and Old Winnie danced in tandem near the end. I imagine this is the experience the creative team Shear, Federle, Miller, and Tysen hoped we’d get to. Whether we’re calling light cues, singing the infectious score from a tree, or sitting in a dark theater swooning at the profound articulation of movement, listening to the uplifting message, or giggling at the frog — the whole of the thing. All these moments that we experience together are a reminder that we don’t need to label time. We don’t need to know how or why our “partners in crime” are the people we want to make our lives with. Like Winnie, we just need to “ride the wheel plenty, for all that it’s worth.” It’s not about focusing on the finality of life, it’s about truly taking in the many lovely things that happen along the way.
To those of you who have joined us on this journey, thank you!
To my beloved cast, crew, musical pit and production team; thank you for being the right team for Tuck Everlasting, and for reminding me every day that the journey was the destination all along.
“Don't be afraid of death Winnie.
Be afraid of not being truly alive.
You don't need to live forever.
You just need to live.”
xo
Ms. Mandy
