#spotlightawards

I was so excited! Kids who I’ve known for years – who I was in shows with when they were little and who I worked with the many years I taught scenic design at theatre camp – were seniors, and I couldn’t imagine a better show for their senior year. I followed closely as they practiced and worked on the sets and costumes, and I couldn’t wait to see them perform in the spring. I had my ticket and was about to buy a second one for another night because I just knew it was going to be amazing.

Then the world changed.

In March, two days after their final dress rehearsal, the week they were supposed to open the show, the school transitioned to virtual learning in response to the coronavirus pandemic. And Newsies was indefinitely postponed. 

I can’t speak highly enough how the cast and crew’s attitudes in this time. Every single post I saw on social media coming from the cast and crew and the director and others on the lead team was overwhelmingly kind and positive. They found joy in the process and never said a negative word about having their performances canceled. 

Thankfully, the final dress rehearsal had been recorded so that the director could make notes and such before they opened, and this weekend, that recording was made available to stream for a limited time only. Friends and family and supporters of the school’s theatre department could finally see the kids’ hard work come to fruition. So many of us were so excited to watch and tried to stream on Friday night that we crashed the site.

And I have to say, it was worth the wait to see it. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, these kids are so talented. And this isn’t just my opinion... the guy playing the lead won the TPAC Spotlight Award for outstanding male actor. They also won the Spotlight Award for best choreography, and were nominated for many other awards.

And there is something special about that theatre department. It brings together people from all walks of life, kids you’d never think would be in the same social circles in a typical high school, and it unites them for a common cause – to glorify our Creator by telling stories and stepping into the shoes of others to broaden our understanding of the world around us. It shows people that all our talents are so special and so necessary and they fit together in a beautiful way to make something greater than any one person. And that’s special. I’m so thankful for this cast and crew, and I love them all, even the ones I don’t personally know and the ones who may not remember me. And I’m so thankful for the impact that theatre department has had on my life when I was in high school and beyond. 

Normally I rant and rave about sets and costumes and lighting and choreography after I see a show performed by my old high school, and yes all of that was fantastic, but this year what stuck out to me most of all was the heart behind the show and the bond between the cast members. I am so proud of every single one of them. And my heart is so happy that I finally got to see what they worked so hard on for so many months.