Spoiler Alert There will be no spoilers in this column about the incredible performance of “It’s a Madhouse!”. You’re going to have to see it for yourself! A screening of a video of the play will be held in the Barn, tonight, Friday, March 18 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The video will also be shared with all families via email.
Seeing our seventh and eighth grade actors race across the stage in all directions this past week may have been the reset I have been waiting for. After the real-world craziness of the past two-plus years, witnessing (live in the PAC!) our skilled young actors commanding the stage and delivering laugh after laugh, brought me, frankly, to tears. I can’t imagine I was the only parent in the audience last Friday evening, tearing up with the joy of the jokesboth big and beautifully subtleand with a sense of relief.
As we continually turn this long corner, the staging of the world premiere (you read that right!) of It’s a Madhouse! reminded me of the many joys of education itself. First, there was the undeniable energy. Just as the players bounced and bounded across the stage, these same students and their peers bounce and bound all across our campus each day of the school week. It’s truly a madhouse here some days. But don’t let the appearance of chaos fool you. That energy is always directedas it was that night by masterful teachers, Susan Dempsey and Chris Parsonsto learning, to building confidence, and to expressing our creativity to make each part our own.
Next was the teamwork I saw before me. In one of the later scenes in the play, every actor is on the stage. Every inch of the stage was occupied by a player. I scanned across this incredible tableau to see a masterpieceevery actor was emoting their character in support of everyone else on that stage. I so badly wanted to yell out “freeze!” and just take it in. It was teamwork at its finest. And as it was on the stage, in education, none of us is alone up there as we teach and learn. Each of us has the responsibility in our roles as teachers, students, and parents to support, share, and inquire.
Finally, there was the pure joy of experiencing community. In the audience, we shared the nervousness and pride we had in seeing our children and their classmates taking risks and challenging themselves. And we rejoiced in being together for a wonderful night at the theater. If you remember two years ago, it was Seussical, The Musical, that was the first of far too many live and in-person events that had to be canceled as we entered the pandemic. Appropriately, now it is our seventh and eighth grade thespians ushering us back with a hilarious performance.
Bravo to everyone who had a hand in bringing It’s A Madhouse! to lifeall the actors, the backstage crew, the directors, Mr. Parsons and Ms. Dempsey, the buildings and grounds team, and the play’s author, Todd Wallinger. Bravo!
Have a great weekend, everyone.
