My Adventure in Neverland

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(Originally published May 9, 2015)

I co-direct a children’t theatre group known as StarZ on Broadway. We meet once a week throughout the school year and teach basic musical theatre skills to elementary age students. Our kids range in age from 1st through 8th grade – quite a large variation!

This year, the production we planned to produce was “Peter Pan Jr.” – part of the MTI Jr. collection – geared specifically to our age group of kids. MTI is awesome- they provide everything you need to get started and have valuable resources to help you along the way.

This is the 5th year my partner and I have been offering StarZ through my school. Our program has grown from 11 students the first year, to 40 this year. We are very blessed! It is always an adventure to work with kids – add producing a show to the mix and you can only imagine the mayhem, madness and magic that ensues – the magic sometimes being the last thing to appear!

Since I teach all day anyway, by the time I get to the class after school, I am sometimes wiped! Thank goodness for my amazing partner and our college student helper! They keep me going and provide so much more to me than just friendship!

Working with kids has taught me a great many things – patience, for one. I’m not always the most patient person, but when you look at those sweet faces, you can’t help but just love them so much.

We had our final performances of “Peter Pan Jr.” last night. There was a great deal of patience required over the past two weeks as we rallied the troops and pulled everything together. We were nowhere near ready this time last week. There were still many kids who didn’t know their lines, the pirates were marauding in all the wrong ways, the lost boys were truly lost (well, not quite!), Peter Pan had just broken her wrist, and the indians were not quite up to speed on Hanna Manna Ganda-ing (song from the show!) I always have as much patience as possible, but the last rehearsals require it tenfold -which leads me to another thing I have learned working with kids:

Have FAITH! I may become discouraged, but I always have faith. Faith that somehow they will pull it together. Thankfullly, I am surrounded by an incredible team of people. In addtion to my wonderful partner and college helper, we have some amazing parents who pull out all the stops to help wherever needed. I also have inceredible theater friends who rally behind me with moral support and concrete assistance in hair/makeup, technical assitance, costumes – you name it! I have a VERY hard time asking for help – espcially when it requires volunteering and no monetary compensation. This year, I had SO MUCH help that I could never express the depth of my gratitude to my friends.

Another thing I learned working with kids:

Find the Joy- no matter what, no matter how bad it may seem, no matter how much of a mess you may be looking at – find the joy! These kids were having fun! That is really what is most important. Now thankfully, they really did pull it together and did a great job! But even if they hadn’t – we must find the joy.

As I was driving home last night after a 17 hour day, I thought about those 40 kids and what they had accomplished. They had told their story. They had done it well and I believe, they had had a great time doing it. The fairies sparkled – quite literally with all the glitter and sparkles they had on their faces and in their hair! The Lost Boys followed the leader with gusto, the pirates marauded and plundered mercilessly and Peter rocked her purple cast! Everyone did a great job and boy, were they cute. (Thanks, Chery! and Alda! and Lori! and Francene! and Eryca!) I know I found the joy when I watched them. They made me smile and laugh and just feel so proud of them.

Sometimes I think about giving it up and just enjoying my afternoons that would be full of freedom. But then I think – what would I really do with myself? I love spending time with these kids. They give me so much and hopefully we give them something back.

Thanks for the trip to Neverland, little StarZ (the Z is for me – the ZGirl, of course!). I will always treasure my time there and with you.

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