Where We Stand Now

As I write this, it has been four months since we sat in the ballroom in Norfolk, unsure of whether we wanted to hear our name announced or not. Sure, we wanted to hear it--who wouldn't want recognition as one of the Top Two plays in the state? But on the other hand, being launched into the highest level of competition would mean an added commitment to each other, loss of Spring Break plans, and eventually pulling the show out of mothballs and trying to put it back on its feet again. It would mean a lot more logisitcs, a lot more money, and a lot more work.

Which is where we stand now.

Because of course, our name did get called. We jumped to our feet, shouted with joy and surprise and ran to the stage to collect a tiny trophy. (We tease, because we love, VTA...but we've also seen many other SETC other state trophies on Twitter and we're jealous of their hardware!)

I'm sitting in my office as I write this. It's dead silent. The last rush of kids has cleared the campus after a brutal all-night push to finish term papers. I've been on dorm duty the past two nights (making up for not being on duty during last week's musical...was it only last week?) I feel like the walking dead, and no amount of caffiene is going to make me 25 again, not that youth innoculates one against the wear of boarding school life. I'm hoping that the kids are taking naps and resting right now, because they've been pushing themselves hard lately, and the spectre of a campus cold or flu is always looming. I'm wanting to baby them a little bit, but knowing we have only 4 days to do a serious amount of work. The shows we are competing against have taken a much more serious approach to the competition. I'm frankly a little worried about how to get through these next days.

And still, the clock can't move fast enough to get me to 2:30 when rehearsals begin. Because we will get through, the play will come togther in new and surprising ways, and we'll all discover as soon as we hit the rehearsal hall that we are buyoyed by each other. The kids have worked so hard for this. A trip to the South East Theatre Conference is a dream come true for more than just me; it's a lucky strike of lightning for all of us. It's sweeter because this is not any individual's achievement--we are a team.

This week will have its share of ups and downs, as all intense weeks do, but I'm confident we are going to learn a lot and have a lot of laughs. I'll keep encouraging the kids to share their impressions on this blog, and I'll update as often as I can with photos and thoughts.

Let the adventure begin!