Safely Arrived!
No photos at the moment, (waiting on an upload from my phone) but we've arrived safely in Greensboro, all smiles.
The whirlwind to get all the costumes and props on the bus was a sight to behold. The kids have gotten really good and dividing and conquering, some vaccuming the spaces we've been in, others taking charge of props inventory while still others dealt with dividing up the bus snacks, packing costumes, and everything else that goes along with taking a show on the road. We were on the busses 5 minutes early!
The kids did a lot of much-needed sleeping on the bus, but also engaged in lively discussions about the election, the civil war, issues surrounding the confederate flag, whether or not animals have a soul, potatoes, and the early career of Justin Beiber. As you see, it ranges from the ridiculous to the profound, which is as it should be. At one point, my bus even burst into a quick harmonized chorus of "Jesus, Take the Wheel."
So far, the hotel people have been great (once we got over the unnecessary scare of being told that our room total was 2 and not 7). We can walk to the convention center, but the theater where the High School Fesitval is being held is a 15 minute drive away. It's a nice theater space. I brought students to perform there when I was working in North Carolina, and it was interesteing to experience the half-memories from a decade ago. Much has changed in my life since those days!
What hasn't changed is the tedious dance that theater teachers do when they meet. As we gathered for the production walk-through, I learned within 30 seconds of meeting one woman that she brought her students to compete at Disney 2 weeks ago, and from another who follows us on Twitter that it looks like we're having a "fun little season" at EHS (as compared to their ground-breaking work). I have a certain amount of empathy for these attempts at one-upmanship; public school theater teachers often feel disrespected and downtrodden, and want to establish themselves in the top of the pecking order when meeting others. I suppose that bankers and bakers and candle-stick makers do this too; it's human nature to size up the competition.
I'm not feeling particularly competitive at the moment. What came across to me at the walk-through is that each othe the Top 20 schools has wildly different approaches to the work of theater, and different pressing questions. It's a nice reminder of how vastly different good shows can be. Tim is fond of saying "it will come down to taste," and as usual, he's right. Since we don't have to assign scores or pick any winners, we can just enjoy the best of South East theater, and maybe find some scrits we might like to do in the future.
Tomorrow we'll start to have down time, and I'm going to boldly promise to actually get the kids to write down the thoughts they so eloquently express. (We'll see)
The adventure continues!
