Songs change.

If you sing a song for a long time — a good song — it changes and grows just like a person. You get to see it’s personality. It shows you its funny side — or the pain it keeps hidden underneath.

I learned this song from Ysaye Barnwell in a workshop many years ago, and I’ll admit it troubled me a little. I wasn’t sure I liked singing about finding peace in dying and it made me sad to think of slaves singing this song and longing for the release of death. (There’s a lot of pain in that idea.)

But … when I got the news this weekend that the mother of one of my ATWI classmates had passed away earlier this week, this is the song I found myself singing.

And there was comfort in it (at least for me).

Like I said, songs change.

[audio:http://songtaneous.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Soon-I-Will-Be-Done.mp3|titles=Soon I Will Be Done]

As I wind down from working with the kiddos, these quotes seemed appropriate. *smile*

“A grownup is a child with layers on.”
– Woody Harrelson

“[We] do not quit playing because [we] grow old; [we] grow old because [we] quit playing.”
– Oliver Wendell Holmes
(*Mr Holmes said “men,” but I decided he meant all of us. *smile*)

“Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.”
– C.S. Lewis

We did it again!

I’m happy to report that once again the students of Northeast Middle School turned out a stellar series of shows. With a final cast and crew count topping 60 kids, it was our biggest production to date.

We did four performances this year, including two evening shows and two in-school performances Thursday and Friday for the kids’ peers at Northeast and Waite Park and Pillsbury elementary schools. Dudley (our director) said she thought our in-school performance on Friday was one of the best she’d ever seen. (I agree. *smile*) My thanks to all of you who attended and supported Northeast’s latest effort.

…

With so many kids, it took a little longer for this group to “gel,” but in the end all the kids learned their lines, sang their songs and — thanks to the imagination and hard work of Ms. Kim and her handy team of costumers — looked great doing it.

Add in the simple, but clever, set designs assembled with the help of Mr. Alex and our crew, and the audience was transported to a colorful, wonderful Wonderland.

…

To get ready to perform  we gathered in a classroom before each show so I could warm up the kids and Dudley could give her motivational speech.

Each pre-performance gathering also featured a compliment circle by the cast. In the circle, each cast member gives a compliment to someone else in the show and I was moved as I watched a community forming before my eyes. (Granted it was a kind of squirrel-ly and noisy community, but … *wink*) In fact, a tear came to my eye as  Ms. Kim complimented the kids (and adults) on all their hard work before Friday night’s final performance.

…

To watch these kids shine makes all the hard work worth it for me. By Friday night, they understood what they were doing and were comfortable enough (or maybe just tired enough?) to actually enjoy it. You could see them figuring out that the people watching the show are a part of it and that magical exchange between performer and audience began to happen.

In short, they did us — and themselves! — proud.

…

Saturday, I returned to Northeast to help strike the set and pack up the sound system. Many parents came to assist us in packing up the costumes and props; taking down the clouds and curtains; and taking apart the stage extension, which we built especially for this show. The stage extension allowed Alice, played by three actors, to “shrink” and “grow” during the production. (It also provided a cool entrance for the Flowers of the Golden Afternoon! *smile*)

Quite a few of the cast showed up to help, too. In between jobs, we ate cookies and swapped tales of their individual and collective glories. More than a few told me they’d be back next year. It warmed my heart to hear the kids singing the show songs as they helped pack up the sets and clean up the auditorium.

Now it’s time to rest up while we consider the options for next year’s show.

(I’ll keep you posted. *grin*)