Congrats on a job well done

Bravi!

[did you know that you should say "Bravo" to a man, "Brava" to a lady, and "Bravi" to a crowd? Well, now you do. :) ]

Excellent work, all of you.
I am so proud of you guys and your accomplishments in MND.

I'm not being "nice" or "biased" when I say that people were (rightly) impressed with the quality of your acting. Thursday night's performance was the best one overall, and the lines were coming across to the audience with an adult level of subtlety. People were amazed that teenagers could do so well ... and I didn't even point out the fact that half the cast were in 8th grade or below.


In those moments of greatness,
You pushed objectives and invented new tactics to keep things interesting
You communicated a subtext instead of just a flat character
You reacted to what happened on stage instead of just spouting memorized lines
You thought of unique ways to flesh out your character, to make that person "yours"


We have set a very high standard for ourselves to live up to. ;)

Photos online at my Xanga

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Some random comments I remember from what people said to me....

"Your costumes looked better than anything I've ever gotten to work with!" (That's from Phillip Brawner, who's done drama at his high school as well as the Clemson Little Theater... !)

"I couldn't believe those were high schoolers."

"I just about fell out of my chair when the fairies started singing that Beatles song!"

"I'm amazed you found that much acting talent in such a small school."

"Wow. High schoolers really CAN understand Shakespeare."

"I thought this was going to be boring ... but it wasn't at all."

"This isn't just a 'good job' for a first play [as if we weren't expecting much]. It's an outstanding job for any play."

"I haven't laughed that hard in three months!"

"We were thoroughly impressed by the work, talent, and charm displayed by the students and teachers. Never have we seen Shakespeare done in a more enjoyable fashion!"


So there you go ... proof that you really DID do an outstanding job.


Be Prepared
I'm sure you're relieved to have your lives back (and your afternoons & your sleep at night). But in a few days, the glow will wear off and you'll actually miss MND. It's called "post-performance blues" and all performers have to deal with them.

Depending on how deeply you delved into your character, you might find yourself really missing the creative outlet ... you might feel kind of empty and listless for a little while ... like there's a "hole" in your life. Truly, there is -- you carved out a big space for MND in the past 4 months, and now it's gone.

Realize the blues will hit, recognize the "down feeling" when it comes, and be patient -- you'll get over it soon. And some new adventure is just around the corner (not to mention Spring Break!).


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I'd be interested in reading your comments here about what was different about each night's performance (audience, acting, your performance, etc). It's time for some analysis.



i am very proud of you all

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Special Thanks to:

• Bethany, the awesomest stage manager a person could ask for
• Nate, an incredible assistant director who helped me in numerous ways
• Sara, who came up with wonderful fairy costumes and took care of your stuff
  
• Mallie, who took her time to watch the book when Nate was onstage
• the Mr, who had my back the whole time and gave me many good ideas
  
• The multitudes of you who volunteered to come early, stay late, or do extra work so the play could be as good as it was
• All of you, for being patient with my inexperience at directing
  

If I forgot anybody ... I *am* thankful. =)