School House Rocks!

This is a good "group" photo of the cast - note Brayden in the middle of the risers in the back.....This is from the "Unpack Your Adjectives" song and Madison is about to shoot this poor guy with a syringe full of water....
Despite Brayden's enthusiasm, a few of the songs in the beginning that did not incorporate him in a special roll, obviously didn't keep his active interest......These two must have given the director several sleepless nights.... Tanner and Brayden, two peas in a pod, in a lot of ways, particularly in their participation in this musical.

For even more pictures and excellent description, please go to Amy's post at: http://solacegirl.blogspot.com/

Well, folks, it was worth it. All of the tears, whining, late night carpool driving, and lack of sleep. Worth it. So worth it...

"School House Rock, Jr." was Brayden's first experience in a real drama production. We basically had to drag him to the orientation, but once he was there, he decided to sign the dotted line and go for it.

The company that has put this together is Rose Childrens Theater and they designed this as a "Musical in a Month". So, the kids had basically 4 and 1/2 weeks to put it together. The director is the music teacher Brayden had at Gilham his first two years that ended up leaving because the principal would no longer keep her on full time. Watching this performance disgusts me all over again about that decision that was made - this woman is priceless. Sigh, at least that principal is now gone from our school as well.....

Anyway, Brayden hung in there pretty well through the practices, but last week and this week things started to take a nosedive. He was tired, and, without a frame of reference of how the whole thing might turn out, ready to quit and sorry that he'd ever committed in the first place. Tuesday night had him full on crying...... it was a real bummer. However, as John and I sat through the dress rehearsal, we thought, "THIS IS GOING TO BE GOOD!". This might just be worth it....

Last night's first real performance was nothing short of magical. I'm tearing up just thinking about it. There are 53 kids that signed on to do this, many of them, just like Brayden, that have never had any previous drama experience. The effort they all gave was amazing, and how it all came together for a real, very entertaining production - WOW!

Brayden is on the risers in center stage for much of the show - he has about 4 songs that he has a more "active prop role", and the rest he sings with the chorus. At times, he propped his chin on his fists, yawned, talked to Tanner sitting next to him, or slipped off of the risers, but fortunately there was no nose-picking (as there had been during rehearsal). Phew! During the last third of the show, he is more active, and last night, that's when he came alive - belting out the songs, smiling big - and by the time the show was over and applause was being given, he couldn't control the hopping up and down in enthusiasm. It was certainly a sight to behold!

Leona came last night, and tonight there will be at least 16 guests in the audience with eyes mostly on Brayden. I am so happy for him to feel this satisfaction of a job well done and what happens when you stick with something and give it your all. It hasn't been easy, but it really has been worth it!

P.S. - I am adding an extra bit to this post now that Thursday night's performance (last one) occurred. Brayden really came alive knowing he had a big crowd in the audience there to support him. We had talked to him about stepping up the enthusiasm for the moments that he was featured on stage and he did just that..... I think I'm glad there wasn't a third performance because he was borderline "hamming it up a bit too much"..... By the end, he was "bouncing" even more than before, a sure sign to us that Brayden was at the peak of his pride and happy levels - which few moments in parenting can compare to. Brayden admitted he would up for another "musical in a month" next year, I think I would like it if it weren't in November..... but, once again, even if it did land in this busy time of year again - it would be worth it.....