it was awesome to see mrs laird's and mr middleton's kids pull off the play we all wrote about native canadians. there's something giddily cute about seeing one microphone in the middle of the stage and the kids standing five feet behind it, then each stepping forward to deliver their lines. fantastic. the perfect blend of education and a max fisher players production. arthur and andrea - and a host of kindergarteners - were in attendance, and i'm very lucky i got to be a part of it. i'm told that next year (rubbing hands together) we're going to be looking at togas in one segment and pyramids in another.
the ladies of the "people of the forest" sing the traditional "my old bark canoe." look! a mysterious hand keeping the beat. i was giddy through the entire thing.
the play was broken up into four parts, one for each section the kids were studying. they did a lot of hard work memorizing their lines, and no one - out of, like, a zillion kids - had any problem. the very quintessence of charm comes from the fact that each group would finish its segment and then move off-stage, and you'd hear all these noises and crashes and laughter and the stage directions given to each other in serious-but-whispered immediacy. really, really awesome. just look at that igloo prop!
look at this! school 44 has the old-school "let's just put a stage on the side of the gymnasium"-style venue, so you've got these fabulous curtains, the new york state flag...priceless. note the drum and canoe off to the side. absolutely priceless.
mrs laird said that she nearly had a heart attack when sterling - the host - hadn't shown up for school; then, at eleven o'clock, there was a loud cheer from the kids and she looked up to see sterling, who was getting ready - and look at the kid. sharp as a scissorfight lick!
mrs laird and the kids get ready for their performance.