While folks in northern and western Kansas might be a long way from the bright lights of Broadway New York City style, we enjoy our fair share of drama on the boards. Our actors and actresses are youngsters in our communities, and our directors are often teachers by day and drama coaches by night and weekend. Local wizards of the sewing machine and serger, forensic coaches, carpenters, welders, and likewise talented people are costumers, set builders, and backstage help.
Seeing one of these productions can’t help but remind a person that it does take a village to raise a child or in this case a cast full of lots of families children. The thespians commit a slug of outside time to learning lines, coming to practice, and helping assemble costumes and props for their scenes. During the day, they’re diligent students keeping up with the demands of at least seven different classes. After school, many either go out for sports or work part-time in local businesses.
During the day, the director keeps up with planning, teaching, managing, and grading for those courses that occupy the kids’ days. Somewhere house and yard work as well as the mundane duties of life like bill-paying require some time. By evening, that individual has slapped on his or her director’s beret and begun turning these usually normal teens into fairy tale characters, imaginary rabbits, or other theatrical representations.
Somehow days are never long enough for important things like eating, so parents provide catered meals to keep their offsprings’ metabolism running at full speed. Between times, they run errands to gather hats, capes, suits, dresses, and other necessities to add finishing touches to their children’s productions. Often times they serve as ad writers, photographers, and publicity teams who work to interest area residents to come watch the show.
After weeks of repeated entries from stage left or right and struggles with muffed lines, it’s time to put the show on the road. Depending on the community, first run audiences are either the grade school students and future hams or local residents and loved ones who are dying to see their youngsters darlings perform. No matter what, everyone expects to enjoy the show. No nasty big city critics in these crowds.
During an evening or matinee, locals can kick back and let the performers take them into another world. While enjoying the production, it’s easy to forget how much effort went into such a show. That hour and half play required thousands of hours to devotion and labor from scores of community members. In return, ticket holders get some grins and giggles. The actors, actresses, and stage crew gain the satisfaction of working together as a team to provide a great show. Besides a few gray hairs, the director enjoys the satisfaction of knowing he or she coached, nudged, and otherwise prompted youngsters to go outside their comfort zones to bring unfamiliar characters to life.
Everyone, audience included, will share memories and stories that turn into local legends. After I watch one of these plays, I never see those kids the same way again. Always, when we meet, even if it decades afterward, the aura of the characters they’ve brought to life shadow dances behind them as a permanent part of their life story.
