Shakespeare's Twelfth Night

Remember how I mentored a Shakespeare class in our homeschool commonwealth this year? Well, our play was the first weekend in May. It has been a WILD ride, but I have learned so much and feel so proud of our final product. 

I served as the producer while my co-mentor Britney directed the play. We knew going in to the play that Walter was due just a few weeks before rehearsals started, so I'd planned as many things as possible in advance and had a great assistant producer helping out. What we didn't anticipate was that Britney's mother, who had been battling cancer, would take a turn for the worst and pass away just a few weeks before the show. After missing a few rehearsals (which other mom's stepped up to run), Britney was determined to finish what she'd started as a tribute to her mom. It was hard, but the kids stepped up, and we gave it all we had. By tech week, things we just barely starting to come together. But even dress rehearsal was ROUGH with some kids still struggling with lines, missing cues, and forgetting blocking. 

Magically, things came together during a last rehearsal before opening night. The kids found their groove and felt ready to give it their all!

Five minutes to showtime, the heavens opening and it started POURING! Without time to move to a backup location, we set up canopies over the audience and went ahead with the show. Somehow that rain unified the cast in a way we'd been trying all year to achieve. As they were huddled under a canopy backstage, singing "Rain, rain go away" and having the time of their lives, something magical happened! They went on to give the most incredible performance (and the rain stopped about 15 minutes in).

And can we talk about Hazel??? She played Olivia, and was incredible! It was so much fun to watch her grow in her acting ability this year. She went from nervously talking way too fast and without much emotion during her audition, to creating and presenting an incredible Olivia. 

In one scene, she was supposed to come in screaming to break up a fight. She struggled to let go of her inhibition and really scream during all of our rehearsals. But on closing night, she finally nailed it! She screamed so loud her fellow cast members were genuinely shocked and had the best reactions. 

I am so proud of her! She's always been an actress at heart, and it was incredible to get her up on stage and watch her thrive. Watch their performance here - IMA Twelfth Night 2023

A few more action shots... It really was such a fun show! 

A funny aside not to be forgotten... With all the rain during opening night, my stroller with the master keys that unlocked everything was slid in to the tower and locked inside. Miraculously, Ken managed to jerry-rig a hanger on the end of a pole and scoop the keys up and through the window. Good times! 

Some of the things I want to take away from this experience: 

-  Hard things are not only doable, but worth the effort

- If you want to do something incredible, surround yourself with amazing people. We could not have done it without the support of some amazing moms! (I mean, just look at those costumes)

- Teenagers can by prickly. They can be hard to love, make choices that seem so ridiculous, and let you down at times. BUT, teenagers are also so much fun, have huge hearts, and are capable of doing so much! Give them the benefit of lots of love, patient coaching, and some time - they will amazing you! 

That's a wrap on Twelfth Night, but my Shakespeare days aren't numbered yet. This fall I'll be mentoring Shakespeare again, and next spring it will be my turn to direct. I'm sure it will be a wild ride again, but I'm excited (and so nervous haha!)