Drama Queen

So on to more finishing.  Analiese was part of a drama program this year at our local community theater.  She got to be in two productions throughout the school year, Babes in Toyland and Children of Eden.  A few weeks ago they had their last performance.  It was just a small play put together by their class.  A sort of fractured fairy tale involving Hansel and Gretel, the seven dwarfs, and two peculiar godmothers.  Analiese was one of those godmothers.  She was the fairy dog-mother.  And her best friend Campbell was the fairy frog-mother.  They make my laugh regularly.  And this performance was no exception.  They were adorable and funny and perfectly quirky.

This class has been wonderful.  We will definitely be signing up again next fall.  Not only was it fun and a good experience, but it grew my girl in big ways.  Analiese had a rough year last school year.  It was a confidence shaking year.  A year that left her questioning herself in deep ways.  Am I smart enough?  Am I pretty enough? Am I good at anything?  Those are big questions for seven year old to ask.  And really, questions a seven year old shouldn't be asking.  But she was put in a position in school that left her asking these hard questions.  (It still gets my mama blood boiling to think about.)  So I knew this year we had to do something to rebuild what had been broken.  This is my creative girl.  My slightly (no, let's be honest, overly) dramatic girl.  So I thought of the stage.  She started off shy and reserved.  During the first production she felt silly and questioned everything she did.  I saw some of that disappear with the second performance.  But I really saw how far she had come during the Studio recital.  She was all confidence.  Don't get me wrong.  She's still her mother's daughter.  She picked at her work and listed ways she could improve it.  But she did this with an air of knowing she really could make it better.  And that's the key.  It's one thing to want to improve yourself.  It's another thing to not feel like you can improve yourself.  She moved ever so slightly past the latter.  And for that I thank this drama class.  There is just nothing quite like putting yourself on stage in front of lights.  The adrenaline flowing through you and the butterflies working their way out.  It's a pride making moment.  A moment my girl needed. I love my lovely little hippie drama queen so very much.