The Things I never Said

To my directors,

Thank you. As I look back at the old pictures of musicals, I look at them and think “Wow I was so young” and “Was that really one of my costumes?” I think of all the times that we sat on the stage after rehearsal being drilled into by harsh, but constructive notes. I think of how much time each mom put in, and how much money they spent on our shows. But most importantly, I think about how much it changed me.

Those long rehearsals were killer, and after we would be shaken, hungry, and stressing about the homework that needed to be done. But you pushed us to be better and better. Having you there, pushing me, made me do better in my classes. You gave me my first real part in a musical I ever had. This, gave me the self-confidence I needed. Thank you for being the one that I could rely on for anything, and between scenes goof around and have fun with each other. For laying the groundwork for us, we were able to climb up the rope ladder. As we got older, each one of us excelled because of the stage. We learned to respect the props, the tech, and who else was helping (even if we didn't respect them enough). We tirelessly went over lines, and stayed up late to perfect accents and impressions of those that inspired our characters. No matter how many times you got mad at us for talking over you, or getting the scene wrong for the ‘enth time in a row, we still thought you were the best director ever. When you uttered, “it looks great, this is it” we all let out a sigh of relief, we knew that all our hard work paid off. When the lights came on opening night, we were all shaking as the curtain rose, letting out that last sigh of relief before we saw the shadowed-out audience. The whole time wondering if we were making you proud.

So, I thank you. I thank you for never giving up on us, no matter how rough we could be and for helping us develop our personalities and our interests. Without you I may not have the confidence on stage I have now. I thank you for being one of the most influential people in my teenage life by giving me that chance, over and over again. I thank you.