Budding Thespian

"When I was a teenager, I began to settle into school because I'd discovered the extracurricular activities that interested me: music and theater." -Morgan Freeman

I snuck over to the school yesterday for an afternoon performance of the play Spencer is in. He plays Lewis Carrol in his school's production of Alice in Wonderland. We have learned in the last year or so that Spence has quite a knack for theater. He is a natural on the stage. 

Last year, he auditioned when the school was putting on Aladdin. He came home one day and announced that his friend had landed the part of the Sultan. 

"Oh, that's great!" I said, "Did you get a part?" 

He responded, "Yeh, I got the part of the Sultan's son-in-law." Silence...Hmmmm....do I remember that character? 

"Mom...I'm Aladdin." 

Smart-Alek!

Over the next few months I would ask him if he needed help memorizing his lines or if he wanted to sing A Whole New World for me. His response left me chuckling, "No, I prefer performing for large crowds." So I went the entire time not knowing whether my kid could act or sing. I showed up on opening night to find out that I had a budding thespian on my hands.

I came home and discussed my surprise with Spencer. He said that he didn't know where he got it from since neither of his parents are actors. 

"Well...", I said,"...you know... I was quite the thespian back in my day. I stole the show as Veruca Salt in my elementary school's production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. And it is a little known fact that I was a member of the Junior Shakespeare Company in the 8th grade. Did I mention that I starred in my stake's productions of The Capricious Pearls and Five on a Honeymoon? Anyway, if it were not for my hideous singing voice, I likely would have gone into musical theater in high school." 

Now it was Spencer's turn to be surprised. He mentioned to Neil that night that he didn't know his mom had been an actress, to which Neil replied, "Well...you know...when I worked at scout camp every summer as a teenager, they always cast me as the nerd in the staff skits, because they knew I was the only one who could ham it up sufficiently. I was quite the hit among the scouts."

Spencer was shocked to find out that this acting blood running through his veins may very well have come from his parents. 

This year was no different than last year. Spencer was very elusive about the play and would not let me in on any of his lines. And since I am one of those amazing moms who only put in the minimum mandatory one afternoon of volunteer time, and was far from the stage during that time, I was never privy to any of his rehearsals. I did start to question when I would walk into the school and find children and adults alike referring to me as "Lewis Carrol's Mom". 

So I was actually not surprised, this time, when Spencer was a hit. I was a little surprised when the whole cast exploded with applause when it was his curtain call. It will be interesting to watch this little budding thespian of ours. Something tells me that he will far surpass his parents' meager accomplishments. And I am speaking of more than the theater.