This past month, I took my daughters to two very special shows. The first was the spring musical at the high school where I teach, and the second was the choir concert for the same school. I live about 30 minutes away from my school, so I am not always able to attend extra-curricular events, but I had several students in both shows, so I made sure to put them on the calendar.
I was a little anxious about taking my children because last year my youngest got antsy, and we ended up leaving halfway through the musical. Luckily, this year was a very different experience. Not only were my daughters very engaged in the shows, but for both shows, my youngest followed along with the program, noting each song title as it was performed. We also ended up watching the movie version of the play when we got home.
While my own children are always excited to go to any of my school’s events because they like to meet mommy’s “big kids,” it was nice to see them so interested in the performances beyond the opportunity to connect with me at my place of work. It got me thinking about the shows my family would take me to as a child.
When I was in high school, my parents purchased season tickets to the Orpheum, Memphis’ equivalent of the Saenger. For four years, I saw nearly every major production that came to town, and I loved it, but the only reason my parents were willing to make such an investment was because my brother and I had both already developed a love of the theater. Our parents and grandparents regularly took us to shows at smaller local theaters. I have fond memories of seeing West Side Story at the local high school and the Nutcracker performed by the local ballet company.
I’ve always wanted to invest in season tickets to the theater, as my parents did, when my girls are old enough, but I realized that in order to ensure they enjoy and appreciate that when the time comes, I need to start taking them to smaller theaters now. Now that my youngest can sit through a show without being disruptive or whining that she’s bored, I need to start considering more than just the “live” performances of their favorite cartoon characters.
While my hope is that my own children will ultimately share a love of the theater with me, I also want these experiences seeing local shows and concerts will instill in them an appreciation for the time and effort members of their community put into the show and a respect for the performers.
