"I think I'll try defying gravity..."

There have been a few times in my life where I stopped and thought "Am I really here? Is this seriously happening? I must be dreaming!" Most of those times have involved traveling to places that I would have never dreamed I would have had the opportunity to see. A few weeks ago I went on safari with my parents, another teacher from my school, and her fiance. As we were driving, the other people in the car laughed at me because I kept saying "There is no way these creatures are real. They are animatronic or something." In reality, I was just amazed at how incredibly beautiful, giant, and graceful these creatures were. This has happened other times throughout my life to, but a few weeks ago topped any experience I have ever had. Have you ever had that sudden realization of everything falling together in a way you would have never imagined it? That happened to me that week. Just over three weeks ago, on a Friday, the choir director at our school came up to me, with excitement bursting from every part of her, to tell me that she had just been asked to sing "Defying Gravity" to the one and only Steven Schwartz, who happened to be in Nairobi teaching a Master's class at another American school. Now, if you are like 75% of the people I have run into since that day, you have no idea who this man is, but you should. Steven Schwartz is an award winning composer and lyricist. He has won numerous awards for his works. He composed and wrote the lyrics for the Broadway shows "Wicked", "Godspell", "Pippin", and "Children of Eden", among others. He has written the lyrics for all of the songs in "Pocahontas", "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", and "Prince of Egypt." He has many other works, but even from this short list, you can see how incredibly talented this man is. Now flash back about 10 years. I had just started high school at Hempfield. I enjoyed listening to music, and had always loved going to the Fulton Opera House to see shows. I was part of a girl scout troop at the time (and am still a lifetime scout!) and we decided to take a trip to New York to see a Broadway show. When we arrived, our leaders told us that they had gotten us tickets to a new show that had just opened called "Wicked." They said it was the prequel to "The Wizard of Oz." We all thought this was going to be the most boring show ever, but boy were we wrong! We came home raving about the incredible set, the beautiful singing, the amazing music, and the extraordinary acting skills of the cast, which included Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth. Within a year, "Wicked" hit it it big and has been the top show on Broadway for the last 10 years. Over the next few years of high school I was convinced by a friend to join the Hempfield Dance Theatre program. I had never taken a dance lesson in my life, but somehow made it through auditions and into the show. I danced for the last three years of high school and was also cast in a school play and a school musical. These three experiences gave me a love for theater that I can't even express. It brings me so much joy to watch a program come together over just a few months, to watch students practice until they are void of energy because they have shown the audience every emotion through dance and facial expression, and to listen to directors give timeless advice about acting, singing, and performance.  That brought me to a few weeks ago. That week I got asked to chaperone the middle and high school choirs from our school as they went to the Master's class taught by Steven Schwartz. What an opportunity! I walked into that auditorium literally jumping up and down with the other chaperone, who happened to also be a theater nerd like myself. The students we were with just stared at us blankly, clearly not understanding the enormity of the experience they were about to get. When we took our seats, a man from the US embassy walked up and introduced not only Steven Schwartz, but also a young man named Michael Rose, the newest member of the New York production of "Wicked." Over the next few hours, we listened as many different people, including our choir director from West Nairobi School, sang some of Steven's songs, and he gave constructive criticism. As I sat there, I had that moment; The one where it all comes together. Some of the people were singing, and I leaned over a whispered some things to the other chaperone who was with me, about improvements that could be made. I was observing the performances as if I was sitting at the dress rehearsal of a Hempfield show. All of these tips given to me by directors and choreographers over the years came flooding back, and I was making mental notes about what was being performed. The surprise came when Steven walked up to give suggestions and many of the same things I had made notes of were things he told the performer. Now, I always knew that I had received a quality academic education at Hempfield. Many things I have done since graduation have proven that to me. I knew that our theater productions were incredible, and I knew that I had learned a lot from my teachers, directors, and choreographers, but I never anticipated having learned so much that a Master's class taught by one of the best in the business would be comprised of things I had already learned and had drilled into me. That day I became even more thankful for the people who inspired me back in High School to leave it all on the stage, dance from my heart, sing with joy, and give everything I have to performing. Thank you to those people, you know who you are!