As a first year teacher, she was not aware of the tradition of producing a Christmas pageant in a public school. She was told, “Oh don’t bother about it. The kids will just write some skits and sing a song and the parents will all be drunk and not even paying attention anyway….”
And someone else said, “I wish they would take this more seriously.”
And someone else said, “Why don’t we have a drama program?”
“Let’s do a real show!” one enthusiastic mom proclaimed.
“OK, so they want a drama program, huh?” Not knowing her background in theater arts. “Mrs Show Biz” or “Flo” as her principal called her. It was then she developed the performing arts program with the help of a devoted room mother, a multi-talented teaching assistant, and the support of the parents and staff.
The following year they produced A Christmas Carol complete with costumes, make-up, lights, fog, singing, and dancing. The parents were thrilled! “You mean to say that you did that?” one impressed father asked Mrs. Lu after the performance.
“I had a lot of help,” was her reply, and she did. It took a team of devoted people to stage a show. Lots of people helped.
She brought in a hair and make-up artist to show the kids how to apply stage make-up. The girls really took to this idea, but the boys were resistant. She convinced them that the most masculine figures they could name wore make-up when on stage: John Wayne, Joe Namath, Clint Eastwood, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
During intermission Mrs. Lu noticed that even the most vocally resistant guys were touching up their make-up, applying more blush, and re-arranging their tights.
Then came Oklahoma! with square dancing taught for PE. She searched the Goodwill everyday for cowboy boots and ruffled petty coats. She had a score sequenced by a musician friend that sounded like a full orchestra.
She was teaching the settlement of the West. The fight between the ranchers and the farmers for water and territory was the historical basis for the story. In this way the show was integrated into history.
Building the set and stage, painting the scene and making props and costumes could all be justified as art. Memorizing songs, lines, singing, and dancing covered public speaking, drama, and music.
It didn’t seem like a problem to take a month to put on a show that covered so many areas of the curriculum. Science, math, and reading continued as usual, but the afternoons were for rehearsal. All the upper grades took part, and all the little kids looked forward to seeing the show and being in one when they got old enough.
The boys were embarrassed about the cowboy boots because she had them tuck their jeans inside the boots and wear their hats cocked back on their heads so the audience could see their faces. She choreographed a little cowboy tap dance to one of the numbers.
“We look like dorks,” they whined.
“Just do what I ask and see what happens,” she urged them.
On opening night, they did what they were told. They were awkward and out of step, but they kept smiling and pulled it off. The audience went nuts! Clapping, whistling, stomping their feet. The boys ran back stage and were incredulous.
“They loved us! Do you hear that? They loved us!”
Mrs. Lu just smiled, nodding silently, “Bitten by the bug.”
What began as an off remark from a parent became a dynamic program that lasted for a decade or more. But things change. Teachers retire. Kids graduate. The truth is you need a champion to run a program like that. When the champion leaves, the program dies. But for those years, those kids got the very best.
As much acclaim as Mrs. Lu had ever received herself as a performer, it meant more to her to see her kids perform and blossom into young men and women than any other accomplishment in her life. She was so proud of them all.
The older gifted kids got to excel as leads. The younger kids started out in the chorus and worked their way up. Even the kids who needed help academically memorized lines, stage direction, sang and danced. The shows had an added affect; they brought a certain culture to the community that was otherwise lacking. It was a marvelous experience for all.
“Let’s do a show!” Mrs. Lu was ready for another go around.
(First published 12/30/11)
