Pride and Play

The auditorium was dark, not completely. There were some lights on, but not enough for you to make out the details of a person standing a few feet from you. The stage curtain was closed, the orchestra pit had a few lights on and I could make out shadowy movement of people in it.

            I looked around the large room and saw there were maybe two dozen people in attendance. I guessed most of them were parents or family members of the actors and maybe a few teachers. I felt a bit crestfallen there were not more people there. Yet, I couldn’t blame them. Hell, if I had not had a family involved in this production, I would have been at home either resting on my couch or sitting on my porch having a cigar.

            As my eyes adjusted to the darkness I saw my party. I made my way over to them and was about to sit down when I saw a buddy of mine and his fiancée walking up. I was surprised to see them and honored at the same time. We talked for a few moments and then took our seats.

            The lights dimmed, my daughter strolled out on stage and gave a brief synopsis of what we were about to witness and then she walked off the stage.

            Thirty minutes later and a million emotions later I was beaming with pride.

            My daughter had written, directed and produced a play at sixteen years old. Not just a throw away play where students act out scenes and there is no plot or message. Nope, she did a full on scene changing play in several acts. These acts followed a story line that was maintained through the entire show. There was character development, emotional stress, emotional comfort, anger, joy, sadness and even a two different plot twists.

            But under it all was my daughters message.

            That message, understanding and acceptance.

            While I don’t think some people understood what was being said on stage, in the end, when the two different groups of actors accepted each other not for their differences but for what they discovered they had in common, well, I was honored to be my daughters father.

            Now, that is not saying I don’t feel that way every day. It is just that there seems to be times in our lives where we as parents take for granted our children. Then, they step out of their box, find a passion and follow it. Which then leads to some amazing occurrences in life.

            In this case, my offspring did something that I never even thought of doing. She also did something most of my contemporaries have never done. I mean after all, how many people do you know who not only have written a play but then went on to direct and produce one? On the heels of this, she has also written, directed and filmed a short movie that is being considered for a student film festival.

            Where did she get these ideas? Where did her talent come from? How did she learn to do this stuff and where will it take her?

            I have no idea to any of these answers, I do know that no matter what she wishes to do, I will support her and help her in any way I can.

            The reason I do this? Simple, I want to continue to be amazed by her and what she comes up with.

            So proud, so happy and so excited to see what she comes up with next.

            Have a great week.