The Importance of Being Hugged

Today concludes our first full week of performances! I must admit that it was a tough week for me. While waking up at 5 am is getting easier each day, lifting heavy equipment while my body is still waking and up has been a challenge. Not to mention the fact that we are often loading in the set in the dark! I have a few bruises and cuts and I am still learning how to climb into the backseat of the van without hitting my head. (I can hear my mom saying, "That's my girl!") I am thankful that the weekend is finally here and that we will be staying in Bastrop, Louisiana for the next three nights. However, I am disappointed that my room doesn't have internet, the TV decides to shut off every 10 minutes and our neighbors like to blast their TV ALL DAY and ALL NIGHT preventing us from getting a good night's sleep.

However, all of these little problems seem insignificant when I look back at the photos I took this week. The children we perform for are incredibly energetic and appreciative. The teachers and school staff members have been very welcoming and one of the principals explained to us, "You don't understand. These kids are going to be talking about this show forever. They are never exposed to things like this." Sometimes the school principals will warn the younger kids that, "When the lights go down, you don't have to be scared. You just have to be quiet. The people up there are actors, they are just people like you and me, and they are pretending to be these characters." Regardless, the kids always scream as the lights go down. They also react very vocally, as if they were sitting at home in front of the TV. When I make my first entrance as the Old Woman it always breaks my heart to see one or two kids leave the room crying.

Most of the children we encounter think of an actor as a person from the movies. The idea of being a stage actor is a completely foreign concept. One principal asked us to have a Q&A session with a group of high school students who were taking a Fine Arts elective. The four of us introduced ourselves and talked about why we wanted to become actors and within seconds it became apparent that these teenagers had no idea what questions to ask us. Zach took the lead and explained the difference between acting for the camera and acting for the stage and went on to explain why he chose to get an MFA instead of a BA. The students looked absolutely flabbergasted, so we steered the conversation towards movies and television. Mike asked, "so what movies do you guys like?" and when no one answered he said "anyone here play sports?" It was very eye opening and to be honest, very sad. We were really struggling to engage these kids in any sort of conversation. I recognize that these students were probably anxious for school to get out, but the fact that I couldn't connect with them was quite depressing. Perhaps they were intimidated by these random twenty something year olds from New York? I am trying my best to keep this experience in mind when I interact with the kids here and I find that abandoning all assumptions is the best way to begin a conversation.

Today performed for an audience of 1,100 kids at Moorehouse Junior High School. I have never performed for such a large audience and if you heard those kids cheering for King Arthur during the sword fight, you would have thought it was a Justin Bieber concert.


Typically, after each show the cast waves goodbye to the students as they leave the gymnasium or auditorium. At first, I was very wary about what was appropriate when interacting with the children. I tried giving waves, high fives, and handshakes, but the little ones literally threw themselves around my legs. In the past week I have received literally hundreds of hugs from little boys and girls! Some of the kids just extend their arms and wait for me to come over to them, some of them just walk over to me and rest their heads on my dress and others just go right for what the Amesse's like to call a monkey hug. I spoke to one of the principals about this and he said "Ya'll don't have to worry! That's just what we do down here. Not like you Yankees who are afraid of hugs." While some of the kids bombard me with questions or invite me to their houses for after school play dates, others are much more tentative. There is always one or two who look very dazed and confused and remain completely and utterly speechless. For example, this little girl was very cuddly, but very confused as to why I wanted to take a photo with her. I could not even get her to tell me her name! You would be surprised by how many kids are simply terrified of me.


I wish I had more photos of the kids, but it is often very overwhelming to answer dozens of questions while the kids are tugging at my dress! This is Aubrey who saw our performance at Shongaloo High School in Webster Parish. Aubrey and I played hide and seek across the cafeteria table until she mustered up the courage to talk to me.


While I get lots of hugs, Zach gets lots of punches from boys who are eager to prove that they are Black Knights too!



I took these photos for my mom because they reminded me of my days as a "walker" at P.S. 23!




It is always a bit of a shock to see the young mothers picking their children up from school because they often look my age! This afternoon I met a four year old girl who asked if I could take her home with me. I explained that her mom and dad would miss her a lot, but when I said goodbye she threw her arms around me and said, "please promise you'll come back for me!" I was unsure of how to respond, so I just explained that I am going to lots of other schools to perform for other boys and girls. This interaction left me questioning how these children view me when I greet them after the shows. Are they simply seeing the princess-like character they saw in the play? When I explain to the kids that I am only twenty two years old and I live in New York, some of them ask if I am married in real life and others ask questions about my character in the play. It did not occur to me until today that for some of these children, meeting a New Yorker is just like meeting a character from a movie. I try to be very careful about what I say in front of the younger children because when a teacher says, "please, take them home with you" I can see their eyes light up. When I watched a teacher scold a group of third graders for stepping out of line to give me a hug, I felt slightly uncomfortable about my role in this school community. Another obstacle, is the fact that the kids have such thick accents that I sometimes can not understand a word they are saying. I am constantly trying to figure out how to connect with these kids during the little time that we have together. I am learning that sometimes a simple high five or a hug goodbye is the best way to communicate.