Surprise!
“It is important to remember that you’re born naked. The rest is just drag. ”
I love surprises! I love being shocked or totally stunned by the teensiest little thing. I love getting flowers when I never expect them or hearing from a student who I thought went deep down the beer hole of college and forgot all about me. I love thinking something is going to turn out one way and then poof, in an instant, everything changes. Surprise! It keeps life exciting, right?
Doing theater with students is like one BIG surprise party. You never know what is going to happen. I’m not even talking about the final product, because let's face it, that is always a surprise of sorts. No, I am talking about the students themselves. The kid in the corner crying because they miss their mom could also be the most popular kid in the cast. The student with their shoulders hunched over trying to take up as little space as possible could be the featured dancer in every number. Anything can happen after 5,6,7,8. There are more hidden gems in educational theater than Zelda.
See… naked. Broadway Chicago!
Last summer I worked on a production of Chicago High School Edition, an experience I am sure you will hear more about in future posts. This classic features half-naked women who killed their husbands/ lovers and tell us about it through song. Wahoo Feminism! I thought to myself: Okay, Chicago… a little risque (and as we have learned, I am such a goodie-goodie about these things) BUT it is a really important piece in the musical theater cannon… features work from Bob Fosse… is an expression of minimalism in theater… a score by two brilliant composers… really vibrant characters, even the male characters… there is a lot to learn here. I’m ready! The students think…. black fishnets, little clothes, murder... Sign me up!
Because it is a female-driven show, the male enrollment was lacking. (To be fair, the male enrollment lacks pretty frequently. Unless you are doing Les Miserables. Then HELLO testosterone, nice of you to join us!). In walks a new young man. He enters the room slowly in an oversize grey t-shirt and oversize grey sweatpants, which make him appear much larger than he actually is. He is nervous. He is uncomfortable. He is an older kid but hasn’t quite figured out how to take up space yet. He says ‘hello’ under his breath, so faintly that I can barely hear if he made any noise at all. But hey, it’s an audition, he is bound to be nervous.
Me: Hi There… what’s your name?
Morton (The student): He says just his first name.
Me: And where do you go to school?
Morton: He responds… softly.
Me: And how did you hear about us?
Morton: Mentions the name of one student… just their first name
… crickets …Usually this sparks more of a conversation. I pride myself on getting a little personality out of nervous kids. I am failing. But he has the kindest eyes - don’t give up!
Me: Okay… well what you are going to sing for us?
Morton: “When You’re Good to Mama” from Chicago.
Surprise! What? That song is sung by the matron of the jail, referred to as ‘Mama’. She is a capital D, Diva. It is not incredibly uncommon for students to genderbend songs, but this character is larger than life. I mean, bold is an understatement. If I asked Mama ‘What’s your name?”, this chick would have given me a three act play with origin stories and nicknames and a whole lotta BS.
The second the music starts he strikes a pose, arms out, leaning into one hip, chin down but eyes up, staring directly at me, meeting my eyes with his new confident character gaze. He is standing with power and presence. He is owning his space and he hasn’t even opened his mouth. I swear, the lights went down in the room and it was just Morton, in a spotlight. Then … he started to sing. Queen Latifah would be wiping tears of pride from her face if she heard this boy sing. All eyes were fixated on this confident, talented, Zelda-esque gem standing before us singing for Jesus, living his fullest and what seemed to be his truest life. Surprise!
After a seventeen second conversation, we cast him as Mama and the surprises just kept coming. One day he showed up to rehearsal in full drag makeup. I’m talking RuPaul’s Drag Race quality work here, people. The next day he showed up in a wig, and the next day in this incredible Mama-esque dress. Each time he walked in, he seemed more confident, more boisterous, bringing in props and ideas and all the personality to match the wig and the dress. Thankfully, my Morton fix wasn’t over yet, as I recast him in a drag role this year as well. You say, why? I say, how could I not? Second verse… better than the first. Last week in rehearsal, he pulled off a costume change… in the middle of a number. SURPRISE!
Morton as MAMA!
Morton is still quiet. I know very little about his life outside of the rehearsal walls, which is a rarity for me with my students. I know that he is insanely talented, excels at drag, his laugh is quiet, he is focused and obnoxiously punctual (obnoxious to those of us who are always ten minutes behind). But when he gets out on stage, I feel like we have been friends for years. He lets everything pour into his performance. Every time he has wanted to scream, or laugh loudly or walk away in the middle of conversation, I see it on stage. Every dream he has, whether large or small, I see it on stage. Every time he has wanted to control a room or make people listen or fall in love, I see it on stage… in heels and a dress and it is brilliant!
