Today boy child number two is auditioning for the main stage musical at my Alma Mater, with the same drama teacher that was my drama teacher when I was there, and the same choir director I was under in Chorale and Lyric while I was there. Somehow, this makes me feel like I'm in high school again...but this time it's not about me.
I'm having those same stupid adolescent fears and insecurities for my child, maybe so he won't feel them. Maybe it's because I remember crashing and burning at auditions....and I know he doesn't take failure well. So why let him go?
Well, first of all, because he wants to. He wants to enough to give up mathletics, even though he's really good at math and wins/places regularly. He wants to more than he wants to be on safety patrol after school. He's willing to give up six to ten hours a week of recreational time for it. If he wants it that badly, then I feel he deserves the chance.
Secondly, his choir teacher referred him...and only one other kid from his class was referred. She wouldn't set him up to fail. She's been teaching him music since kindergarten & directed a play with him in it. She knows his talents, downfalls, and quirks. I don't think she'd set him up to fail. I have to trust her.
And lastly, because he is good, and whether he succeeds or fails doesn't change that. An audition is a single moment, a snapshot. Sometimes it's your best. Sometimes not. He's already proven his performance abilities in other venues, and I can use those successes to bolster him if he doesn't succeed here. And if he does succeed here, then I know I've succeeded in raising a child who's better than me.
1 comment:
He did not get cast, but we had a good audition experience. He's fine with that, because well, mathletics is fun!
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