A Note From the Directors

The set is complete, the music has been learned, lines have been rehearsed, transitions have been worked out, we have costumes and props, lights and audio. The final day is here! We sit back and watch a culmination of months of planning, practice, and hard work come together for a few short hours to present a story. What is this story really about? 

It's a story of an internal struggle. An internal struggle of reconciling one's upbringing with internal instinct. Tarzan tries to make sense of his animal upbringing while having instincts that of a human. Though not raised by apes, we can empathize with Tarzan in one way or another as we have some sort of internal struggle in all of us. We watch as he works through these challenges. 

Our actors today portray Tarzan's struggles and changes on stage, right before our eyes. Behind the makeup and costume is a kid who just like Tarzan, is changing, growing, and navigating the jungle of life. We can't forget that. Remembering this gives us context to work within; to realize that our kids and students are human beings first. They have real needs and real desires and for some, just because it doesn't "click" today, doesn't mean that it's never going to "click"; so long as they draw from the grit it takes to stick with it. We use faith to believe that it will come with time. Children who have been imersed in a culture of developing grit are much more likely to be successful because they have the skills it takes to not give up when it gets tough. In the arts, we are lucky - we can afford to allow kids a little more time to "click". We don't face the testing pressure and timeline other important subject areas face. The arts cultivate grit and support an environment where children must make good judgments about qualitative relationships. In the arts, judgement prevails over correct answers.

The kids we see in front of us today are ever changing. This change gives adults, parents, and teachers heart attacks and grey hair along the way, but it's worth it. Through this year's production, it has been a pleasure to laugh, get silly, make jokes, watch Tarzan practice the "kissing" scene with Jane, even get cranky with one another, all to see that our Seton family is capable of pulling off a monumental task with lots of help from one another. A little vision, tender love and care, and plenty of patience provide a recipe for success. Thank you to the cast, crew, parents, and administration for a wonderful production season and for your support. 

We hope that you have learned something about yourself in some small (or big) way through this production. We certainly have about ourselves. To the cast, break a leg today! It's YOUR day! Enjoy it. To the audience, clap hard. It's your way of acknowledging that you see not only what they've shown on the outside, but what's on the inside that can't be seen: the kid who scraped up enough courage to overcome stage-fright. The kid who's voice is changing but has the courage to take the risk and make a mistake. There's a lot to a round of applause. That moment of starlight is addicting. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. 

Joel Perkins, Eric Gregory, Ariel Masten