Inside King's-Edgehill School
Dear KES Family:
You know how movie critics often describe a film as “the feel-good movie of the year”? I am sure we have all felt that buoyant happy feeling after an especially good film. Well, three times in recent weeks I have had that “feel-good” mood after a performance at our School. Few things in life are better than leaving our School’s theatre happy. Even better is when the feeling persists long afterwards. Our students are a most appreciative audience and the following days are always filled with excited reflections on the different performances.
Perhaps as much as the performances themselves, I am impressed by the positive support from the student body. We are not a cynical or critical group. It is not in our genes to criticise the efforts of others, just the opposite. People are still raving about the performances from the Cultural Fair and now we have added “So Much Drama!” and The Arts Gala to the mix.
How wonderful is it to hear such wistful comments as “I didn’t know Sharlene Chan could sing! She is so good, but she is in Grade 12 so we probably won’t hear her again.” (I asked Sharlene about this and her reply was perfect: “I am so glad I finally sang on stage. It was so much fun.”) Congratulations to fellow grads Kathleen Balcome and Nicola du Toit for including Sharlene in their trio!
A few years, ago I lamented the fact that teenage audiences don’t know how to act during live entertainment. So much is digital, I thought, that they assume it is acceptable to talk and laugh, or whistle or comment during a performance. There were times when I was mortified by the behaviour of our students. This has changed. When Brian Li sat down to play his piano solo, everyone in the packed theatre was perfectly silent and respectful for the entire piece. When Ohemaa Ofori and Jessica Ugwoke took the stage to perform their dance number, the house interacted with enthusiastic cheers and vocalization of the song’s lyrics at the appropriate times and in the most supportive manner.
My feel good vibes have lasted all day. Just a few minutes ago Nick Cheverie, Kyra Jarvis, and Laura Gillis approached me. The conversation instantly swung to last night’s fabulous performances. They loved Linus and Nicola as the evening’s hosts. They loved Ben Lohr’s classic bass guitar posture and head bob. They loved that the band “4:00pm” had five different nations and was only just put together on Monday.
How nice to go into a weekend feeling so good!
Sincerely,
Joe Seagram
