Over the past few years, I think one of the biggest parts of our lives has been theater. I know I posted about Kyran being in Shrek, Jr. when he was 7, and I might have posted about a couple of others after those, but truly, theater has taken over a lot of our lives. Kyran has been in at least one show at a time for the past four years. This past fall, he was in four! He played Oliver in Oliver! at On Stage Productions, shared the role of Lamp Vendor (narrator) with Karyssa in Aladdin Kids at their school, played Olaf in Frozen, Jr. at Town Theatre (his second time doing that show this year!) and was in the children's ensemble for the second year in Town Theatre's holiday show, Home for the Holidays.
We started this year with what might always be my favorite show of his, Newsies. I was very hesitant about him doing this show at first. One, because it was such a dance-heavy show and I was worried about him being able to keep up with his CP. Two, because there was only one kid in the show. Even the boy who played his double was 12, so he was at least two years younger than everyone. There were so many teenagers and young adults, and part of me was worried about the influences he'd be exposed to.
That cast and crew completely blew me away...both on and off the stage. These were some of the most amazing and amazingly-talented people I've ever met. He grew so much as a performer and was just adored by his castmates, staff and the audiences. His coordination improved so much and I think that led to him graduating physical therapy (more on that in another blog)! The show was sold out almost every time, and ended to standing ovations with huge applause (especially for Kyran). I sobbed during the curtain call for the last show.
He left that audition in tears because the dance portion was so hard. It was his first time preparing his own song for an audition, and aside from a couple of squeals when he first walked on stage, you could have heard a pin drop as the other auditioners watched this tiny boy and his big voice. He got such a big cheer when he was done and was feeling so good that the dance audition was a big shock to his system. But, his amazing choreographer must have seen his potential, because shockingly enough, he was cast in the role. And I know I'm his mom and quite a bit biased, but he really did nail it.
He went straight from that into My Son Pinocchio, where he played his first villain, the Ringleader. Watching him in those rehearsals after finishing Newsies really showed how much he had grown during that show.
Because of the Newsies bonds, he decided to venture out to a new theater and audition for Frozen, Jr. This was a very hard decision, because based on the previous summer, he knew he wouldn't be able to do that and the summer show at Town, which has become a second home (he has also played Chip in Beauty and the Beast, and other roles in Miracle on 34th Street, Aladdin, Jr., and Kids on Broadway - he's now working on his 11th show there!). We had a family reunion last summer, so he knew it would have been hard to do Matilda at Town, anyway. So he auditioned for Frozen, Jr. and decided not to audition for Matilda.
However, the director of Town Theatre and Matilda emailed to ask if we could be flexible with our trip because she had a role she wanted him to take. What an honor! So, he did both shows this summer. We didn't have much time for vacations, but he enjoyed every second of both shows.
No children were harmed in the production of this play!
In July, he decided to try yet another theatre for a chance to play one of his bucket list roles, Oliver. This was a smaller theatre about 30 minutes from our house, but we knew it would be worth it for him to have his first lead role. He met a lot of new friends and had a great experience with a very talented cast.
Through Kyran's experiences, his sisters have also developed an interest in theater. Karyssa was in one summer show with him a few years ago, but they didn't have the best experience. Once he found a home at Town, Karyssa and Gemma both started wanting to get involved. This year Karyssa's schedule worked and Gemma was finally old enough to participate in the youth theater program there. So, we signed all three of them up for Frozen, Jr. this fall.
Gemma has been ready for the stage all her life. When Kyran did Shrek, Jr. she was just two, and would walk around the house belting out her own version of the lyrics. She'd hit her last note, stop, look at us and say, "Clap for a minute." Well her love of being center stage never faded and she just loved being part of her first musical. She was part of the snow chorus and summer chorus, as well as protraying some of Elsa's magic. Being as tiny as she is, she spent a lot of time being picked up by her castmates (some of them her same age). She was probably at least two inches shorter than everyone else in the show, but she didn't let that stop her!
Karyssa was the one who really surprised me. The same week, she auditioned for Aladdin Kids at her school and Frozen. Jr. and was given principal roles in both! Her confidence has grown so much and she feels so much support from her friends at school and in her theater class. She played Bulda (the mom troll/hidden folk) in Frozen, Jr. and was just perfect for the role. She loves to be mysterious and really embraced the opportunity. She also made some new friends!
After being tortured in Matilda and Oliver, it was fun to see Kyran take on such a comedic role in Olaf!
The light in his eyes makes it all worth it!
One of my favorite theater experiences this year came when Kyran and Karyssa shared the Lamp Vendor role in Aladdin Kids (Kyran was also Aladdin's understudy, so really he learned five roles this fall)! Their teachers gave them the option to do their lines together or to separate them, and they both wanted to do them together. I loved the times they would spend together in our new family room (more on that later too) learning their lines and signals on when to start so that they could synchronize them. They did so well at the show, and crazy enough, had some classmates that just realized they were twins because of the role.
This spring, Kyran will be doing the mainstage Mary Poppins, so we decided that he wouldn't also do Mary Poppins, Jr, because learning two different versions of the same show might be a little intense. But, Karyssa and Gemma are hooked, so they will both be in it. They audition this week, so we'll know more about their roles next week.
We spend so much of our time with other theater parents and kids and are so blessed for it. I never realized how much I would grow and learn as my children grew up, but I love it. I can't wait to see what their theater futures hold!
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