Annie Jr.: Keep Well the Road, but Don't be Afraid to Forge Your Own Path

Mr. Adam Fraser
MS/SS & DP Theater Teacher

It is December 10th, 2022. The last evening performance has just finished, and I now have free moments to reflect. The time: 11:30 pm. Time has been a demanding element of this production, with a common request being, ”You’ve got to give us time.” Finding the balance between taking and giving time remains a precarious act with one certainly: the more we spend together, the stronger we are. Tonight, the strength of our bonds and talents combined to give the most outstanding school production I have ever directed. I cannot think of a more demanding CASE program, with many weekends, after-school hours, and even holidays being sacrificed. If it wasn’t such a loving environment, the task would have been an ordeal. Everyone cared for each other and had the best intentions throughout the process. 

I am still spinning from the world of Annie we created. What should be a weight lifted off my shoulders has instead been replaced with a massive hole in my heart. The tears that flowed onto the auditorium floor this evening could be measured in gallons. The production of Annie this year has been a tremendous effort by a very talented and extremely hard-working team of artists, students, teachers, and parents. All of us had moments of uncertainty in the beginning until our resident artists(ViDa) arrived and breathed life and creativity into the process. I implicitly trusted and welcomed their expertise as they have proven their value as community members year after year. 

Trust emerged as a general theme for our production. We need to trust each other in exploring the uncomfortable territory and pushing our comfort zones beyond anything that we have ever thought we would achieve. We needed to fail over and over with full conviction and confidence that the process that we were on would lead to success. 

I sometimes think that creating a show like this is unfair to students because it is such an emotional journey at the end. However, seeing all the smiles and energy explodes on stage in a whirlwind of entertainment made for a memory we will hold close to our hearts forever. 

Many teachers, staff, parents, and even grandparents gave up their time and energy to make this show a spectacle.