We had our first school show this morning, and never have I laughed so hard backstage – it was hilarious! A very strong exercise in concentration, they were a sea of squirmy bodies, fully-vocalized questions, and waves of coughs. This was participatory theater whether we liked it or not. At one point I even thought about an escape plan should they unexpectedly become rabid and charge the stage. This was a whole new ballgame of awesomeness.

When the show began with a blackout I quickly learned that the kids have very strong feelings about blackouts, so they proceed to scream their little brains out until the lights come up. Full-on, 400 kids between the ages of 6 and 10, screaming their tiny screams as loud as their voices will go. There are four blackouts in our show, and every single one elicited the exact same response. I can hardly write this because I’m still laughing about it – it was so weird. I couldn’t tell if they were terrified; if it just seemed like the right thing to do; or if some were terrified and others found the sound more bearable if they, too, were screaming. Whatever it was, it was shocking and hysterically funny.

I can’t wait to see if this is a trend.