<p>Thank-you lynnm and jasmom for your congratulations. Unfortunately neither my husband nor I will be there to cheer him on. :-{
MTaussie</p>
<p>MTaussie,</p>
<p>Congratulations!!! How exciting for your son!!! You must be so very proud.</p>
<p>My MT d has taken many years of theory, and started a year ago with some formal composition. In her free time (what?), she has composed a few songs-choral arrangements. One of our directors saw some her work and shared it with the choral director. They asked her to teach and direct a song to the 9th and 10th grade chorus...approx 200+ students!! They will perform this at the Spring Choral Concert. We are so thrilled by this! This has not been done before! (and her younger sister (9th gr) said that everyone loves it!!) Well, if that were not enough to fill us up with pride, she came home yesterday to say that she was told that the senior choral members will perform a song of hers at graduation!! And...she was chosen to sing at graduation....I'm ready to pop with pride!! :D So, that is my Brag, brag, brag for today! Thank you for listening (reading)!</p>
<p>Notfromme..that is wonderful news and recognition of her talents! What a way to end her senior year! Thank you for sharing it with us. Enjoy the excitement now and then the thrill of the performances.</p>
<p>Notfromme, WOW that is fantastic! Sounds like a girl with a future!</p>
<p>My D received the wonderful National Merit letter which means she is either commended or semi finalist! I am sure there are others on this board who got the same great news! I love my talented and SMART MT kid!! </p>
<p>YAY! </p>
<p>MikksMom</p>
<p>Mikksmom,
Congratulations! That is a wonderful achievement and you must be very proud !!!! :D</p>
<p>Wonderful news. From what I'm finding, those merit awards (grants) are very substantial at many schools. This should help to lower your tuition bill. :)</p>
<p>Congrats Mikksmom! I too have heard of some very good award scholarships to finalists!! Wonderful news! You should be proud! :D</p>
<p>We just got back yesterday from NYC and a wonderful visit with our d who was a sophomore at NYU Drama in the Strasberg Studio this past year. We went out to see her in her first production while at NYU. It was wonderful. She was cast in a Tennessee Ernie Williams one-act play directed by a Gallatin student. There were 14 one-acts in all, but we were only able to get to see the three that were on the same day as hers. All of the shows were sold out, very small theater in NOHO, just a block off Broadway to the east on Bond Street with only 60 seats.<br>
I cannot tell you how impressed we were with all of the actors in the four one-acts we saw. I was so impressed with the story lines in each of the plays that I borrowed the book with the Tennessee Williams one acts so that I could read the rest of them. I had no idea that he wrote with a comic undertone in some scenes. </p>
<p>We found out after we watched the four one-acts that the two actors who were in the show preceding our daughter's had been in one of the mainstage productions this past season. What was totally unbelievable is that all of these actors did an equally phenomenal job. You could see the wonderful training that many of them are receiving at NYU. </p>
<p>We really enjoyed watching our daughter as she played the mean and nasty Mrs. Wire in "The Lady and the Larkspur Lotion." We were able to see her growth with regards to dialects, as she had a most believable southern accent (thankfully she had a dialects class this past semester.) The young man who played the alcoholic writer has already graduated drama school at Northeastern University in Boston and has been working for two years in NYC and has a SAG card. The young lady in the play who portrayed the prostitute was actually not a Tisch student, but a Gallatin student who is following a path more suited to a producer. </p>
<p>As I said, all four one acts were incredible. Both my husband and my 87-year-old mother-in-law, who we brought with us so that she might have at least one chance to see her granddaughter perform in NYC theater, were equally as impressed as I was with the caliber of the program. I know it made me realize that she is learning an immense amount and that this will definitely lead to a career for her one day, whether it's in NYC or who knows where.</p>
<p>Out D is coming home this Friday, staying with us for five weeks, and then heading back to NYC. I will be surprised if she makes it here that long, although she does have work arranged. We'll see, I think her roommate and her East Village apartment will be calling her back sooner. </p>
<p>Theatredivasmom</p>
<p>Congratulations theatredivasmom! You must be so proud. It's great that your mother-in-law was able to come see her perform, too.</p>
<p>Forgive me for pointing this out, but I think you mean a Tennessee Williams play. :) :) </p>
<p>Tennessee Ernie Ford was a recording artist and television host who sang country and western music, as well as gospel and pop, whereas Tennessee Williams (born Thomas Lanier Williams II and called "Tennessee" by college friends because of his southern accent and his father's origins in that state) was a major American playwright who penned such classics as "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and (my D's favorite) "A Streetcar Named Desire."</p>
<p>Just goes to show the kind of weird trivia and drivel I keep in the back recesses of my middle aged brain! :)</p>
<p>Of course, there is always the chance that <em>I</em> am totally wrong here and that Tennessee Ernie Ford <em>did</em> write a play or two. If that is the case, please accept my apologies.</p>
<p>L</p>
<p>That's great news! Isn't it nice to see that all the tuition money is actually being put to good use, lol!</p>
<p>Last week, one of my daughter's choir classes was talking about how they felt their choir was more of a family than a class. My daughter was absent the next day, but during that time, the kids talked the choir teacher into having unofficial "elections." My daughter returned to school to discover she had been unanimously elected "Choir Mom." She said that meant more to her than any official school award ever could...</p>
<p>Mezzomom, that is a cute story (and congrats to her too as I know to have peers select you is an honor that means something). So, uh, what is she getting for "Mother's Day"? :D</p>
<p>NotMamaRose</p>
<p>I can't believe that I wrote Tennesee Ernie Williams. I think I must have been a bit too sleep-deprived to have been posting on CC. Anyhow, let's hope my D never sees that mistake or I will never hear the end of it.</p>
<p>I am quite an avid reader, and after learning she was performing in the one-act I began to read all of Williams's one-act plays. They are wonderful. Once again, don't ask me how I managed to blend his name with the singer's. Easy to do when you know about both artists. Anyhow, thanks for the litttle bit of history. We had to learn about the author in my literature classes in high school, so it wasn't new information to me, but I am sure was helpful to others. Once again, I guess the moral of the story is not to post when you're too tired or when your brain is not working properly. I believe I may have made this same mistake in other posts. Oops :).</p>
<p>Thanks again.</p>
<p>Kris (Theatredivasmom)</p>
<p>Kris, if you could see or hear the things I sometimes say, you would be laughing so hard your stomach would hurt! :) :) (I don't care what anyone says about forgetting stuff not being a natural part of aging: it is, at least for me!) I worried right after I posted that my post sounded snotty, and if it did, I truly, truly apologize. In any case, your D's one-acts sounded incredible and I wish I could have seen them, as Williams is one of my favorite playwrights of all time. Please keep us posted on what else your D is doing. She sounds very talented and will surely go far in this business. Once again, sorry if I sounded snooty or snotty or whatever, as that was not my intention. Honest.
L</p>
<p>It brings a smile to my face...and a giggle from my heart...reading the wonderful accomplishments of these kids, and realizing that I am not the only one who forgets things that are so much a part of our every day life! Thank you!
We spent a wonderful day, Friday, at a drama festival north of Philly. This was our first one, so we did not know what to expect. What a day...the small town was lovely and the weather was perfect. Schools came from the tri-state area to perform a 30 minute part of their show. They would do three shows, then there would be a critique by judges...producers and directors from broadway. The festival lasted all day, all extremely talented students, most going into the field. My husband and I really enjoyed all of the performances...very impressive...so many gifted kids. It was a wonderful experience for my d's acting group since they are just getting ready to perform their show! Yes, they have not yet performed this to an audience, but they felt it would be great to get some feedback. My d's song was one of the pieces that was performed. They are doing Working, and she is the housewife...and yes, I cried all the way through her song since, you see, I am a housewife. The judges loved the show...singled out and complimented my d...we were all very excited. The day ended with a show that was being performed at the playhouse...Seussical...very good and entertaining, and wow, a lot of energy!! After the show, awards were given to the schools who performed for the drama festival. In the end, my d was awarded best supporting actress!! We were thrilled, surprised, oh yes and very very PROUD!!!!! What a day! And the most wonderful thing was seeing the support for everyone...the other schools, directors..the cheers and compliments. I never once felt any competition...never. I guess we are a club...all in this together and all appreciate the art. Just like here on CC...so much support. The trophy is still on the counter...a nice ending to a year filled with times of emotional heartache!</p>
<p>NotFromMe...wow! What a terrific accomplishment for your D to win that award at such an event! And also it was exciting beyond her fantastic award...for her school and all to put that on. We don't have events like that around here but I have heard of them in other states where my kids have friends. I think it would be the coolest thing for a high school theater kid to be a part of. The event itself would be wonderful. And then having some awards for this field is really neat as there are none that I know of specific to theater in our state. Then it must have been fun to watch the professional show and gather with all these other high schoolers. I have an inkling of where this was at based on your description and it caught my eye because about two months ago, my D was in final callbacks for that theater for roles in their season and one she had to sing for at callbacks was Gertrude in their Seussical, but a big problem was that rehearsals began before she got out of her college semester and would not work. I've never been there but their season line up is a good one. </p>
<p>In any case, the recognition that your D got individually is quite something in that grouping. I know the show, Working, and that is a very good part! I bet she was outstanding. Very neat that they got to perform for the other schools, because those kids in the audience were into the very same thing. I bet it was interesting for you to see the talent from other schools too. Congrats all the way around!!!!!</p>
<p>Yay, a big local scholarship for merit/ service/ performing at 2,500/yr or $10K! I'm pretty sure Elon lets you accrue on top of their awards, so it's a biggie :D</p>