There was a great wave of disappointment when I received the email saying that the show Friday had been cancelled. Bright and early I had printed fresh copies of scripts, gone through and highlighted each scholar’s lines. As Dr. Bezio said, “the curse of Macbeth strikes again”. All I could think about that afternoon was how upset our scholars must have been. Although many of them had shown disinterest in attending, there were a multitude of scholars that were looking forward to being on stage. They had practiced at home and really gave it their all during rehearsal.

I remember the first week of rehearsal, and the looks Jessie, Bridget and I exchanged. There were approximately 30 fifth grade students staring back at us and they were loud, wild and distracted. I was completely apprehensive of the weeks to come. Those weeks were definitely not easy. With each week that went by, we were able to control the scholars more and keep them engaged. There came a long stretch of time without rehearsal, and our anxiety of putting the show together came on strong. We had yet to cast roles and read through the script. Two weeks before the show, the scholars finally had scripts in their hands. I was completely impressed by their reading skills (especially of Shakespeare) and the determination they held. They supported and encouraged each other. Although they did not fully act their lines, they put emotion into what they were saying.

Although they did not perform, the scholars made Bridget, Jessie and I very proud. The last run through we had at rehearsal was great and I know that the performance would have been just as good, if not better. I’m thankful for the relationship we built with our scholars. Last semester for my justice class, I volunteered at Henderson-Higher Achievement. This semester, I was able to work with familiar faces which made the experience better than I could’ve imagined. I plan on continuing to volunteer at Henderson, if my schedule allows, to maintain these bonds. Come the spring, I hope my group can work with Higher Achievement to put on Macbeth. I would love to see them perform, especially after the challenges faced and all the hard work put in. This was definitely an experience to remember.