my budding star...

andrew's second grade class put on a play for the parents during the last week of school.  it was a twist on the three billy goats gruff.  he was the frog who convinced the troll to share and taught him how to be a good friend.

since we had been busy with end of the year school stuff and baseball games like crazy, i didn't hear any of his lines until i saw the actual play.  when i would ask him to practice for me and he'd say, 'mom, i know them all - don't worry'.  so i didn't.  man, was i impressed.  he did an amazing job...said the lines with enough enthusiasm but not so much that it sounded forced, had the right amount of pitch in his voice.  and the role he played was so perfect for him, it was so sweet and sincere.  it was truly a joy to watch him up there.

andrew has always been interested in acting.  from the time he was young, when he would watch a movie he would really want to imitate the characters he had seen.  he would want to talk like them, dress like them, be like them.  and he has always loved to sing.

when he was 3, i took him to audition for annie.  i saw this interest in him and thought it would be fun for him.  it was my first glimpse of show biz for kids, some of the stage moms that were there, wow - talk about pressure (for their kids).  but we were in it just for fun and he did amazing - had to learn a song and dance and get up in front of the judges and say his name and age and perform in front of them - and he got a part!  he was the youngest one there (well, there was one other 3 year old).  but after a couple of rehearsals i grew concerned because he was never given a part, no lines, no specific thing to do.  they would just mix him in with the older kids learning these crazy hard dance routines.  so, i approached the director asking if there was going to be something specific he would be doing.  the answer, 'no, at that age they just kind of stand there and look cute'.  well, that wasn't going to work for andrew.  i saw the frustration and stress he was having that he didn't know the dance steps all the older kids were doing.  the other 3 year old could have cared less, he was just in his own little world dancing around, not caring at all about what was going on around him.  not andrew, he was never like that - and i didn't blame him, so we dropped out.

andrew was in the school christmas play this year.  he auditioned and got a part - i'll be posting on that this summer (hopefully).  his teacher this year was wonderful...right up his alley - always teaching the kids songs to correlate with math and english rules they were learning.  he had an amazing year in the 2nd grade and we are so proud of him.

it was wonderful to see him perform and see this special talent of his.  i am so thankful for the teacher he had this year, ms. swan, and for him to have these fun experiences.

i am so proud of my little actor...