Your heart is there! Follow it!

This past weekend I went to see a production of "West Side Story" It was a high school production, and normally I wouldn't go see a high school production unless I knew someone in it. Well, I did know someone in this production, my daughter. My baby was playing Anita. Readers of this blog know that I have been doing theatre since the age of 10, and I love it. When you have children, you hope that they will have similar interests, and you hold out hope that they might even follow in your footsteps. You weigh that with the concern that they may want to follow, but don't have the talent to do so. Luckily both my children have a talent for what they love, so I had no problem encouraging them being careful not to push. God forbid I would ever be thought of as a stage mom! I have seen my youngest do other roles starting in Elementary school, but this time was different. I knew as I watched her take command of every moment she spent on the stage that I was getting a glimpse of greatness. I know that might sound braggy, and I don't mean it to be. It was just that I was so incredibly proud!!! and amazed that this very talented young woman I was watching was my daughter. She was so natural! She wasn't my baby. She WAS Anita! She's only 17, but I would put her portrayal up against any professional actress I've seen. Here's the thing. She doesn't know how good she is. I guess in some ways that's a good thing. I wouldn't want her to be conceited or a diva, but I want her to know just how very gifted she is. There are people who will take classes for years, and never be able to master the pure acting instinct she has. Wasn't it Spencer Tracy who said that acting should never look like acting? If it was, then he would have been very proud of her performance. As her time in high school comes to an end we have been discussing plans after school. The audition process is daunting, to put it mildly, and there is nothing that makes her more nervous than auditioning, but I would hate for her to hold back from going after something she is clearly qualified to do because of fear. I would hate for her to miss out, but more than that I would hate for the world to never see just where she can go. "All of our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them." ~ Walt Disney