And once again the end of another great show comes around and the cast of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown finds itself full of post-show emotions. It is rare that one gets to work with a group of people in such harmony, but this cast was the closest I have been a part of yet! And that's not even to mention the extraordinary talent that each of the actors in the cast possesses! It was a piece of my life that I know I will carry into whatever I pursue next.But the experience would not be complete without a little bit of reflection and evaluation:
I would be lying if I said that this was what I had planned on doing with my spring semester. And yet, like always, I was brought back to my favorite theatre in the world to play Linus van Pelt in the Woodstock cast of AHC's You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. But it was only with some serious convincing, particularly from our music director, that I decided to take a risk and jump into my first major role in a musical.
This show taught me so much about my own self-confidence and desire to try out things that might be out of my comfort zone. But even more than that, it taught me how to use the stage as a place for experimentation. I know that I won't get anywhere by hiding away and playing children was a very effective way to learn this lesson. The more I thought about my characterization and watched those around me delve into their's, the more important the simplicity of childhood became in our telling of Charlie Brown's story. Little kids have no problem speaking their minds, or playing the games they want to, or even sounding a little silly sometimes. And while this was what Linus was experiencing on the stage, it was also what I was realizing inside. You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown is full of these kinds of lessons and I hope the audiences could sense how important they really are.
~Julie
