Act 1: Returning With New Friends Act 2: Pride And Prejudice, The Play

Preface: finally, a legitimate experience to blog about.  

I shall put away my pseudo-blogging tricks for tonight.

ACT 1

          Today I brought some new friends, friends that I have made in university, to ICS, a place which bears so much history and influence to me. I'm just going to say this out and upfront: I was so nervous! What would these people I've just recently earned the approval of think now about me after getting a close look of who I was in high school? This is somehow more nerve-racking that meeting them for the first time. And ironically, it was me who insisted on walking them through my life. So if the tour was unimpressive, there would be no one to blame but the guide.

         Another fear I had was of getting too caught up with the past that I would leave my present to stand awkwardly in the background. Fortunately, both parties were very enthusiastic to adapt to each other. Take my fellow Nitade freshman, New, and my AP English teacher, Mr. Jonathan, for example. New, being the living troll meme he is, went up to Mr. Jonathan, whom he has never met, and said, "Mr. Jonathan!" [He got the name from me 2 seconds before] "Remember me? It's me, New! You taught me two years ago." At this point, any other teacher would have begun to rack his brains out, trying to remember a New in his class two years ago. But Mr. Jonathan... being Mr. Jonathan, responded, "Oh, you! You sat in the back!" The rest of the conversation went something like this:

"No, no. I sat in the front."

"Oh, did you? I could have sworn..."

"Yes, but I still got so many detentions from you because of the exotic animals I brought to class."

          These two deserve applaud. It was pretty perfect too that New met Mr. Jonathan of all my teachers because from getting to know him in Nitade, I can just tell that in his high school life, he enjoyed language arts. A moment of internal beaming for me right there.

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ACT 2

          The second part of this story entails why I went to ICS on this particular day: there was a play tonight.  I can't explain why, but something about being an alumni makes coming back to watch a play more exciting. Honestly, I wasn't this excited about plays during my last years at ICS when I didn't really act anymore. Maybe the sudden interest is partially due to the fact that I'm currently reading The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux, and it's getting me into classics and theatrics. Or perhaps the incentive of retrieving my birthday gift (a movie) from Mind...

Anyways, some shorthand thoughts about the play:

• Mind (Mary Bennet) and Navraj (Mrs. Bennet)'s comedic talents were invaluable to the show. 
• Mr. Neil as Mr. Bennet was a big surprise but also a pleasant one. He's actually perfect for the role.
  [New gave him the loudest hoots from the audience.] 
• Truly felt for Maple (Jane Bennet) about her on-and-off mic situation. 
• Rose was a beautiful Elizabeth. 
• Drama department seems to have invested in costumes this year!
  But perhaps the money was taken out of the funds for sets and props. 
• Chris (Darcy) and Elliot (Bingley) will probably be recycled as male leads for the rest of their years in ICS. That's not a bad thing. 
• For Pride and Prejudice, I expected more romance. Suggestion: big finale kiss. 
• Biggest surprise was Moriah, 9th grade, for the role of Catherine. I give her the rookie award.
• An abundance of backstage crew members might actually be counterproductive...

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[Finale]

          On the last note, I'd truly like to thanks my friends today, old and new. To the old ones (who are actually young), thank you for being excited to see me and my new blonde hair and for your collective efforts in putting on yet again another ICS play. I have not forgotten how much extra time from schoolwork it takes to be in the production, whether you're an actor, in tech, or sales. And to the new ones, thanks for coming and walking with me. As much as my "fantastic tour" was for you, it was for me as well. I didn't realize until today what a privilege it is to be able to share a history you're so entwined in and so proud to be.