A Lesson in Grace, Patience, and Poise

Share Now

We are breathing a sign of relief after what happened on Saturday afternoon. Whew! The we I am talking about are the one hundred and two children and their families who participated in this year’s Homeschool Dramatic Society (HDS) performance, the staff of the Cookeville Performing Arts Center (CPAC), and the HDS alumni and other volunteers who worked backstage.

HDS performed in a church gym in 1999 and 2000. From 2001 to 2004, the plays were in a small Christian student center theater near the Tennessee Tech campus. In 2006 we moved to the large CPAC stage for the first time. We have been there every year since. Our first play at CPAC was Sign of Love, The Story of the Founding of the American School for the Deaf in 1817. Mary Evelyn revised the script for HDS to perform it again for this year’s 20th anniversary performance. HDS is not new to the CPAC stage, but what happened this past Saturday afternoon was new!

When time came for Saturday afternoon’s performance, we had a pre-dress rehearsal, a dress rehearsal, and three performances under our belts. All had gone beautifully. We were about twenty minutes into the two-hour play when our surprise came. About fourteen of the smallest children were performing a song and dance number in center stage when the fire alarm went off. In my five decades of going to plays and twenty years of assistant-directing them, I have heard many instructions about what to do when a fire alarm goes off in a theater. Saturday was the first time I had to put those instructions into practice!

From my spot in the pit, I turned around to look at the bewildered audience. People began to exit at the back. Mary Evelyn rushed on stage and got the children off. Backstage helpers began getting children outside to the plaza in front of the theater. Early in this process, the heavy fire curtain dropped with a thud onto the stage. Praise God! It missed the children.

Soon the whole cast, crew, and audience were gathered on the plaza.

A fire truck arrived and parked on the street in front of the theater. We in the crowd parted to let the firemen through. The firemen found nothing amiss and left the theater. Soon the staff allowed everyone back inside. There was just one major problem. The fire curtain would not go back up. The audience waited patiently for an hour while the staff tried —  and tried. Finally, Mary Evelyn decided to resume the play in front of the fire curtain. This meant that we had access to this side stage area . . .

. . . and this side stage area . . .

. . . but only the very front of the main stage — meaning we had a stage area about eight feet deep. This cast picture will give you an idea. This is the mainstage that other attendees saw and the Saturday afternoon audience saw for a brief time.

This is the mainstage the audience saw for the rest of the performance of Saturday. Now we all know what a fire curtain looks like.

I was thankful that the CPAC fire security system revealed the offending fire alarm. A backstage mama was looking right at that alarm when the system went off, so we knew that no child had pulled it. The entire problem turned out to be a malfunction in the system. The Saturday matinee ended at 5:15 p.m. instead of 4:05. We had one hour and forty-five minutes to eat, get ready to do the play again, and pray that the staff would be able to get the fire curtain up before the closing performance at 7:00 p.m.

At 6:30 p.m., the fire curtain rose. The “Thank You, God!” Mary Evelyn led the cast members in backstage was so loud, it hurt my ears!

Here are the lessons from Saturday afternoon.

When the play finally resumed, I stood in the pit and watched in awe as the children performed the mainstage scenes in a space about one-fifth the area of where they had practiced. They did it! With poise, patience, creativity, and grace, they did it! Mary Evelyn stayed calm. The crew stayed calm. The audience waited patiently. They applauded loudly and long. They encouraged the performers.

It was so fun to sit there beside the musical director, as we wondered, “How will they do THIS scene in that space?” When the entire cast waved after the curtain call, I cried tears of joy at what I had just witnessed. The cast had left out the very end of one song and dance and one short conversation of about four lines. Otherwise that patient matinee audience saw the entire play.

All I have to say is this: Good job, HDS mamas, daddies, and children. You are obviously teaching more than the 3 Rs in your homeschools. And thank You, Father!

On Monday, Mary Evelyn received a kind note from the director of CPAC. It included these words:

You all handled the situation very well and watching your cast’s positive attitude and ability to adapt the show to perform in front of the fire curtain was inspirational. I think the audience was amazed as well!

The motto of HDS is “To God Be the Glory!” He was glorified on Saturday afternoon.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
and to make you stand
in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy,
to the only God our Savior,
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
be glory, majesty, dominion and authority,
before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Jude 24-25

Share Now