Theatre at the Heimschule Lender
Another post from our exchanges. This one is from the theatre show we saw put on by the students.
Last night I had the honor of attending a performance of a student musical at the school. It was a play that was written and performed by students. They composed the music and wrote the songs. I have seen hundreds of performances from kindergarten students to college and professional companies. I expected a typical middle school to high school play that was cute but of more interest to parents than the general public. I knew about 2 minutes into the show that I was mistaken. I was completely overtaken by the talent and professionalism of the show. The orchestra was one of the best I have heard in a school in a very long time. It was in a small auditorium that doubles as an exercise and physical education room. The stage was small and only had a handful of lights. After those first impressions, I was amazed at how those limitations became unnoticed. The students sang with confidence and quality that was well beyond their years. The music matched to tenor and tone of the action on stage and the songs were very catchy and you felt as though you wanted to sing along. The wit and wisdom of the writing were very advanced and the students delivered their lines with the confidence and style of seasoned performers. My favorite part was the juggling act which was a part of one scene. What a talented group! The story was about the Roman & Carthage conflict of ancient times. The most amazing revelation was yet to come. As I looked at the performers, that could hold any stage, I noticed in the program that these were grade 5 through 7 students. I compared the performance with some of the high school and college plays I have seen and these middle school-aged students were better that the biggest majority of the shows I have seen. I commend their teachers and the school that supports the arts to this level. The applause at the end was so sustained that they had to do the curtain call music three times. The ovation was well deserved and I am glad that our visit allowed us the chance to see this fantastic show. I will be talking about this one for a long time.