Memoir - Summer 2010

"All good things must come to an end." It's a saying that has been quoted many, many times throughout history, and right is no exception. Tonight marks the official end of Summer Vacation 2010. Sure, we still have Saturday and Sunday, but those don't really count. For some of us, this day had already come and gone, many of you have already returned to the hell that is known as S.C.H.O.O.L. (Six Crappy Hours of Our Lives).

For myself, June 11 marked the coming home from my latest "Tour of Duty." The well-famed day that everyone excitedly looks forward to had finally arrived: The Last Day of School. As I rode away from school on my bike that day, I remembered eagerly awaiting another great day: June 21, the day that I started my second (And sadly, final) year with Stage Door Conservatory's Teens on Stage ensemble. I had previously participated in Stage Door's 2009 Teens production of "Grease," and I was extremely excited to be returning to take part in this year's production: "Chicago." Unfortunately, that was a whole ten days wait between the end of school and the beginning of Stage Door, tens days that I had no idea how I would keep myself busy. As it so happened, it turned out to actually be a quite interesting week indeed. Just five days after school ended, I got hired at my first job as a Field Technician for Dry-Rain, a mobile waterless car cleaning company in Alameda. I was thrilled to have gotten a job, especially in this extreme economic downturn where numerous jobs had been lost.

Then came the day I'd been impatiently waiting for: the first day of TOS. I was overjoyed to return, it felt as if I had been reunited with my family after a long year away. As always, the first couple days were pretty tense, as that is the audition workshop. We auditioned for roles on June 23, and we were cast later that afternoon. Although I had auditioned for the lead, Billy Flynn, I ended up being cast in two roles: The Master of Ceremonies and Harry, in addition, I was also a Swing in which I played a dancer in most of the dance scenes. Although I didn't get the role that I desired, I had fun in this production and, as always, I gave 150% on that stage during our performances. We performed three shows at the Julia Morgan Center in Berkeley on July 30, 31, and August 1. After our last show was, of course, the cast party. This is where our emotions began to run high. Everybody cried, even the people who attempted to hold back their tears. It was extremely difficult leaving the cast that night, but it had to be done. It's been almost a whole month since then, and my mind is still very much still on Stage Door. I miss my ensemble more than anyone can imagine. I must have watched the video of our opening number at least thirty-five times since it went online. I'm still dealing with the post-show depression right now.

While my mind was extremely on the show after it's closing, I did manage to get a few things accomplished, most notably getting my learners permit. The written test was extremely easy for me to complete, I got thirty-two out of the thirty-six questions on the test correct. A passing score is thirty correct. In the week after, I had since racked up more than 700 miles of driving experience, mostly driving between the Bay Area, Sacramento, and Mendocino County. I seriously would get back from Mendocino and spend about two days in Alameda before driving back out to Sacramento. Needless to say, I've almost mastered the five-speed stickshift, though I have yet to practice driving an automatic.

Two weeks after "Chicago," I returned to Stage Door to assist with crowd control for the On Broadway production of "Bye Bye Birdie." I was throughly impressed with the production and enjoyed it immensely. Having seen all three of their shows, they definitely improved each night. The end of their last show was also the end of the 2010 Stage Door season, which of course made me very sad.

The two weeks between the end of the Stage Door season and now have been mostly uneventful and boring for me. Sitting around the house doing nothing almost kills me, and this is what I have been mainly doing for the past month when I'm in Alameda, as of course, there is nothing to do here. I've mainly been thinking about how much I will miss Stage Door when I return to Island High on Monday. I am, more of less, an outcast at my school. There are hardly any other students that share the same interests as I do, which makes it difficult for me to function. I always maintain my individual personality, not wanting to "sell out," even though I do suffer socially from it at my school. At least I have the Encinal play, "The Diary of Anne Frank," to look forward to this fall.

So it comes to this: another great summer gone, and a bleak-looking (At least for me) school year lies ahead. All I can say is that I'm glad that I will be out of school by the end of November, after which I don't know what I'll do between the time I graduate and the time I begin college in 2011. Hey, at least I'll be out of Island High, and that I'll be extremely grateful for.

"Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one." – Dr. Seuss