"For this summer and for the rest of your life, you have an important decision to make. Are you going to be a Tigger or an Eeyore?"
It was the first day of Summer Stage when I first heard Harry Dietzler say these words. I did not understand why being a cartoon was so important. One likes to hop around while the other lost his tail. I understood at my first audition. I was petrified to sing in front of the entire cast! A relief that washed over me when the director announced that we only had the option to sing. I just sat in the back watching everyone else audition. On that day, I was an Eeyore.
Eeyore even haunted me at high school when I was cut from the musical. I was so disappointed with myself. I had to start the song over again because I did not sing loud enough and I forgot the lyrics. Luckily, I go to a school that offers performing art classes. Ones that help Eeyores grow into Tiggers.
Advanced studio theater is a class produces a musical all ran by students. On the first day, I sat in the back watching auditions, realizing that I was not the only one that was nervous. Getting nervous is a normal emotion of life. Most of the students were just as terrible as a singer as I was. By the time it was my turn, I was not so scared. I was not given a lead. I was given a pretty important job backstage. This was my chance to be a Tigger.
Our teacher knew I was taking dance classes, so she had asked me to choreograph the show. Me? I was no expert, but I took the job. I went home, listened to the soundtrack and found that arranging dances was actually not hard. I took the basics I learned from Summer Stages and dance classes to put together numbers. Teaching was the nerve-wrecking part. What if the director did not like the dances? I began second guessing myself until I taught the first dance. The cast enjoyed the simplicity and how it easily flowed. The dances were not difficult, but I was proud I proved myself wrong. A new season of Summer Stage was just around the corner, I did not want to be a swaying tree in the background anymore. I wanted to be a Tigger.
I cannot sing like Julie Andrews or dance like Fred Astaire, so I stood no chance to the enormous talents I competed with. All I had was my spirit and smile. Apparently that was enough. I performed with energy at rehearsal and practiced at home. Finally, I earned my first part. In one particular song, I, Pocahontas "shim shambles down the street." I had no solos, but it was a start. I suddenly found myself in the front in numbers. When asked for my autograph at the end of the show, I knew my hard work paid off. That summer, I am proud to say I was a Tigger.
Standing on stage for the last time this year, I reflected back on the past seven summers. I was never given a lead role, but the experiences I learned from Summer Stage are ones that I will carry with me my whole life. I learned that hard work is the key to success. I learned to reach for the stars. I learned that being a Tigger did not mean to be an overactive cartoon. Being a Tigger is to have more confidence in yourself and put energy into everything that you do. Tiggers are not just on stage but on the frisbee field and in the classroom.
Who knows where I will be in the next ten years. I could be a famous Broadway star or a rocket scientist, but I will always strive to be Tigger.
