Thornton Academy Postscripts Alumni Magazine Fall 2017 | Page 18

What was Once Old
is New Again
By Lauren Mesley '18 and
David Arenstam
S
ometimes a family goes
beyond having the same
blood. A family can be described
as a group of people who share
memories, bicker, defend one
another, encourage each other’s
success, and are there for each
other during hardships.
The Thornton Academy Players
are a family. Students and faculty
often spend hours in rehearsal
18
after school, and eat lunch together
nearly every day in teacher David
Hanright’s room. The TA Players
attend dances together, show up to
each other’s parties, sit with each
other after an emotional day, and
this year, in June, they’ll even be
going to study in England with the
Royal Shakespeare Company.
"Show weeks" (the week before the
play hits the stage for the first time),
are when the TA Players need
each other the most. Rehearsals
don’t end until after 9 p.m., and
somehow, the entire show finally
comes together to form a finished
product. Every cast and crew
member is exhausted from giving
so much of themselves on the stage.
Students buy each other dinner,
make runs to Starbucks, cope with
stress, and provide each other with
much-needed hugs. The actors
practice their lines, fall asleep, and
cry. Show week is really a time
when the character and fortitude of
each actor is tested.
But, the moment the curtain closes
after opening night, and the actors
walk on stage to take their bows,
and the techies hug each other
backstage because it was a miracle