Geordie School Tour 2013-2014: December

Day ? (Boy have I lost track)

It’s the night before break and all through the van, not an actor was stirring, not even James, the man.

Christmas is officially here, it is our last day before break and we are all filled with holiday spirit and yes, we have definitely hung our stockings by the chimney with care in hopes that soon Saint Nicholas will be there.

Together James, Derek and myself are about to finish up our first official half of this tour and boy are we proud. It has been quite the journey up to this point. I mean… Geordie in the snow! I never really thought about that when we started the tour; loading our massive set into a school as heavy flakes flitter down, sticking to our boots and causing the gym floors to become a skating rink and lifting my spirits simultaneously.

The past couple weeks have been a big blur of Derwent shows with a few Shared Accounts scattered in there now and then. I have not written much because of how repetitive it all is to me, and yet even as i say that i know it isn’t true… there’s always something. Schools where the teachers kept popping in to make sure we were okay, or one kid crying as his mother is dropping him off in the morning, and being consoled with the words “your going to see a play today! You’re going to watch a play and it will be so fun! You don’t want to miss that!” Or at one school where the gym clock was frozen at noon or the countless others where kids were wearing pajamas. It is the little things that decorate our day, like ornaments on a tree. We have been in cold cold gyms, where quick changes are even quicker and then to hot ones where we sweat and huff and puff as we set up and take down our set. Like Derwent says “everyone (or in our cause everywhere) is a little different”

In the past little while there has also been a lot of personal moments with the high school students after the show. These are chats that have contributed to my lack of posts… How do I explain the tears of a 15 year old girl? How can I transmit the longing they express to be understood? We go into schools, do something that stimulates the students and then we leave, just like that. Leaving after having jostled them into thinking is hard. Where will their thoughts lead to? And how can I help? I can’t really do anything but point them in the right direction and tell them that they are not alone. No one is alone and there is always hope. I have been heavy-hearted the past few weeks… The show and the things some students have said to me fill me with sadness and a deep desire that they will have more hope after seeing the show.

So… It has been a wild first few months and I have learned a lot. I have learned that kids will tell you what they think, that it takes no time at all to change a complete outfit, that sleep is important and working hard makes you feel good at the end of the day. Honest work… Honest work for kids. Even better. At the end of the day i am physically, mentally and emotionally tired and all of that equals some pretty good sleeping.

Here are a bunch of pictures from the past few weeks of touring! We are so happy to announce that the first half of the tour is complete, to great success and now we are all entering a very merry Christmas!

I hope, like us, all of you have been blasting the Christmas music (I will say a public thank you to the boys for allowing the Christmas music to play in the van as long as it has) and that you will eat up at holiday feasts, laugh with family and enjoy every snowy minute of this years Christmas.