I love my students

The script for Cinderella is mostly written but in Chinese (the quarter that is so far translated is brilliant – sharp and funny) and the props are getting there. The pumpkin is an orange balloon with felt pen stripes which will be popped to turn into an carriage (you have to imagine the carriage) and Cinderella’s slippers are inspired – cardboard boxes covered in glitter which don’t fit anyone who tries them on wearing trainers but since Cinderella has bare feet…  (All their ideas, not mine.)
 
We are running out of time for tomorrow’s performance so we had a rehearsal today despite no-one having a clue what they should say or do. Most of the students have little idea of acting, less of speaking clearly and none of facing the audience but Cinderella is a revelation. The quiet girl of the class, who I’ve spent two weeks encouraging out of her shell, is a very talented actor. Everything she does draws your attention, is utterly believable and somehow shows the others around her how to act.
 
The ball scene (which she is not in, as we have one person playing untransformed Cinderella and another (male!) playing transformed Cinderella) was a fiasco so we decided to have music to hold it together. I said I would get some 18th century dance music; the script-writer told me he would choose the music. I said mine would be better so he played me this on his phone. Wow! Perfect! I mock-grumpily conceded as long as they all learnt how to say ‘waltz’ and how to do it. So I spent the last ten minutes of class teaching twelve students how to waltz: Chinese, Italian, Russian, the flirty, the timid, the confident, the startled.

Actually they were all startled.

As they were leaving I told Lucy she was a very good actor. She smiled quietly. 'I know I am a good actor.'
 
I am so going to enjoy tomorrow.