It was not the first time Mia went out with her class. Almost every year, their primary school would host at least one field trip for the students to explore the outside world. That sounds fancy but really, it’d always be at the same military museum nearby to listen to the same presentation Mia got bored after the second trip. “How about we stay home this year?” she thought sadly, as her homeroom teacher announced yet another trip. It fell on Children’s Day, so maybe she could ask for a day off without homework. But this year’s trip was different.
The teacher said that they would go see a show at a theater. It sounded cool enough for a child and this particular child had never been to a theatrical show before. What would it be like? Would it be any different from the dramatic skits her grandmother, aunts and mom usually watched on TV? They were kind of nice, to be honest, with various backgrounds and props though their stories often brought her headaches. Adults in those stories were surprisingly problematic. It seemed like nothing could make them happy. They always looked either concerned or mad, then transferred their negativity onto others.
In just a matter of weeks, Mia was at the Vietnam Youth Theater. She was seated in the back row, with a pretty high view of the stage. And there it was.
The world on stage was an interactive mix of fairy tales and children’s books. There was Snow White as the MC, Barbie, some frogs and even fairies. Mia doesn’t remember much of the show but the feelings it gave are still vivid to this day—her first glimpse of theatre. She would stand up to see Snow White and the other characters more clearly. They were even interacting with the audience! She was a bit jealous of friends who got to go on stage and wondered when it would be her turn.
Mia knew she wasn’t the bravest kid. She barely raised her hand in class nor brought any kind of attention to herself. She did not have the guts to go up on stage, even after the show ended. The characters were still there, saying goodbye to their audience. Mia wanted to be up there too. But yeah, that did not happen.
Maybe that is why, in the following years of her life, Mia always explores the front- and backstages whenever she visits a theater. Being on stage feels so weird, a nice weird. The backstage, on the other hand, remains a mystery no matter how many times she wanders back and forth. She grew up wanting more and more to perform, to write scripts and create a whole new world. But for long, they were just wants amongst reality’s expectations.
I will say that in present day, she has plans to cast for a musical and is learning dance after work. She has a long way to go and has found a fragment that is hers. But, let’s keep that from Mia for now because those first moments of fascination with the stage are always the brightest. They serve as the passion all artists fall back on.
Our little girl then headed back to the primary school, still amazed by the show. She could not wait to be home to tell her parents about what she just saw. A wonderland? A theatrical magic kingdom.