Full Dress Rehearsal

It was full dress concert rehearsal today. It was the first time they had to perform in their costumes on stage. The professional photographer was there, so the pressure was on.

My anxiety over the event started yesterday. I was probably more anxious than he was! LOL I had strange dreams and drifted in and out of sleep last night. I was concerned he forget to play his drum and end up standing there like a statue, looking left, right and behind at his friends. I was concerned the “powers that be” might be upset with him for “spoiling” the performance.

I was also worried about waking up on time. In the end, I woke at 5.30am, before my alarm clock went off for 6am. That’s just me! Imagine how super nervous I am about missing a flight!

It was a party atmosphere in school. So fun! Kids came in make-up, even boys! Photographer went round classes taking shots. The teacher and I helped the kids change into and out of their clothes, decorations, and shoes. His classmates were in various brightly coloured Indian costumes. All the kids looked so good that I took many photos of my son with them.

That’s one of the privileges of being his shadow aide – I get to take photos when it’s less chaotic. It’d be far more stressful and chaotic on the actual concert day with parents buzzing in and out, trying to take photos etc.

So how was his performance? Well, I was nervous for him and busy taking photos that it was a bit of a blur. I know there were times he forgot to play his drum, there were times he turned to look at others around him, and at times he looked a bit dazed by it all. Maybe I should borrow a video cam and have my husband record it on the actual day!

I think the whole thing got a bit much for him. He’s a bit confused by the different and contradicting instructions he’s received over the recent past few weeks. There’s also probably a bit of system overload. The music is really loud and fast. He’s got to remember to constantly play his drum. He’s got to look forward and smile. He was probably worried that his friend might forget to come and lead him to his next position. He has to remember to adjust his position if someone happens to stand in front of him and block him. He has to remember to move forward with the rest of the boys for the finale. He has to remember to take a bow with the others. He has to remember to walk off the stage with the rest.

It’s not much to remember at all if he were a typically developing kid. The other kids get far more complicated dance steps which I doubt I could do myself! But he’s not typical. His processing time is slow. His therapist is also working on bringing his various internal systems to work together at the same time. For example, simple kids song with action like “the sailor went to see, see, see, to see what he could see, see, see” require recall of the song, speech, hand movement, proprioception, timing. It’s quite demanding on the brain.

However, at the end of the day, I’m happy. I’m happy he got the chance to be with his friends on stage. I’m happy the teacher was supportive of him and specially thought of a role that suitable for him. I’m happy he wanted to get on stage with his friends and perform. I’ll sleep happy tonight : )