Fiddler on the Roof

Set in 1905, Russia, “Fiddler on the Roof” is a stage play about challenges to tradition in a changing society and tests of faith against the backdrop of cultural division. Uncertainty reigned, and certainly we see many of these same themes in society today. The Front Porch Players have been practicing diligently for their upcoming performance of “Fiddler on the Roof”, and recently, we sat down with the homeschool parent and student cast members to ask what they gained from community theater and why they chose to be a part of this play. Their answer? Tradition!

Tradition

For many, it seemed, theater is in their blood. Lana Carlson came to love theater when she saw one of her mom’s performances. “I saw [my mom] move here, and she just all-of-a-sudden found [Front Porch Players] really quickly, and I would have not even thought to look for this. Mom was 12 when she started doing theater, and "Fiddler on the Roof Jr" was her first performance and she loved it. She kept going for a while, and then she had all us kids and she had no time for that. Then we came down here, life was hectic, so coming here and doing theater - doing what she loved - was her getaway. Then I was like, ‘that looks so fun.’ I literally saw one show, and I said, ‘Okay, I want to do that.’ Now I love doing it and I can't stop doing it.”

Lana has performed alongside her mom in many of the Front Porch plays and will perform with her again in this play. Charlotte Sanders, Lily Lee, Evy Griffin and David Stovall have also performed alongside their parents in this, and previous plays. Based in Georgia and California, Lily and her mom, Maria, have performed together in a variety of acting roles. David’s extensive family of musicians and dancers have a long history of performing together. It was lovely to see that, like homeschooling, community theater is rooted in the family.

Changing Society

“Fiddler on the Roof” addresses the challenge to tradition swept in with modernity at the turn of the 20^th Century. Many of those challenges have been cemented into our society and perhaps don’t feel that relatable to us today. However, social change continues its march forward while we as parents are left trying to help our children make decisions about their future as best as they can in the face of uncertainty. Many of the students we interviewed were interested in pursuing theater or were looking for a new challenge in life as they neared graduation.

Although Luke Dessez, 17, wants to pursue nursing, he also wants to travel and see America as part of that journey. “I have just stayed and enjoyed Georgia too long” He said, “I would like somewhere very different from Georgia just to see what it's like. It's a very big country, isn't it? There's lots to see.” The desire to not fear change seemed like a resounding theme amongst the theater crowd.

We asked the parents if they would encourage the arts as a career and Maria Lee fully embraced the change. “I absolutely would encourage any homeschoolers who are passionate about it to pursue it.” She said, “Especially in this day and age. It's not like when we were kids or previous generations, where people worked at one company for 30 years and retired with pensions and retirements and all that. It's not like that anymore. There's no such thing as job security these days so you might as well do what you love because ‘something to fall back on’ doesn’t exist, there's no guarantee that they’re not going to outsource your job or downsize.”

For Maria, social change was not only something not to fear, but she saw the cracks it was creating in society. She also saw an opportunity. “These days there's so many different avenues for building a career, especially with the Internet and social media. I would advise them to use the Internet. When I was starting out in the industry, there was no such thing as the internet or even computers. Nobody had email. Nobody used the computer to type your paper; that was still kind of new. In high school, I took keyboarding and it wasn't even in front of a computer screen. Now, with the Internet and social media, there's a lot of initiative that they can take to create their own contacts, creating their own fan base. That just wasn't a thing when I was younger. There were a lot more gatekeepers. You had to wait for a ‘yes’ to have opportunities to work. Now you can create a whole web series, and write and cast yourself and direct, and get your friends together and do some amazing stuff just on an iPhone. Do the usual, traditional channels, but at the same time create your own content, because it's so much more accessible now.”  

Adam Stovell reiterated this idea, “My wife and I, we don't discourage college, but we've told them, go to college if there's something you really want to do.” He said, “College is the tool to get you that, right? But if there's something you can do without it. It doesn't hurt to take a year or two off and just try and see if it makes sense to go that route.” Currently, Adam’s older son is pursuing a career in tap and has a decent following on social media. He has been able to attend tap festivals and hold tap classes.

Tests of Faith

For a less gutsy parent (like me), this can be challenging. The conflict between being practical and pioneering can be hard. We may feel like Tacie: “If I try and bend that far, I will break.” Conversely, Maria was confident in believing that “the best thing to let lead you in choosing what you want to do is what you are passionate about. What do you feel led to do? You know, if you're a believer, what do you feel like God has put in your heart and what gifts has he given you? And what path makes sense for that?” These are easy words to say but sometimes difficult in practice. It was inspiring to be in the company of brave parents willing to forge help this path. It felt good to be challenged and also to know that the family tradition provided a support system in this changing world.

 A Divided Society

It was encouraging to see how theater is bridging a gap for students, who find theater offers a chance to meet people from all walks of life and all ages. Lana had moved from a different state and enjoyed the fact that theater gave her a chance to be around like-minded people. Tacey said, “When you're in the show, you get to have a whole family. You see them a lot, so you get to know them.” Charlotte enjoyed the fact that this has given her a chance to meet new people. The diversity of experiences the cast members share and the community they get to build together seems like an antidote to a society that appears to encourage division. Many of the students have diverse interests and seem to embrace the entrepreneurial mindset that is often reflected in the homeschool community. Evy enjoys baking and wants to raise golden retrievers in her future, while Charlotte makes jewelry and sells it at different markets. David enjoys football in his spare time and plays lots of different instruments, Luke is in a band, and Lana is part of a professional children’s choir. She would like to work with animals and continue to pursue theater when she is older. While theater is a shared passion, they all enjoy varied experiences in life. The community that theater has offered these young people has helped them to become more confident and will perhaps enable them to stand in a society that at times can feel divided.

“Fiddler on the Roof” showtimes are: Friday, March 6 and 13 at 7:30, Saturday, March 7 and 14 at 7:30 and three matinee performances on Saturday, March 14, and Sunday, March 8 and 15, at 2:30, at 1842 Lake Jodeco Road, Jonesboro, Georgia. Ticket pricing information is available through the website www.thefrontporchplayers.com