Amid extreme wind, drenching rains – even a tornado touching down locally – and following months of preparations for its middle school production of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid JR,” the Mount Madonna School (MMS) community did what it does so well: come together to support one another in a time of need.
Due to a downed tree and power line, access to the school was cut off Saturday morning, resulting in the cancellation of Saturday afternoon’s sold out show.
Head of School Ann Goewert and Advancement Director Kevict Yen, meanwhile, were already on campus, having arranged for an early-morning delivery of an industrial, 70,000-watt generator to have on hand as back-up in the event of a storm-related power outage over the weekend.
The MMS administration quickly communicated with the school community regarding the road closure and show cancellation. And then the brainstorming began.
Director Chelsea Otterness voiced plans for adding a second, morning performance on Sunday to make up for the missed Saturday show, to provide the student cast with two performance opportunities, albeit back-to-back shows making for one long day!
With the unequivocal support of the performing arts team and school administration, Otterness took to social media and email to get the word out about the additional Sunday morning show.
“It is amazing to me how our lives bring us moments that we cannot control to see how we respond,” reflected Otterness. “We have opportunities to resist reality or embrace the opportunities that exist in the reality that is presented before us. Performing arts teach us far more than how to present on stage, such as how to persist and maintain joy regardless of external circumstances.”
The Parents of Mount Madonna Students (POMMS) group took to WhatsApp to elicit the additional parent support needed – including feeding the whole cast during the long, 10-hour theater day that Sunday would become.
“Initially it was feeling very heavy,” commented co-producer Jess Vargas. “The school administration led by Ann and Kevict – were amazing. And the POMMS group was amazing. It brought me to tears when parent Karis Gulizia told us, ‘whatever you need, we’ve got your backs 1,000 percent!’ It was just such an outpouring of positivity.”
This outpouring of support was beautiful testament to the spirit that makes MMS so special.
“The Mount Madonna School community truly shined as we came together to support the middle school production of ‘The Little Mermaid Jr’,” said Goewert. “From the students’ boundless resilience and positivity, to the parents, staff and friends who showed up and volunteered. This production was more than a show; it was a celebration of teamwork, resilience and the joy of creating something magical together. Thank you to everyone who made it possible; our community is stronger for having shared this journey together.”
Otterness agreed.
“This situation was a beautiful example of so many lessons,” she continued. “The outpouring of volunteerism and inspiration from our community is highly applaudable; our lesson detachment is a hard one, but we – students, parents, faculty and staff – are responding with a ‘solutionary’ mindset and creativity, and are all learning these lessons together, and I believe we have achieved an A+ from the universe.”
