A recent experience reminded me of the Wallace Stevens poem, "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird." No, I wasn't bird watching, but people watching. At my child's elementary school, I observed energetic students audition for a part in the school musical. Each student had to deliver the line "No, I won't do it" three times but each time expressing a different emotion. The teacher would instruct each auditionee, "You are feeling..." and then give him or her feeling (i.e, happy, sad, angry, bored, shy, etc.). The most difficult sentiment for these courageous kids to play was "love"; the boys seemed especially squeamish to act out this "sappy" emotion. I was a little relieved that most students did not understand the feeling of "grief," hopefully from lack of experience in this area. The 10-yr-old thespians' vivid and diverse vocal, facial and bodily interpretations of this single line ("No, I won't do it." "NO, I WON'T DO IT!" "No, I won't do it…") were incredibly funny and moving.
Another parent assisting with the auditions suggested that if the teacher ever tired of hearing over and over “No, I won't do it,” the teacher could substitute, “These pretzels are making me thirsty." That was Kramer's line in a Woody Allen movie during "The Alternate Side" Seinfeld episode. Ha! For once I was not the first person to make a Seinfeld connection to real life.
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