"Miriam! That's enough"
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 131 No 7, 2 October 2026, page no.24
Our performing arts showcase has been and gone. The positive high that we finished on almost enabled us to forget the horror that was the whole-day rehearsal. Much coffee was drunk, many head dresses and costumes were misplaced, and students pushed our collective teacher buttons more times than we thought possible.
Arriving at the venue was absolute chaos. Kids had energy levels akin to a group of dogs that had arrived at the park after being confined to the house for several weeks. And we expected them to stand still and listen while we waited for the venue staff to run through where the exits were, what to do in case of an emergency, and where the toilets were located. Many, many students received personal reminders about behaviour during that ten-minute window, and aggressive gesturing to look at the people speaking to us and stop speaking themselves. At this time, there was a realisation that this was going to be a long day full of challenges and frustrations. On a positive note, the venue had a café within it, so there was one perk with being offsite for the day — ready access to caffeine and food that looked much more enticing than a typical work day lunch.
We started the day by practicing the finale, as it required all of the kids to be on stage together at the one time. During rehearsals at school this had not gone well, so we were hoping the reality of being at the venue might iron out the issues.
“Grade 5 and 6 students. We are going to need to stop the run through if you cannot stand still at the back of the stage. You are supposed to be our leaders. I am wanting to see our school values on display today. Let’s start again.”
“Grade 5 and 6. Again. I’m not happy with what I am seeing. You have done your bows, it’s now time for you to wait patiently at the back of the stage while everyone else does theirs. Miriam! That’s enough. Declan, Beau, Fatima and Parris — I want you to come and sit over here. Come out of the line. Miriam, you can join them. Very disappointing.”
More and more coffees started to appear in the theatre as teachers attempted to manage their highly energised charges.
“Grade 1 — keep walking in a straight line, keep coming. Where are the rest of you? Grade 1? You must keep your eyes on the person in front of you so that there are no gaps. Grade 5 and 6 – stop! Give the Grade 3s back their masks!”
After many, many attempts, the finale rehearsal had to be finished up so that we could run all of the dances before jumping on the buses and heading back to school and then returning two hours later for the big performance. As always happens, the evening itself ran well, with the Grade 5 and 6 students finally managing to pull it together.