I have been going to Stanley Clark since preschool. This place is my second home. There are so many amazing experiences that come from Clark, but the one that I would like to talk about is the 5^th and 6^th grade play, The Trial of Tom Sawyer. I was a sixth-grader, which hopefully meant I was able to get a bigger role. The Trial of Tom Sawyer is about a boy named Tom who sees a drunk man named Muff Potter blamed for killing someone. If he tells the truth, the man who actually did the murder (who is named Engine Joe) will want to kill Tom. At the time, I didn’t really know the play or the characters, which made auditions pretty hard.

It turns out that I received the role of Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer's best friend, who sees the murder happen too. I was ecstatic but had never played a boy before. Ms. C (our director) had to show me how to act like a boy. I wore ripped clothes and had dirt on my face since the character was an orphan. He doesn’t go to school, he just fishes and relaxes. I really liked playing that kind of character because he was laid back and didn’t worry too much.

One time at play practice my friend Atti, who played Engine Joe, was supposed to throw a plastic knife at Tom Sawyer, who was supposed to dodge the knife right before it hits him. But instead, the plastic knife crashed and shattered right into his face! Ms. C started freaking out but he was fine. It was a pretty funny play practice. I’m going to miss those practices so much. I am going to miss the thrill of finding out what part we got, what our costumes are going to look like, warming up in the green room, and a lot more. It’s crazy to think that this is my last year at Clark. I have learned tons about acting and performing thanks to Ms. C. Huckleberry Finn was the best part ever. My favorite line was, “Oh lordy, Tom.” Now my mom and I always say that to each other as a joke; that will always be remembered.