While talent is something that can grow and be nurtured, I believe that dedication is the more impressive quality. Sometimes life doesn't go as we planned - we don't get the grade we want, the role we want, or any end result for which we'd hoped. Or we do get the result that we want, but it comes with a price - a price of effort. For that grade, you spend hours studying; for that part, you spend hours preparing; for that show, you spend months and months rehearsing. That is what impresses me most about all of my drama students. You give us so much of your time because you know that your hard work and dedication will be worth it in the end. You will have the uproarious applause of the audience, their genuine laughter, or maybe some new friends gained along the way.
Jose, Mabel, Lambchops, and crew didn't know each other when they arrived at P.A., but they spent time forming friendships as they worked on their craft. I hope that in your time working on Fame, you were able to look around and see the faces of students that you might have once passed in the hallway and smile at them in a way that conveyed the friendship and connection formed on our stage. Nick comes to P.A. because he wants to make magic, and you all created that on Thursday and Friday night.