Mike’s Minute:  Stages

Kings College invited me and Jordan Luck to be judges at one of their House Music competitions. I forget when it was but that doesn’t matter. Such events carry a communal framework. Teenage students take part. And at Kings every student enrolled at that school goes onto the stage. It all rolls out in front of some 4,000 people – principally parents, relations and the curious. It’s a wonderful event. There are two trophies. 

1. The Big House Music Trophy; and  
2. The Small House Music Trophy. 

The former had every member of each particular house sing a song en masse and the latter involved a particular musical item – usually a song  - played and sung by a carefully selected group – let’s call it a band – of students from a particular house and each of those items was judged with a range of parameters from the competition organisers  and then winners of both competitions were selected by the judges.  Us. 

 All in all it was a smooth operation with exultant singing from the Large House and, in the Small House competition a song played in accomplished style. In the end, we judges were impressed. There was much to appreciate. Simple as that. It was an observation:  the net effect was that everyone in the theatre was held to attention.    

   All students from Kings College took part in at least one if not both items.  

‘Yes,’ you might say. ‘We can see that. Surely a lot of them are average singers and they tumble and jumble together!’   That may be true but here’s the rub. I watched that House Music Competition and thought about my time at school.  The comparison. 

At Sacred Heart College during the five years that I boarded there, (a long time ago),  I would hazard a guess that at least 50% of the boys there never walked onto the assembly hall stage and performed. Whether playing an instrument, singing or acting. ‘Ah,’ you might say  ‘Does it matter.  After all… they play tennis, rugby, cricket out on the fields and courts and charge up and down in the swimming pool. And so on.’ 

But there’s a social fault here. Where is the creative advance that can be engineered up on the school stage? 

Watching and listening to the Kings College House Music Competition, it is very clear that a creative and communal force is underway as a result.  The stage becomes the launch pad of something that may initially be a place of anxiety even fear but it doesn’t take long until the mixing of that common purpose finds a group performance engaging all those up there to move forward with a unique and special opportunity. The stage is where young students with a strong intention can shine. The stage is the magic playground. 

Schools must host events on their stages and it must be students that take part. Students taking a lease on life where they need that brave step to start the road in becoming somebody.  Someone with an evolving identity. It’s crucial. And then as time passes and students take part time and time again with performances; especially musical ones…. they will then become participants of the new breed.