Erick Mukiira, educator and director, draws inspiration from the film Miracle to explore how school productions become powerful arenas for student transformation—where self-doubt gives way to confidence, and rehearsals forge resilience, discipline, and belief.
Watching the move Miracle (2004), a film dedicated to coach Herb Brooks-a player turned coach who trains a group of not-so-experienced 20 young men in 1980 from different states to reach to a level where they play as a team, a united family playing for the United states, winning the 1980 Olympics gold medal as a solid hockey team beating the mighty Russian team (a team that had not been beaten for many years and had been feared by all the nations)-makes my eyes twitch with pride as I reminisce my directing days.
This took me on a reflective journey that reminded me of the many times that I have started from scratch with Annual school productions. Auditions bring in known and unknown students from different grades, dialects, prowess, countries, and perceptions. Some are extroverts, while other introverts, all with a burning desire for a fair chance to shine after two-three months of intense rehearsal sessions. Blocking line by line, page by page, scene by scene and act by act until the entire cast can run a whole run-through with minimal support and supervision.
"As a director who must stage a school production, you must train their minds to be so strong that they remember not only their lines but the lines of others."
Coach Brooks takes an unknown team through a journey of strenuous and extensive training sessions till they become not only a symbol of hope in America but icons of resilience during the Cold War. Their bodies are conditioned to play in all weathers-and this is the exact conditioning that even actors in a cast should go through: the conditioning of their minds, body and soul.
Many students come to me with memory issues; no sooner have they memorized their five lines than they forget them. As a director who must stage a school production, you must train their minds to be so strong that they remember not only their lines but the lines of others. That calls for all types of techniques that train their mind to master everything the body feels, touches, the nose smells, the eyes see.
This must impact on them enough to transform their real selves into the characters they accept to play. Exercises like showing your cast members several items within seconds and picking random members to list what they saw in the right order, or allowing someone to walk into a space that has several objects and, within seconds, shout out what they saw with their eyes in that room with their eyes tightly shut are some of many exercises that can boost the memory. I have often picked a word or a phrase from the script and waited for the cast to continue from that word, guessing which character said it and deciding what comes next. Staging scenes in reverse order rather than following the script’s natural flow, is another strategy. Picking random scenes and rehearsing from there is yet another strategy.
With well-mastered strategies students grow to have amazing minds that can retain anything they see, touch, feel, taste and hear. This way the entire cast masters the lines of every actor strengthening their brain to remember countless lines consciously and subconsciously. These exercises benefit the students not only in performing arts but also in other academic subjects. Those who shine in my productions thrive even more in their future careers.
Other students show up with just a thin ray of confidence and hence. Any slight challenge they experience during rehearsals makes them want to run and quit. My task is always clear: to evoke a deep desire in them to beat the odds of low self-esteem helping them reach a point they get excited when they are going through other challenges. They must realize that through these challenges, their characters are being sharpened and molded.
Most curriculums do not embrace the Arts or acknowledge the difficult journey educators endure to inspire and train students to take the stage. To showcase their hidden gems or to believe in themselves-an educator must believe in themselves. Inspire and encourage yourself. Overcome life’s challenges to an extent that when you show up for those rehearsals, the cast has no other option but to hang on to every word you say. You must walk the talk.
"Fear hinders greatness"
You must deal with the students’ self-doubt, help them balance academics, guide them to manage impact of the rigorous rehearsals, gain discipline and professionalism while nurturing them to unleash their creative voices. We are often scared of what people might say and that fear affects our self-esteem and our confidence on stage. ‘Great moments are born from great opportunities.’ I ensure students understand and believe that the countless rehearsals and repeated lines will create their best moments for them.
It is fear that hinders every person from becoming their best versions in life. Fear hinders greatness. For a shy student who fears ridicule, then being on stage presents to that child a golden opportunity to beat the odds, overcome and become a winner. ‘The moment you are ready to quit is usually the moment right before the miracle happens. Don’t give up!’ This becomes a powerful reminder that breakthroughs often come just after the hardest moments.
Exercises like visualizing yourself receiving a standing ovation for doing justice to a character you played or for a perfect performance, bowing at curtain calls, smiling with a deep satisfaction of having remembered all your lines, delivering catharsis with polished gestures, mastered facial expressions, impeccable stage movements and powerful dynamics-boost energy, self-belief and a hope that you can actually do it. A successful play that earns a standing ovation should be an image that every cast member visualizes repeatedly before and after a rehearsal. ‘This is your time. Now go out there and take it.’ These words and similar affirmations are embedded in the actors’ minds until they believe in themselves.
In fact, most of the performances on stage are often better than the rehearsals. The transformed characters I finally see on stage are usually so unique and so magical that they move me to tears.
They are usually refreshed, well-molded, grounded and so full of confidence that moves me to tears.
‘You think you can win on talent alone? Gentlemen, you don’t have enough talent to win on talent alone.’ My students must work out every day. Some join nearby gyms, some use the school gyms and others find home trainers. The body must be fit and flexible to play any role. They must be so fit to act out any stage movements on any stage space. Sometimes I hire dance choreographers who use movement to build physical stamina. Body conditioning is a core goal before and after rehearsals.
Every successful production demand students train their body to not only be fit for plays but life fit. The student must repeat the same scenes endlessly until they sleep seeing-same scenes flashing in front of their faces and playing in their minds. For months the student embodies the character they play until their friends and family members forget who they really are-and that is beyond talent, its strenuous work of practice and repetition, its disciplined work.
Coach brooks in this film made the players repeat drills with his whistle to the point where during Christmas they mimicked his whistle, knowing it meant ‘again.’ The players knew in their hearts that if that whistle was blown, they should and must repeat that drill ‘again’. There should come a time where your actors ‘loathe’ you for the hard work-but eventually they smile with satisfaction and pride. Once they understand your expectations as a director, they will strive hard to meet them because deep down, every one of them wants to excel, shine and show off what they have worked hard on.
‘You were born to be hockey players, every one of you. You were meant to be here. This moment is yours.’ These words remind me of what I tell my students: ‘You were born to be a star.’ ‘You were born to tell stories the world didn’t know it needed.’ ‘The stage is your canvas-paint it with truth, passion, and presence.’ ‘Everyone is an actor, and the world is a stage.’ ‘When they walk in there, they don’t just want to see a play; they want to see a show.’ ‘You just don’t perform-you transform.’
"You never know, those words might just help them survive."
These simple phrases can transform hearts and souls. Many students come from homes lacking words of affirmation and maybe those words that you say a million times during rehearsals are the only positive words they will hear in their lives. So go on as an educator-master some lines, quotes, phrases and words enough to radiate your students’ lives, hearts and soul. You never know, those words might just help them survive.
‘You can’t be common; the common man goes nowhere. You have to be uncommon.’ And guess what-the audience are always ready to pay even $100 and beyond for a show filled with polished actors who are not only outstanding on stage but carry this unique aura and energy that spills into their personal lives-they just shine. Stars that parents want their children to emulate.
That is why Oscar winners are adored and revered in our societies-because they live beyond talent-others treated like gods and goddesses because as much as they live off from the fame from Hollywood, Nollywood and the rest of the industries; they live through discipline, polish and presence. They have mastered such high stands of values and morals that make them stand out.
So go ahead, learn to not be common, shine and master that art if being in stage.
The eagle does not hunt flies.
Learn to soar.
Learn to shine.
Master the art of commanding the stage.
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