Anyone who knows anything about me knows that most of my free time is taken up by theatre, and that I absolutely love children with my whole heart. Recently, my theatre troupe decided to combine these two passions of mine.

The past few months, I have been working on a show called Madagascar the Musical Jr. This is, obviously, a show targeted for kids, and the three days before Thanksgiving break, the cast performed for over 2,000 elementary and middle school kids. Before the show, I was one of the lucky ones able to greet the kids while entering and leaving the theatre. I will always cherish the magical moments when kids walked out of the theatre, looking at Melman the giraffe and Marty the zebra with awe, not believing they were really there. So many kids told us they wanted to do theatre when they grew up. One vivid memory is when I asked a little girl, "What was your favorite part of the show?" She responded by giving me a hug and saying, "I liked when you came on."

My heart grew three sizes when I heard her say that.

Working with children, I am sometimes immune to temper tantrums and general cuteness because I experience it every week. This comment still makes me smile weeks after hearing it. These children made the tiring process worth every second. The smile of a child is worth the late nights of tech week. Kindergarten classes singing songs of Madagascar makes up for the tedious hours of learning notes and rhythms. Cheers and applause make up for the stress, the huge character faces, the physicality, the dances that are closer to a workout, the tight costumes and difficult hairstyles. These children make up for all of the sacrifices that I, and everyone else in the cast, had to make.

Children are beautiful. Theatre is my passion. Children's theatre has become a new love of mine, and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.