Back On The Bank With Theater Kid, Emerson Courage

By Zoe Robinson

Senior Emerson Courage is the consummate theater kid. She practically lives in the Hendrix-Chenault. 

In fact, she’s already been cast in the fall play, the last fall play of her high school career, “The Farnsworth Invention”.  She’ll be playing sneaky foreign scientist, Zworkyin, and is happy to be back in the theater kid grind. “I missed this,” she told me at our first Saturday theater rehearsal of the year. 

She’s also been enjoying restarting one of her favorite classes, Singers, the Lovett’s Upper School chorus..

Even before she came to Lovett from Trinity in the seventh grade, she was singing in chorus, so it’s a bit weird for her to think about her 9-year journey ending.  “It feels kind of crazy, I’ve been doing Singers for so long,” she said.

Over time, she’s come to appreciate the consistent structure of the class throughout her middle and upper school years.  “Ms. Ulrich usually talks for about 10 minutes, then we go to our separate rooms,” she said. “We learn the songs for the events we’re going to be singing at.” She likes the routine amidst the ever-changing nature of her other classes and the stress of school. It has been a kind of metaphorical eye in the storm.

They get new songs for these special events, including one of her favorite traditions, Lessons in Carols. “We start on Lessons in Carols in September, and keep working until the event in December, so fun!” she said.

They also prepare for less fun events, like All Saints Chapel, where they spend a 7-hour day just practicing. One time, they skipped over a meal. In hindsight, it was pretty funny, but in the moment, “not so fun.”

In her final year, she also gets to enjoy some exciting new traditions, like the annual Singers’ senior dinner with chorus director, Ms. Ulrich. “I always heard about it from seniors before,” she laughed, “so it’s supposed to be really nice.

While she’s never taken a theater class at Lovett, Emerson has participated in theater productions since 9th grade. Since most cast members are in the class, that experience is a lot different than chorus, so she makes her own theater community after school.

“It can be kind of weird for me, hearing the kids talk about the Honors Theater stuff and not understanding,  but I still love it,” she said.

Through both theater and chorus, she’s gotten better at performing the skills she’s perfected for so long. While she still may have some anxiety, “when you do something all the time, it just gets easier.”

One key thing that’s helped with those small anxieties and sticking with chorus is her friend group. While only one person in her circle is in chorus, she shares a bond with all of her friends over their hobbies. Whether it be SGA, volleyball, or painting, they can all relate to the idea of truly loving what you do. 

Emerson’s summer was super chill, enjoying activities at the beach, working as a camp counselor, and just relaxing. “I just rotted this summer, but it was fun,” she said. Even though she didn’t do anything chorus or theater related over those few months, she was still super excited to return for one last year of Lovett activities.

While Emerson knows that she won’t be doing theater and chorus in the same way as she has all these years, she’s still excited to head to college and say a bittersweet goodbye to this era. 

Or perhaps not. “Maybe I’ll join a university a cappella club!” she exclaimed.