Esther Wins the BIG One :)

Esther's my youngest daughter. She's 15 and goes to Doncaster East Secondary College where she's in Year 9. You can meet her here:
http://www.johncounsel.com/john/family.html (click the link for Esther).

Like her mother and maternal grandmother, she's an actress, and she wants to pursue a career in music theatre.

I've seen her in a couple of school musicals -- the latest one "Bye Bye Birdie", in which she played a mother -- and she's done well, but nothing that really showcases her talents. (She has a beautiful voice, like her older sister and brother, who are both trained opera singers.)

Earlier this year she joined Fresh Youth Theatre http://www.blackburncare.org/fresh/index.htm and played a very funny "second banana" turtle in a play based on Dr Seuss' "Yurtle the Turtle", for which she won "Best Comedy Performance". She was very good.

Last weekend she was in two performances by Fresh Youth Theatre. In the first she sang and played a small part, which she did very convincingly. In the second, she played a drug addicted houswife. I was stunned.

Esther was sensational. Such a range of emotions and insight. She received huge applause several times, and most of the audience sought out her photo on the foyer display afterward, raving about her performance.

Lynne, my wife with whom she lives in Melbourne, attended the following night -- the final night -- when the awards were handed out. Lynne rang around 9:30pm (woke me up in front of the TV!) in tears. I thought something had gone horribly wrong.

She'd been moved to tears by Esther's performance, as I had been. But then, when the awards were announced, the Best Dramatic Actress award went to another girl, who'd been very good, but not in the same class as Esther's stunning performance.

Lynne was watching Esther closely and could see she was bitterly disappointed not to win ANY award this season.

Then the Director of Fresh announced the major award: the "Breath of Fresh" Award, awarded to the teenager who most represented all that Fresh was about for the entire year -- personal growth, maturity, social impact on the group, etc etc -- and the winner was none other than Esther Counsel, who had made a powerful impact on the entire organisation with her talent, her commitment, her personal qualities, her friendliness, her encouragement and example to the other kids, etc etc etc.

She received a standing ovation and long cheers and hugs from the audience and cast and crew, and went off to the after-production party walking on air, radiant, leaving her mother a cot case. *lol*

This was so much better for Esther, who did this entirely on her own merits, on her own level, and it was a dazzling endorsement of everything we've discussed about her need to be a leader and to set new standards for those she mixes with, and her willingness to put in the consistent effort to achieve this, even if it meant no public acclaim.

Needless to say, we're thrilled with and for her. :)