I always rave about our students and sometimes I feel people come to expect that from me.  The other day I ran into Ai-lin Grison, a LILA parent, who was boiling over with enthusiasm and love after going on an outing with our LILA high schoolers.  She could not get over how mature and wonderful our students were.  I asked her to write an article for the blog to share her afternoon with the LILA community...
Today, I became a proud LILA parent. No, I’m not talking about being a proud LILA parent of my own kids – that goes without saying. I mean that today, I became a proud parent of all LILA kids.

The high school field trip to the Lyric Hyperion Theater was today. The outing was to watch an adaptation of Eugène Ionesco’s Les Chaises (The Chairs) and Jean Paul Sartre’s Huis Clos (No Exit). It was a French language presentation by the Illustres Comediennes of the Cours de Jeu Théâtral and their teacher, Jackie Planeix, the artistic director of Bluepalm. The Illustres Comediennes is made up of 8 current and former LILA high school students who have been performing classical French and original theater pieces under Jackie’s direction since elementary school: Souraya, Anika, Maeva, Chloé, Madeleine, Simone, Hayley, and Camille. I had been helping to put together this project to give the Comediennes an opportunity to show their work to their classmates and teachers, and for their classmates to participate in a very unique theater experience which encompasses not just dramatic performance but also dance and movement. With 12th grader Olivier managing lighting, LILA staffer Jonathon Allen as volunteer stage manager, and Morgan Jeanne, LILA’s marketing director, overseeing ticket sales, the project grew to include a Friday field trip performance for the high school  students ( 9th grade A-1Frenc h class, 10th, and 11th grades), and a Saturday evening public performance which would be a school fundraiser.

In the hour before the Friday field trip performance, the girls were very nervous, partly because it was their first performance at the theater but mostly because they would be performing for their peers. Before the performance started, one of the teachers stood up and instructed the students to turn off all electronic devices, explaining that even a light from a cell phone would be a distraction. Miraculously, everyone complied. For the next hour, I watched as 50 teenagers and 10 teachers were completely transported by what was taking place on stage. They laughed at the funny moments, they absorbed the gravity of others. The girls on stage, buoyed by the audience reaction, gave strong performances, sharing their skills, passion, and commitment. At the end of the piece, there was a brief pause, almost a collective inward sigh, before the entire audience erupted in applause and cheers.

The question and answer session that Jackie led afterwards was a true eye-opener. For 30 minutes, I watched in awe as these bright young people put forth intelligent and insightful questions and comments that were beyond the scope of many adults. Their French was varied, some more accented than others, but it was clear that they "got" the work. I know that many of them left the theater with a lot to think about. It was a moment where SAT scores and Bac results faded into insignificance in the light of this demonstration of true love of learning. I left feeling extremely proud.

NOTE: The Saturday fundraising performance was a sold out success – the girls’ hard work enabled them to raise some funds to help the school. Attendees included many from outside the LILA who wholeheartedly supported the event.

Article submitted by Ai-lin Grison, Los Feliz parent and PA president