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"My Last Bow" by Nadia Book

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I have loved being in every play here at Dalat, but this semester’s felt more important. It was my eighth and final play at Dalat. I never imagined this day would come, as it always felt so far away. I always had one more semester, one more thing I could do, but not this time. I knew I really needed to treasure this play, but as we got closer and closer to the performance day, it still hadn’t hit me. 


I only really saw the finality of it on the Saturday of our performances. I was sitting backstage with my friend Edyn Roylance (11), waiting for my scene, when a thought hit me: “This is the last time I’ll get to talk with my friends backstage.” A heaviness sank over me, and I finally felt that sadness I knew was coming. I pushed these thoughts aside and focused on the play. The sadness lifted, and everything returned to normal, but not for long. After Yejii Lee (9) said the last line of the play, I looked across the stage and found my friends looking at me, tears in their eyes. The end of the play was a crying, hugging mess, with everyone congratulating each other. Looking around that group, I fully realized what I was going to be missing. In each of the people I looked at, there were years of working together, years of inside jokes, years of mistakes, years of going through the same experiences, always together. And it would all soon be gone. 


This semester’s play was titled “Remember My Name”, and it was about a young Jewish girl who has to run away from her home to escape the tragedies of war and survive on her own, with the help of new friends and found family. My experience was nothing like hers, of course, but in a way, I can see myself reflected in her journey. I came to this school alone and scared, not knowing anyone. Drama took me in and helped me thrive. Everyone I’ve gotten to act with is like a second family to me, and my time in Penang would not have been so great without them. 


This semester was also Jonathan Ooi’s (12) and Aydan Wang’s (12) last play. “I will miss the environment created by the other actors in Dalat Drama. It always felt like a safe space for people to just be themselves,” says Jonathan. Drama has impacted us all, and the memories we have made there are unforgettable. 


I want to close this off with a note to all the friends I have made through drama: I am forever grateful for my time with you. I have loved getting to act with you all, and my prayer for you is that, although I will not get to see it, you continue to grow in your skills as I have already seen. You are all so amazing and talented, and I would not trade a single second spent with you for the world. I will miss you all so much!

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