Who is the star I was referring to in the title? It’s actually me and two others, but not for the reasons you may think.
It started back in Green Hill Elementary. Sometimes the 6th graders would put on a play for the whole school. At that time, it went through the sixth grade. Anyway, I absolutely loved watching the plays. To me they were dynamic. Instead of watching a TV show on a small screen, I got to watch real people. Best of all, there were no laugh tracks. By the way, if you’ve ever watched any of the TV shows from the 60s and early 70s, then you have heard the same people laughing the same laughs over and over again.
I desperately wanted to be in a play. It looked like it was so much fun. For a couple of years, there were no plays at school. So, when I reached the sixth grade, I didn’t expect we would be doing one, but that all changed with one book. That year we were blessed to have Mr. Yarbrough as a teacher. He was one of the best teachers I ever had. He was different from other teachers in that he would read a book from our school library to the class. One time, he picked one that was unlike anything else he had read to us. It was “A Wrinkle in Time” by Madeleine L’Engle. If it sounds familiar, there have been a couple of movies made based on it. By the way, I didn’t like them. At all. Years later I discovered there has been controversy over this book. Now, this was decades before social media, so we had no clue about that. We just enjoyed the story.
After Mr. Yarbrough finished the book, we decided to make it into a play. Since everyone in class loved the story, we all came together to work on it. Our parents even helped out with costumes and props. For instance, one of the dads was an electrician so he rigged a light to flash on and off. My mom dug out an old sheet and died it black. Now, as for as parts goes, it was unanimous that I play Mrs. Whatsit. It wasn’t because my classmates thought I had acting talent. It was the fact that I was as unique as my character. Also, Mrs. Whatsit was an elderly lady who had been a star at one time and everybody knew how much I loved astronomy. So, it was a perfect fit. There were two other characters that were also stars who became an older ladies: Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which. The first picture is of me and the other two old stars before the play began.
The night of the play, I was giddy with excitement. That’s what Mamaw Jo used to call it when you’re so excited you can hardly stand still. Yep. That was me. To be honest, I loved the feel in the air as we were getting ready to put on our play. It was almost electric to me. Now, we weren’t putting this on during school. We put it on in the evening for our families and the whole community as well. Let me tell you. the auditorium was packed. In essence, we had a full house.
I was nervous as I stood waiting behind the curtain for my cue. When I heard it, I stepped out and was amazed at how dark gym/auditorium was. Since the only lights were the ones in the stage floor at the front, I could only see people in the first two rows. I did exactly as Mr. Yarbrough had directed me to do. As soon as I stepped out, I opened my umbrella and twirled it as I walked across the across the stage. Also, I looked at people over the top of my glasses in a: “Who are you?” manner. When I reached the microphone, I said my lines without forgetting them or getting confused. To be honest, I had been more nervous at piano recitals. Once I finished, I gave my umbrella one last spin before I closed it back up and walked behind the curtain. There stood Mr. Yarbrough with a huge smile on his face. Before I could even ask, he said: “You did a great job.”
“His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of the Lord.” Matthew 25:23 (KJV)
As I was writing this, I kept wondering what verse to use. When I got to the part of Mr. Yarbrough telling I did a great job, I immediately thought of the above verse. Then I realized my stage experience could be a comparison. Bear with me here. When I first walked out onto the stage, you could compare that to being born. My walking across the stage and saying my lines was like going through life. Then my stepping behind the curtain could be the end of life. And of course, that’s when we’ll face The Lord. When that happens to me, I want to hear: “Well done…” What will He say to you?
The second picture is of me in a reindeer costume when I was in the seventh grade. That year I played Comet in a Christmas play. My one line was: “I’m Comet!” Now when I look at that picture, I think it’s weird to see a reindeer in glasses and wearing a Dorothy Hamill haircut.

Brooke Cox is an author, speaker, and storyteller. She was a 2016 Selah Awards Finalist for Debut Novel. Her children’s book: “Dinosaur Eggs,” is now available. It is based on Ephesians 6: The Armor of God. Her novel “Until the Moon Rises: A Conniving Cousin Mystery” is also available. Also, she has two books out in her storytelling series: “Saucy Southern Stories.” The Amazon links for her books may be found on her website: brookecoxstories.com. Please feel free to contact her. She would love to hear from you.