[principal on PA] Good afternoon, Brandon High School.
Tonight is a big night on campus,
a night of marvelous acts portraying Squirrel Girl and Ms. Marvel.
When you're a teenager and you're growing up and you're developing
and you're finding out who you are,
there's no better way to figure that out
and explore that than through drama and acting.
But students are under a lot of pressure.
Anytime they're gonna get up in front of their school community and perform,
you know, their street cred is at risk.
I never thought that I would be somewhere on a stage actually saying something.
Whenever I stand up there, the line just immediately leaves my brain.
With theater, you're forced to get out of your comfort zone.
-[sighs] Oh, God. -Listen, you're gonna do great.
[chattering]
-[girl] Three minutes! -Hey, man.
I'm kinda nervous. I got butterflies in my stomach.
The message of the play is to face your fears.
-Okay. We gotta go. -I'm getting placed.
And we're all doing that.
[teacher] Brandon, Florida, is a city mostly centered on a single highway,
and everything's just gone from the highway,
and then you just build slowly away from the highway.
Brandon is known as a great stopover
between a more metropolitan Tampa and a more rural Plant City.
[Sparano] Brandon High School is a very traditional neighborhood school.
It's your typical high school of today, not the ones you see on TV.
It is real-life.
[Sparano] We have approximately 1,800 students this year.
We're a Title I school,
so that means about 68% of our students receive free or reduced lunch.
[Ms. Kyle] When our students come here,
a great deal of them are looking for comfort or some kind of a true home
because they might not have it at home.
[Sparano on PA] Today our boys' tennis team takes on East Bay.
Softball plays Durant, and Baseball competes against Newsome.
Both of those games are here at home beginning at 7 p.m. Go Eagles.
[Ms. Kyle] Brandon High School is known for its athletics,
lots of years of state championships,
and not necessarily for its theater program.
I remember when I was in high school,
I could go back to my theater family, and I wanted to bring that to students.
[Sparano] Courtney mentioned that she would really like
to teach drama full-time.
The theater department was an after-school club.
It wasn't an established program that was full-time, six classes a day.
I said, "We gotta get the numbers up 'cause in order to generate the classes,
we have to have students that want to take the class."
She researched something that would really engage our students,
and she got their input and their feedback,
and the Marvel plays were what really got their juices flowing.
[Ms. Kyle] When I was looking at what plays to license
for this season's performance, the Marvel Spotlight plays really stood out.
They're a collection of stage plays about characters in the known Marvel Universe,
and any high school can perform them.
Each play is written for high school.
They're written for high schoolers. They're written for their mentality,
things that they are going through in a way that they may not even realize,
"Oh, I'm going through this," because it's a superhero doing it.
Just the interest and the love of Marvel that I saw in my classrooms
made me want to say, "Well, this will be cool."
Maybe it'll draw more interest in the theater program...
and, even if not that, maybe my students will pick up some kind of... something.
[chuckles]
Hey, guys. You guys okay?
You can come in. Yes.
No phones. Either plug 'em in or put them in your bags.
I have two classes performing this year.
Put your stuff away.
All you need is a pencil, and your bags need to be over there.
Sixth period is doing Ms. Marvel.
They are a Theater 1 class.
Most have never taken a theater class before.
I am going to give you paper with some lines on it.
It may not be the part that you're actually gonna get,
it's just seeing, kind of, what choices you make while reading.
Does that make sense?
[Bri] I was just handed a paper
and was told I only have a few minutes to study and then, "Bam!"
I had to do it.
[Ms. Kyle] Also, on the back is the origin story of Ms. Marvel.
[Bri] When Ms. Kyle told us that we're doing this Marvel play,
a lot of people were excited.
[Ms. Kyle] You guys need to also be good audience members.
What does that mean you need to do after someone auditions?
All right. Here we go.
When you are ready, just take a breath, and you got this.
You good? Score.
[Ery] Going into the audition, I felt like I had everything under control.
[sighs]
But once I got into the actual spotlight,
I lost everything.
[Jamaul] I was nervous acting because I didn't know
how it was going to go, and it was my first time.
It was kind of nerve-racking, scary.
I'm hoping to get the part of Kamala Khan.
She's a very interesting character,
and I found, like, a way to connect with her
better than any other superhero I've really read or seen.
She has a little bit of every single superhero in her,
along with just being a regular normal girl.
[Jamaul] Ms. Marvel is about Kamala Khan.
She's a high school student,
and she has these polymorphic powers.
She gets giant fists,
she can grow her fists, and she can grow her feet.
[breathes heavily] Ow!
"Don't even think about it, tree.
If I can take burglars and bad guys, I can take you."
[Ery] She does save someone's life,
and that's when she starts thinking that, "Oh, I could actually be a superhero."
"What a night. I was stealthy. I was sassy. I was super strong.
Yes. I killed it."
But she's living a double life. Like, she's a superhero at night,
and then a regular student during the day.
Everybody at school notices that Kamala doesn't have time for school.
Bruno, her good friend, is protecting her secret.
"So, yeah, I had a crush on her,
but she never really showed any interest, right?"
"She has this, I guess I can say, part-time job."
"Tonight was my best fight ever.
I'm sure it's all over the news by now."
"Ms. Marvel, Jersey City's new local hero."
"How did I not make the news?"
[Trinity] She just wants recognition for her hard work.
She's always struggling to get it, but she's discouraged that she doesn't.
[student 1] "What about on my favorite fan fiction site?
Nothing?"
[Ms. Kyle] So that kind of gets her a little bit downhearted,
so she writes stories about herself saving the day.
"Well, like they say, 'You want something done right, do it yourself.'"
[Ms. Kyle] In the end, Kamala realizes
that she needs to get out of the screen of her laptop.
What matters is how she sees herself and not how anyone else sees her.
-Thank you. -[applause]
[school bell rings]
[Ms. Kyle] All right, guys. Let's go.
Seventh period are my Theater 2s and 3s.
So they have taken theater prior years in high school.
Andrew.
They are doing Squirrel Girl Goes to College.
Joey.
The play is totally different.
It's not like you're watching something super serious or super dark.
You know? It's more comical.
[Ms. Kyle] Those that want to prove themselves for those larger characters
are gonna try to make themselves stand out.
I really, really wanted to get the role of Squirrel Girl.
[Ms. Kyle] Madi, you're next.
[Madi] I feel like I connect with her.
And superhero is about personality. It's about your mental strength.
-Good? -[Ms. Kyle] When you are ready.
I wanted to put myself out there and say, "I'm capable of being this person."
"I'm capable of being a Marvel superhero."
[Ms. Kyle] Squirrel Girl Goes to College is about Doreen Green,
who has developed these squirrel abilities and the ability to talk to squirrels.
Doreen is going to college.
She's taking her best friend, Tippy-Toe, who's a squirrel.
But Doreen really wants human friends.
"Now that I'm an adult, real human friends are..."
"...they're just human."
[Madi] She makes two really good friends, Nancy and Tomás,
but she's a superhero, and she struggles with,
"Should I trust you with this secret?"
"What if they freak out?"
"What if my secret is just a burden to them?"
But that's when M.O.D.O.C. comes in.
"I will connect their brains to mine, suck out all of their knowledge..."
"...and turn it into code and conquer the world."
[Joey] M.O.D.O.C. is your average villain. He's out to get Squirrel Girl
and take over the world, every villain's dream.
[laughs]
Ha! Ha! Ha!
[applause]
[Izzy] Eventually, at the end,
you see her come together with her friends,
and they stop M.O.D.O.C. because she finally reveals who she really is.
The lesson is, you should trust your friends.
You should trust the people you care about.
Thank you.
And that's it.
-[Ms. Kyle chuckles] Thank you. -[applause, cheers]
-[school bell rings] -[chattering]
[Joey] Wait, I got this period next.
[chattering continues]
[Ms. Kyle] Casting is always very stressful,
but the auditions were what I based everything on.
I try to go in very unbiased.
Some of the kids I know will end up being disappointed.
I know others will look at the list,
and I hope it will make them very happy and excited that I believe in them...
because this is in-class production.
It's learning. It's not just, "Let me throw you on stage and just do it."
[chattering]
Oh, my gosh. I can't wait.
If I get M.O.D.O.C. that would be--
[Ms. Kyle] Everyone is coming in at basically the same levels,
and they need to work together,
and it needs to become their show, their ownership.
And if they have ownership of each individual part, then it'll be a success.
-It's not up yet. It'll be up soon! -It's not up yet.
[girl] My God!
-[Joey] I thought I heard footsteps. -[Madi] Is she coming up now?
It's happening! It's happening. Rowan's running this way.
-It's happening. It's happening. -[girl] That's definitely not Rowan.
-Back away. -[girl] Back away y'all.
-Come on. Come on. -[Darence] I'm back. I'm back.
-Is she posting names? Is it gonna be-- -[girl] What the--
-Stay there. -[Rowan] Stay. Stay.
Stay until the door shuts.
-That's the door. Stay there. -[Rowan] I'm holding shorty.
[screams]
[laughs, screams]
-[Darence] I'm Brightmind. -[Madi] Oh, my God!
-M.O.D.O.C.! -Oh, you're M.O.D.O.C.?
[Joey] I got M.O.D.O.C., the supervillain.
So I'm gonna bring some sinister comedy, honestly.
Something that's, like, villain-ish,
but still, like, lighthearted, because it is a high school play.
Oh, my God!
I got Doreen Green. I'm Squirrel Girl. [chuckles]
That's why I was like--
It definitely took me by surprise.
Like, your head pops off and everything goes [imitates explosion] like confetti.
[Bri chuckles] I got the lead!
I knew you could make it. See? I told you. I told you.
I got the part of Kamala Khan. [chuckles]
I'm super excited about it.
Ugh, I'm shaking so much. [chuckles] Take your phone.
I think I'm in shock.
I don't know how to feel. [chuckles]
[Bri]
[Ery] I'm someone somewhere at the bottom.
-[Bri] -[Ery] Right there.
[Ery] Okay.
I'm excited, and it's a big deal to me that I get to be a part of this.
I'm not shaking. I'm just keeping all my excitement in.
But then when I get home, I'll be like, "Ah!" [chuckles]
[cell phone rings]
-[Madi's mom] -Hey. Guess what.
-I'm Squirrel Girl. -[Madi's mom gasps]
I know. [chuckles]
I know, it's crazy. [chuckles]
Ms. Kyle told us that we were gonna be doing the Marvel plays,
and I never thought that someone like me would have a role.
[Madi's mom]
[Madi] Mm-hmm.
-God, I can't really get my hopes up... -[Madi] But, seeing Squirrel Girl...
When I saw her, I was very surprised.
She was thick, she had curves,
and she had red hair, and she had freckles,
and I was like, "Oh, my God. That's a superhero?"
[Madi's mom]
Thank you.
I love you too.
Bye.
That's my mom. [chuckles]
-[Ms. Kyle] All right, guys, let's go. -[girl] Yes, ma'am.
[chattering]
[Ms. Kyle] Go, go, go, go.
Drop your bags and drop your phones. All you need's a pencil and a script.
Okay, so here we go, page 26.
Follow along even if you're not on the page, right?
All right.
[Ms. Kyle] Bri's gonna climb through the window...
-across the desk and... -[groans]
"Need food."
-"Is this how I've raised my daughter?" -[gasps]
"And what do you have to say for yourself?"
[Ms. Kyle] The message within Ms. Marvel about believing in yourself first
and caring about how you see yourself
is really imperative for teenagers.
"No one even knows who Ms. Marvel is."
"Shh, you don't want the whole school to find out."
[Ms. Kyle] Because they're surrounded by so much negativity...
[student 2] "And then when she fell off the fire escape,
I couldn't help it. I almost died laughing."
[C.J.] "I can just picture it."
"She calls herself Ms. Marvel? More like Miss Complete Disaster."
-[Ms. Kyle] Everyone laugh. -[students laugh]
[Bri] "Please tell me someone actually liked my fanfic.
After the day I've had?
Oh, Google alert! I'm on the news?
Ammi, what are you doing here?
Ammi, not here. This is superhero stuff.
You wouldn't understand."
I've always loved acting since I was a little child.
I used to put on little shows for my family.
My whole family believed in me like,
"Oh, you're gonna be a star one day. Oh, you got this." [laughs]
The older I got, since I was still interested in it,
my friend told me about Blake High School.
It's an art school, and I tried out for theater.
And I didn't think I was gonna get in, but I did, and I was so...
Oh, my gosh, I was so happy.
[chuckles]
The first week, we already had an audition for a play.
I tried to pretend that I knew what I was doing,
but I've never watched a play in my life...
and I did terrible.
I ended up crying, bawling my eyes out, 'cause I embarrassed myself.
As time went on, I ended up getting very anxious.
I was struggling a lot.
And so, my mom took me out of Blake.
We signed up at Brandon.
When I left Blake, it felt like... I was leaving my dream behind.
All right. So we're good? We get going.
[Bri] But then I met Ms. Kyle.
All right, Jessica... wherever she is. There she is.
[Bri] With Ms. Kyle, I was able to have one-on-one talks.
When we started the play, she said,
"How do you relate to your character, and what is she going through?"
Don't even think about it, tree.
If I could take burglars and bad guys, I can take you.
Kamala, she's quirky and fun.
She has her small circle of friends, and she likes to be accepted.
She has her own little act that she puts on.
Later on, she realizes, like, this facade is not who she is
and how she can be accepted.
So once she becomes herself, she gets accepted.
Like, once I was myself...
Tonight was my best fight ever.
I got cast as Kamala.
Ms. Marvel, Jersey City's new local hero.
[Ms. Kyle] I think casting Briana as Kamala will give her the confidence boost
to know how good she actually is.
[Bri] My dreams aren't over.
This is just the start.
It was another typical evening in Jersey City.
Wait, no, that's the wrong line. [chuckles]
It was late at night,
and there was a shakedown going down at Jersey City Deli.
[chattering]
[school bell rings]
I need six chairs. Let's go.
Seven chairs, I lied.
-[Madi] Seven chairs? -[Ms. Kyle] Seven chairs.
[girl] One's supposed to be here.
Joey, in this scene, you're walking through while you're talking to them.
I wouldn't say that we've progressed on our lines or on the show itself,
but everybody is now comfortable in knowing who their character is.
"I am your substitute, Professor M.O.D.O.C.,
M-O-D-O-C."
My character is M.O.D.O.C.
I relate to him in the fact that he's got every step calculated.
He knows what he's about to do before he does it.
"I hear that you are the smartest students in Empire State University.
So I know you will figure out this problem."
Whiteboard.
I think that once I get my mind set on something, I will do it.
"But that problem is a hard nut to crack."
"Exactly."
"Class dismissed."
Seventh period is getting a little more comfortable,
but sixth period is still highly an introductory class.
Remember, your body should be open to the audience.
Start where she rises from the bed,
so the Captain Marvel, Iron Man thing. Okay?
They're getting used to the process at this point.
"A mirror has most value when broken. Give your heart--"
That was your line?
-[Bri] I wasn't done. -You weren't?
-It's okay. -Okay.
"A mirror has most value when broken.
Give your true heart. Let your pride dissipate."
Y'all...
-Is it my line? -[Ms. Kyle] Yeah.
Okay. "Give your true heart. Let your pride dissipate.
A mirror has most value when broken."
-Are you okay? What's wrong? What's wrong? -Huh?
-What are you doing? -[Ery] Okay.
I was trying to get a chance to, like--
I don't know where I was supposed to go. Like, you know,
I know that I'm supposed to put my arm out.
I know where I'm supposed to be walking...
Even though this is an elective and I didn't pick it for myself,
I'm actually glad that the school picked it for me.
Before I got into this class,
I never thought that I would be somewhere on a stage, actually saying something.
I don't know, it's a-- Like-- It's a big deal to me because I used--
I still am a little bit insecure.
I feel like I'm gonna mess up and that everybody's gonna laugh.
I do connect with Kamala Khan like that...
because she was trying to fit in,
and I do remember some times where I was trying to fit in too, but it never worked.
I was born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico,
and as an infant, I was diagnosed with cancer.
I had to be in the hospital for a few years.
When the cancer was cleared, my parents split up,
and so then we ended up moving to Texas.
From then on, it was just me and my mother.
We spoke a different language, and we were a different race,
so it was really hard for us to be fitting in.
But about three years ago we moved to Brandon...
and I met Briana.
Ery is my best friend.
We live literally doors down from each other.
I know Ery has a lot of anxiety.
I've had a lot of anxiety.
It's a hard thing to go through because it literally breaks you down
and causes you not to do what you want to do.
[Ery] Briana, she's really helpful.
She calms me down when she's there, when I'm rehearsing.
She doesn't judge me.
She's loud, so that means I can be loud too.
"Being a hero is not about how good you feel
or how glamorous you look when you're out to save the world.
It's about keeping"...
..."keeping on doing the right thing
-no matter what." -[Ery] ..."no matter what."
[Bri] I've had to go through that myself.
It took so many years to just, like, get me out of my shell,
and I don't want her to go through that.
Like, she has the opportunity to show herself now,
and I want her to just take that.
She taught me that it's better to stand out than to fit in.
[both chattering, laughing]
Her friendship is what I needed most of my life.
[chattering continues]
[Ms. Kyle] And what do you guys think about the play?
-[student 3] Um, I think-- -[student 4] I personally like it.
How about you, Rori? Do you like it?
Do you think one of the boys can have a pink cape?
-I mean... -[Ms. Kyle] What's going on with my tree?
I'm making a tree, which is something that I can't do here
because we're not allowed to have power tools.
So I have to make the tree at home...
and I don't really have that many things to do.
I am the guy who makes the tree, and that's about it.
[school bell rings]
[Ms. Kyle] Okay, so we are running the show like we actually would.
Your script can be on your person as long as you are not onstage.
All right? Let's do this.
Today the kids have to be off-book,
and what that means is they have to have the entire script memorized.
[Bri] Wait, what? Hold on. That was not the right scene.
Wait, I have a lot of lines on this one.
[Ms. Kyle] Sixth period is a different dynamic.
Jamaul, you gotta be onstage for this. Here, move it more here.
We've got 12 actors who are brand-new to this...
Right there. Perfect. Awesome.
[laughs]
-[Ms. Kyle] But they are learning. -Should I be here? I don't know.
[Ms. Kyle] Yeah, you can be over there.
I'll give you a clipboard, you can have some fun with some stuff.
-Let's just go back to you see in... -[Bri] You can just go from right here.
-I'll just come through. -[Ms. Kyle] Okay. Now walk forward.
What's the real first line, "Hey"?
-Yeah. -[Jamaul] Okay.
-Hey. -[Bri] Hey.
Are you using any of these extra solar panels?
No.
Do you mind if I just...
[laughs]
[Ms. Kyle] Come on, Bri.
A lot of them are multiple characters, so it's a slower process with them.
"Do you know the gender gap of the school, of the 15 million girls..."
-[Bri] Slow it down. -You're fine. Breathe. You're fine.
I can remember the little parts, but with the big parts,
it's just gonna take me a while to remember.
"You're a strong, independent, courageous, brave woman,
and you're beautiful just the way you are."
[Ms. Kyle] All right, we're gonna take a pause. Everyone come out here.
So...
when I said off-book day, I meant off-book day, right?
-Yes. -[all] Yes.
[Ms. Kyle] You need to look over your stuff,
specifically, also blocking and all that. Okay?
On that calendar I gave you guys, it gave you after-school times
that I would be available to work with you if you needed it.
Today is the first one of those.
Like anything you guys do, practice gets you better at it.
All right, the bell is gonna ring in about 30 seconds.
-Ms. Kyle? You're here the whole week? -Yes. Yeah.
Class is over.
[school bell rings]
[sighs] I'm so scared. I don't know why. I'm never this nervous.
Well, you're scared that you're gonna mess up your first line. I can imagine.
Here we go.
[Christina] Scene one, "The Beginning."
[Ms. Kyle] Seventh period, for the most part, the cast is onboard.
They're ready.
Oh!
Here, let me help you out with this.
Oh, no, I got it. [chuckles] See you tomorrow. Bye.
You're strong, girl.
[Ms. Kyle] Majority are experienced in this.
[student 5] So, you're my new roommate?
Yes, I'm Doreen.
So, you met Tomás, huh?
Oh, you mean the totally hot, cute, personable guy
who spoke to me in a warm, inquisitive and respectful manner?
[student 5] Yeah, him.
Didn't notice. [chuckles]
"Those smart, ambitious kids
will spend the whole night trying to solve that problem."
I was going over my lines 'cause I just wanna try to get it
as perfect as possible instead of mixing it up.
And tomorrow I will connect their brains to mine
and suck out all their knowledge and turn it into a priceless algorithm.
[clears throat]
[Ms. Kyle] Instead of "algorithm," it's "code." "Code to conquer the world."
-"And turn it into a priceless--" -[Ms. Kyle] No, just "code." Just "code."
[Bri] "Code to conquer the world," and then you say "Ha ha ha."
And turn it into code to conquer the world.
[laughs]
When I was a kid, I had to learn Bible verses almost every week.
And if I didn't have most of the verses memorized, I'd get punished.
I would sit there and I would just think,
"How long is it gonna take me to remember this?
If I don't remember this in time,
what's going to happen tonight when I go home?"
Learning those verses made me build a mind-set
to where I had to say each line absolutely perfect.
And now that's what transitioned to theater.
One more time, are you ready to learn?
[all] Yeah!
-[Darence] Computer! -[all] Science!
Wonderful. Now let's begin.
[Ms. Kyle] Blackout.
Good job, y'all.
-That was-- I enjoyed that. [laughs] -[applause]
-[girl] I tried. -[Madi] Chorus was so good.
[Ms. Kyle] But please still glance over your lines,
'cause some things were said wrong or just pieces of lines were left off.
But you guys had a good flow, so we really didn't wanna stop you. Okay?
[school bell rings]
[chattering]
Miss Kyle, can I ask you a question?
Sure. Let's park it.
-I'm having trouble with my lines. -[Ms. Kyle] What's up?
Do you wanna start with the one we went over today?
-[Jamaul] Sure. -Okay.
Is it more the order of 'em or remembering which part of the script?
I usually get confused with both classroom scenes.
Okay. All right.
So sometimes, the best thing is to do is almost summarize it.
It's what's the point of one rant versus the other, and go,
"This one's first, then this one's second."
So yeah, I could just make a chunk of this be like,
-"Her stealing." A chunk of this... -Mm-hmm.
[Ms. Kyle] In the beginning of the class, Jamaul would prefer to speak to no one
and just be, you know, headphones, on the tablet, in his hoodie, like,
"I have to take this class."
But now I've noticed he's been trying a lot harder.
-"...down to the station." -Yep.
Yeah, you guys did it early today.
[Jamaul] If you told me five years ago that I was gonna be in a play,
I would be surprised.
I'm a shy person, and I'm nervous about theater
because I don't know how I'm gonna perform in front of everybody.
[dribbling basketball]
Growing up, I didn't have a mother.
I grew up with my dad, but he owned a truck company,
and he had to spend a lot of time working.
I remember riding in the trucks with my dad...
all day, pretty much, and long nights.
As I got older, I couldn't be on the truck, and I had to go to school.
My mom and Jamaul's dad are longtime friends,
so we started taking care of him so he's not on the road with his dad.
Kyle's mom drove me everywhere.
She took me to school. She worked with my homework.
She helped me, like, sign up for football, basketball, track.
She was like a mom.
That's what, 21?
-Nah, that's 24. -Twenty-four?
It's called 24 now 'cause Kobe died.
[Jamaul] Kyle's family, they kind of adopted me...
and he was like, "I'm gonna be your bigger brother."
Let's see what you got. Come on.
[Jamaul] When I was 16, Kyle and Kyle's mom was moving to Brandon, Florida.
One more, one more.
Okay.
You know, does he wanna move away from where his dad and--
It was tough, tough decision.
[Jamaul] Moving to Brandon,
I was leaving a lot of friends, and I didn't know how I was gonna fit in.
When I was choosing classes, my counselor said
theater might sound nice, even though I'm new to it.
I didn't really know what I was gonna be learning in theater,
but I just went with it.
[Kyle] First, when he started, he wouldn't talk about it too much.
After a while, he'd come home and start talking about it more
and saying the different things that they're trying in class,
and he's getting this part.
Bruno, he kinda cocky.
Like, he's the brain of the group.
-So you the brains of the group? -Yeah.
[Kyle] You know, I'd seen that he actually started liking it.
[Jamaul] It takes me a while to get comfortable around people.
When I have trouble remembering my lines, my peers in class help me.
I realize that there are opportunities out there that I haven't realized before.
Always acting like you cool.
-[costumer] These will be perfect. -[Madi] There's a string on this.
-Don't worry about strings. -I wouldn't worry about that yet.
-We're just going for a sizing right now. -[Madi] Okay.
[Madi's mom] These are the pants that we thought we could make into the shorts.
[Madi] Those are huge.
[costumer] No, these are my small pair.
[laughs] I don't know how I feel about that.
I started acting when I was about nine years old.
I was, like, really, really confident.
I loved getting on stage and being like,
"Look at me. Look what I can do."
And then I got to middle school, and it was completely different.
People would be like, "You can't sing,"
or I'll be like, "Wow, I'm so skinny. I'm so pretty,"
and people would be like, "You're not skinny or pretty. Shush."
It kinda messes with your brain, and it makes you think like,
"If these people are saying it, it must be true."
[costumer] All right, go get set up because I need to fit that jacket.
The fitting room on the right has more light.
[Madi] Fitting room on the right.
[costumer] Yeah.
[Madi] What I noticed was, whenever I couldn't see myself,
I felt like I was winning and I felt like I was super cute.
And then I would see myself in the mirror, and then I get instantly hit with like,
"Ugh, you are not what you think you are."
I felt like in order to be an actor,
I needed to be, like, funny because of my weight.
I need to make fat jokes and stuff like that.
-I think I'm ready. -[Madi's mom] Do you know you're ready?
-[Madi] Yeah. -All right. One, two, three.
Awkwardly long pants, but it's okay 'cause they'll get cut.
-Hey, that's okay. It's a costume fitting. -[Madi] Yeah.
[costumer] Should we take you over in front of the mirror?
-Yes. -[costumer] Over there.
All right.
[Madi] Seeing Squirrel Girl
and reading about her being so fearless about herself and, like, not caring...
it woke me up, and I was like, "Wait a minute."
-Whoa! -[laughs]
Okay. Okay, this is cool.
Okay, we have it put together now.
-[Madi's mom] How do you feel? -I feel good.
She's not skinny, and she can be a superhero.
And I was like...
"I'm not skinny. I can be whatever I want."
There you go, Squirrel Girl.
[Madi laughs]
It made me realize that not only was my mentality changing,
but I feel like the world's mentality is changing.
Hi. I'm Doreen Green.
[costumer] All right.
-I think we've got it. -[Madi laughs]
[chattering]
[Ms. Kyle] All right, guys, listen up.
So...
what did I tell you about your lines? Be what?
-[Haley] Loud. -Be confident.
-Oh. That too. -I'm glad Haley said that.
-That too. -Yeah, that too.
Be confident. You know the show. All right?
-We can do this, y'all. -[Ms. Kyle] Okay?
We got this. Cool. Let's go.
It was late at night, and there was a shakedown going down at Jersey City Deli.
-[extra] Look! They have weapons! -[Haley] Oh, no! We're all gonna die!
She'll protect us. Help!
[Ms. Kyle] With Ms. Marvel, they feed off each other.
And if one person's not doing what they're supposed to be doing,
then the ensemble is not working.
And once again, the daring Ms. Marvel rose to the occasion
and prevented a heinous crime from unfolding on the streets of her--
Whoa! My bad. Sorry. [laughs]
...of her beloved city.
[Ms. Kyle] Blackout.
Scene three. [sighs] Okay.
[Ms. Kyle] Briana is definitely feeling the pressure of being Ms. Marvel.
It all surrounds her.
-Ms. Kyle... -[Ms. Kyle] Yeah.
-...can I look over my script real quick? -Huh?
-Can I look over my script real quick? -No.
-[Bri sighs] -[Ms. Kyle] Let's go.
-Guys, let's go. -[Bri groans]
Wait.
-[Bri sighs] -I believe in you. You got this.
She and I have had several conversations about gaining her confidence back.
[Bri] So I was suspicious for one tiny second.
Oh, my gosh. So I was... [laughs]
Come on.
-So I was confused for one tiny second. -There we go.
She looked really suspicious.
-[Ery] Briana. Bri. Bri. -[Bri] She's very mean.
[Ery sighs]
[Bri]
-[Ery] -No.
-[Ery] -[hyperventilates] No.
[Ms. Kyle] The main issue that she and I spoke about is just characterization...
which will build as she's able to drop the book and just be herself.
Okay, um, everyone come out.
I know you guys might not feel that,
'cause you guys are already telling me that it didn't go well. It actually did.
[Ery] We know the show. We just don't know our lines.
Just listen, and that includes the rest of you in the scenes.
If you're like, "Okay, it's two lines until I have a line
and they're not getting there, let me go ahead and say my line."
Okay? Move the scene.
Does that make sense? Okay?
[school bell rings]
[sighs] We're gonna be late. Oh, my gosh.
[Ery] I don't mind. [chuckles]
[scoffs] I do. I'm always late to this class.
I'm just scared on remembering too, like, with lines. I wanna make sure--
Yeah, we're both really bad at memorizing stuff.
[Bri] With blocking, I'm cool with. Fine. Like, that's good.
But when I'm not supposed to be doing anything,
like, it's not specific, then I'm just like,
"This is my chance to shine and do what I can."
But I get so scared that I don't do it.
I'm the main character, so I feel like I have to, like...
-[Ery] The weight is on you. -Yeah.
[chattering]
[Ms. Kyle] The desk is over there. Go.
[Karl] The tree definitely still needs some work.
Trees are not supposed to be in two parts. At least, I don't think so.
And I've never seen a white tree either, so...
It needs to be painted and put back together.
That is what must be done in order to have a successful tree.
[Ms. Kyle] All right, hold on.
[C.J.] The play is tomorrow.
And it's-- It's crazy. Like, it's-- It came up really fast.
There's still a lot of stuff that we can work on.
[Ms. Kyle] Yup.
I'm ready.
[Jamaul] Yo, John, make sure you know everything.
Don't be out there, "Wait. What do I say?" Looking around.
Like, you really playing.
[Ms. Kyle] So, dress rehearsals can be pretty chaotic,
but they always say, "Bad dress rehearsal, great performance."
So, I live for that.
Scene one, "The Beginning."
[student 6] Setting, Empire State University.
[chorus] Tomás.
Up next, Doreen meets Tomás.
[chorus] Too cute.
[Ms. Kyle] We are now one day away from the performance.
[Bri] You don't understand. No one is taking me seriously.
No one even knows who Ms. Marvel is!
Shh! Do you want the whole school to find out?
And my mom is driving me up the wall.
[Ms. Kyle] The dress rehearsals have been a different energy.
-Wow! That class was so engaging! -[student 5] Innovative.
-[Andrew] And dynamic. -And dynamic. I'm sorry.
[Ms. Kyle] Now that they're like,
"Oh, so this is actually what it's gonna be like,"
I think both classes see what they need to focus on and work on.
[Jamaul] John, remember this line.
"Good luck with that. Yeah, people will admire that."
We have one more day left for the play,
and me and John have a little bit of difficulties remembering.
So, yeah, I had a crush on her,
but she really never showed any interest, right?
Uh... hey, Kamala and you just friends, right?
Right.
I was trying to show him,
like, if he could kinda remember a few lines out of my line,
it could kinda help him remember what his line is.
"Mike."
Mike, yeah.
Yeah, Mike, my girlfriend. She's amazing.
[Jamaul] Just get up and go.
Just be like, "I'm glad I made my point clear."
All right. Uh, I'm glad we could talk.
See you in physics, man. [grunts]
[Christina] The evil villain monologue, smart,
delusional, and zero self-doubt.
By a series of computer experiments gone wrong,
I became who and what I am now, M.O.D.O.C.
But I will change my name to M.O.D.O.C.
[student 5] That's the same name.
Except the "C" for "computing" will now be "conquering."
[Andrew] These names are not healthy.
[sighs]
You wanna bet?
[Ms. Kyle] It's dance off, Joey. Come on. You got this.
Joey had a bad day today.
And when he gets thrown off, he can't catch himself back to it.
All right, the bell's about to ring.
[Christina] You gotta not put so much pressure
on yourself to say the exact right thing.
I think you're just being a little hard on yourself. I've seen you do it.
[Joey] I couldn't even-- I couldn't even make a word to go with what was going on.
[Madi] What helps me, if I blank, is I think of it as if I was myself
and someone said that to me and how I would respond.
[Joey] Just like everything else, gotta get back up.
Keep on going.
[Madi] You got it, Joey. You got it.
You're the boy who's gonna be heard from Mars.
[Sparano on PA] Good afternoon, Brandon High School.
Boys basketball end of season banquet today.
Please RSVP to Coach Ludwig.
Tonight is a big night on campus, a night of marvelous acts. Come on out.
See our theater students working hard portraying Squirrel Girl and Ms. Marvel.
Here at the nest, 7 p.m. $5 tickets.
It's going to be amazing.
See you tonight.
-[coach] Toy boat. -[students] Toy boat.
-[coach] Boat toy. -[students] Boat toy.
-[coach] Irish. -[students] Irish.
-[coach] Wristwatch. -[students] Wristwatch.
-[coach] Red leather, yellow leather. -[students] Red leather, yellow leather.
[indistinct]
With theater, there's always stakes.
You don't wanna get up on stage and do something that you'll be made fun of.
I want them to feel they did the best they can.
But, at the same time, it's high school theater.
They just need to do it and have fun.
I'm kinda nervous. I got butterflies in my stomach.
I'm worried about my scene on the stage with John...
because that's when the spotlight is on me.
-[Madi] How do you feel? -I'm scared.
Same.
Do you think this is fine for stage makeup?
-Yeah. -I'm, like, really scared that it's not.
Scene ten, I think, is one of my worst scenes,
'cause, like, something will happen, and I'm like,
"What line is it? [chuckles] Like, I'm confused."
And then it makes me look like I don't know what I'm doing.
It's 6:29 and we have, like, 30 minutes until--
Oh, God! We have 30 minutes until it really starts.
-[director] What are you worried about? -I don't know.
[sighs] I'm just nervous.
[woman] It's hard, I know.
But you can do it, okay?
If you mess up-- Briana, look at me--
It is not the end of the world. Do you understand me?
Yes, Mom.
People are not perfect. Do you understand me?
Okay?
-You got this girl. Okay? -[girl] Listen. Listen to me.
[Bri] I don't know what to do in this situation.
[Ery] Briana's really anxious, and I'm hoping
that I'll be able to give her the support that she gives me.
So, scene five is Kamala's bedroom and that says that's right before there.
Scene six is our first switch.
No.
I feel like everyone is a little tensed right now.
We're trying really hard. Just people need to relax.
-Desk goes here. -[Madi] Three minutes!
I wanna make sure that everyone knows,
-be loud. -Be loud.
I have never performed in front of a crowd this big.
I barely even perform in front of my classmates.
There is a big audience today. I am excited.
-[Rowan] Three minutes. -Hey, Dan.
We're a couple minutes away from the show,
and I'm nervous about remembering all my lines right now.
Now that the show's getting so close, I'm getting super jittery, you know.
It's out there, Dylan!
But if people mess up tonight, we're gonna improvise and just do our best.
Okay. We gotta go. We gotta go.
-Go, go, go. -Okay. I'm getting placed.
There's a lot of people out there.
And I think we're gonna kill it.
-[Christina] Are we going? -[Madi] Yeah.
-I think. Come on. -[Christina] One, two...
[Rowan] Here she comes.
Today, dear friends, we present a dramatic work like no other.
Doreen meets Nancy.
[chorus] In the dorm!
Yes, my name is...
[chorus] Not Squirrel Girl!
I am Doreen.
I came to college to make lifelong friends.
I came here to study with Professor Brightmind.
Me too. He's considered the greatest in the field.
-Engaged! -Innovative!
-And dynamic! -And dynamic!
[Madi] I was really worried that there was gonna be some awkward moments there,
but I feel like every time I get on stage, my confidence boosts.
[applause]
Hello, class.
I hear you are the smartest students in Empire State University.
So I know you can solve this problem... by tomorrow.
-What? Tomorrow? -Tomorrow?
My personal favorite part was honestly Joey.
I know he was under a lot of stress trying to remember everything.
[Joey] I did what Ms. Kyle told me to do,
and if I forgot a line, improv, and it worked out well.
Now, I will take your abilities and rule the world!
[Madi] Not so fast!
-[student 5] Doreen? -[Andrew] Doreen?
[students] Doreen Green!
[Madi] Yes, and...
Squirrel Girl!
-[all] What? -Oh, thank nuts!
[Joey] I'm amazed.
I can't find any other word than "amazed" because tonight went so well.
How about a dance off?
Not a dance off!
[Joey] I think I'm coming a really long way.
Nothing has to be perfect, because your imperfections are what make you special.
[Madi] I feel so, like...
Squirrel Girl is such a body-positive,
empowering woman, and I'm definitely proud I played her part.
[Christina] I think the show means a lot more to a lot of us.
It's more relatable than a lot of other shows we've done, so it has, like...
It sits with us. I think we all relate more to our characters.
What should anyone do when someone tries to squash your dreams and individuality?
Do the thing that scares you the most.
[Andrew] Doreen, will you go out with me?
Yes!
Dance!
[all] Squirrel Girl, superhero!
She's on fire! She's positive!
Squirrel Girl! Watch out! Here comes Squirrel Girl!
End of play! The end!
[all] Nuts kick butts!
[applause, cheering]
[Bri] What do I do?
Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!
[applause]
[Bri] Ooh! Ouch! [grunts]
Don't even think about it, tree. [grunts]
If I could take burglars and bad guys, I can take you.
[grunts]
Tonight was my best fight ever.
I'm sure it's all over the news by now.
"Ms. Marvel, Jersey City's new local hero."
[chuckles]
Nothing?
[sighs] Well, like they say, "You want something done right, do it yourself."
There's a lot of lights up there.
I was moving a lot, saying a lot, remembering a lot.
It was a lot.
[sighs] Oh, but I enjoyed every second.
[Trinity] Kamala, about your science fair project...
[Bri] Thanks, Ms. Norris.
I'll finish the project in time. Bye.
I didn't need to be worried at all.
I definitely did gain my confidence back.
I was stealthy. I was sassy.
I was super strong. Yes! I killed it!
[Jamaul] Come on. Y'all gotta put the tables out here.
[Dylan] Guys, tables.
[whispering] Wait.
We've worked months on this, and we were prepared.
My thing with Kamala is, I feel like she's taking me for granted.
I mean, we've been friends since, like, forever.
-[John] Yeah? -[Jamaul] She's amazing,
but she doesn't really always pick up on stuff.
We knew that somebody was gonna forget a line.
Yeah. Go on.
So, yeah, I had a crush on her,
but she never really showed any interest, right?
She has this, I guess, this part-time job.
But, if we were to improvise as quick as possible,
it would look like no mistakes were made.
Yeah, see you in physics, man.
Thanks, Gabe, for listening.
I just hope that Kamala's safe, in a friend kind of way, you know?
[applause]
[Bri] I think they enjoyed it.
I've heard some laughs and some aws.
I know Ms. Kyle is very proud of us.
[Ery] Because that was my first time on the stage,
I didn't know what was gonna happen.
I didn't know if I was gonna collapse, you know, faint, or something.
Bruno, ready?
Hi, I'm Kamala.
I've heard so much about you.
Hi. Me too.
Um, Nakia and Bruno talk about you all the time.
I thought I was gonna mess up at least, like, ten times, but I didn't.
And I am so happy that we all worked together.
And we basically became a family when we went out there.
Is this the mirror that shows you who you are?
[Ery] Be yourself, Kamala. Tell it like it is.
Be myself?
Playing Ms. Marvel, I've learned that [sighs] I think too little of myself,
that I put myself down too much.
And I really shouldn't.
I never thought I would be a lead character.
But being a hero is not about
how glamorous you look when you're out fighting crime.
It's about keeping on doing the right thing no matter what.
Now I can really just be confident next time
and not just have a whole breakdown. [laughs]
[applause, cheers]
Oh, my God! [laughs]
[Bri] Good job, Joey.
[Sparano] I couldn't be prouder.
The messages were awesome.
I would listen and hear the remarks from the audience
and the laughter and the chuckles,
and you could see the relationships that they built with each other.
You could see their confidence, their exuberance.
And I love the connection between the Marvel story line
and incorporating that into teenage life.
Here you go. This is from me and your dad, and this is from Nana and Pee Pop.
[Madi] It smells pretty.
-Oh, I love you. I love you. -[Madi] I love you.
-[Madi's mom] You did so good. -Thank you, Mama.
You did good.
I mean, he can't do anything better than that. He did great.
He found something new, and he likes it, so I see the acting in his future.
[Jamaul] When I came into the class first,
I didn't know what to expect, and I was just going with the flow.
But I feel like I've adjusted to feeling comfortable.
Shh! Do you want the whole school to find out?
[Ms. Kyle] Wrong way! You went into the wall. [chuckles]
Boom, right into the wall.
I think that I'm good at acting,
and I decided to sign up for theater next semester.
Okay, do you want the whole school--
because Ms. Norris just, like, all these people just...
As a teacher...
all you want is to watch growth in your students.
When I was a math teacher, I could see it in the numbers.
You could see it in test scores.
Within the theater classroom, it's different.
It's levels of confidence.
It's learning their lines.
It's helping out other people.
Working with these kids has made me more aware
of what I'm trying to do as a teacher...
and realize how important it is to me...
that my students do take something away.
Just talking to some of the kids,
it seems that they've learned...
something more about themselves.