When my kids do something well beyond my own abilities, I’m stunned with joy.

Kieran, aged 20, just directed a sensual, gender-bending, funny, and complex production of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” at Wesleyan University, where he’s a sophomore.

From early childhood, Kieran has had a wild imagination and ambition. His fourth birthday party was a full-scale “Wizard of Oz” birthday party, in which he was the Wicked Witch of the West and we did a condensed reading of the movie…with a yellow brick road in our living room.

For his sixth birthday, it was a “Sound of Music” theme and he was Kurt. He must have been clairvoyant, because he would go onto act as Kurt in the “Sound of Music” at Jackson Middle School and in the “Wizard of Oz” at Northwest Children’s Theatre.

But in between that, he was planning to produce a full-scale “Wizard of Oz” production in kindergarten. I had completely forgotten about this major phase in our lives until I found this blog post I wrote, “The Hopes and Dreams of My Five-Year-Old Theater Producer“! Holy cow! Neither Mike nor I have any memories of this project! That goes to show what parenting our dramatic children was like.

So it surprised no one that he decided to direct a Shakespeare play, the second play he’s ever directed…without ever acting in a Shakespeare play.

Kieran’s Shakespeare professor had this to say about the play: “The production was truly wonderful: endlessly inventive, outrageous, hilarious, and really moving when it needed to be. I thought you did a superb job of gauging just the right speed and emphasis for the flow of scenes, and I thought you were really inspired with your casting: everybody had the right part…But the great coup, to me, was the supremely inventive way you dealt with the very challenging space of the courtyard, turning what I would have thought of as an impossible obstacle to overcome into a virtual character; the way you used the fountain, steps, even the flowerpots was magical. A wonderful production. I look forward to seeing many more of yours!”

They also got a rave review from the college newspaper, the Wesleyan Argus: “Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” at Sunset Illuminates Queer Themes and Timeless Characters.”

The young man who played Malvolio, Max O’Hare, acted with Kieran in “Robin Hood” at Northwest Children’s Theatre, so it was a thrill to see him onstage in this show.

Dress rehearsal photos are below, so you can get a feel for the show (click on photo to expand it). I wish I had half the vision, imagination, and confidence of this young director! It was a thrill and honor to be there for opening night.

From kindergarten theater producer to real-life Shakespeare director, I’m in awe of what this offspring has done with his talent. What’s next?