MARY POPPINS

Showtime!

This week was all dress rehearsals and performances as Mary Poppins came and went. It was a crazy, whirlwind week (kind of glad I had no VIPKid classes) with little sleep and lots of running around. But as of this (Sunday) evening...IT'S OVER!

They had their first show (pre-show? I don't know) on Wednesday. The high school teachers are usually invited for a free showing and our YW Pres is one of them...so she brought the rest of YW along. It was a good way for them to show support to two of their girls!

Thursday was the first public performance, but I didn't get out there until Friday. Analiese had asked me if I would help in the concessions booth either Thursday or Friday. Thursday is our missionary night (we serve them dinner & Ken meets with them), so I chose Friday.

Jowls and all...I was volunteer for an evening!

We kept pretty busy, selling popcorn, pretzels, cookies,

Sugar cookies from a local bakery. Cute!

candy, and drinks. I did not go look in on the performance, though, because I was saving that for Saturday.

Saturday, Ken, Jonathan & I went as audience, not volunteers.

Waiting for the show to begin

It's a small theater that the company has been refurbishing for 25 years little by little. It was a fun show and the kids were cute. Their Bert & George Banks were both excellent singers and the gal who did the Bird Woman had a lovely voice. Mary Poppins looked properly prim and slightly amused. Analiese looked...a little nervous.

Supercali Number

Though, she did a great job with her two lines as Katie Nana.

Katie Nana or Greta Garbo?

At the end, as we met the cast in the lobby, I asked the kids as I went through: "Did you have fun doing the show?" That was the important thing.

Analiese & friend Savannah (cast & Church)

Mom & her little actress!

The last performance was this afternoon. They struck the set and went to a local church to have their cast party. Analiese is understandably exhausted. All this week, after Seminary, I encouraged her to go back to bed for a nap before starting school work. She may still need a nap or two in the days to come!

Will she do it again? I don't know. I think she liked it...but didn't like being so busy or so tired. The company got wind that I had a little theater experience and were trying to pull me in to help with Lion King Jr. in August. I highly doubt I could spare the time to do that. I have three good reasons:

1. Seminary - starts right back up in August. Early Seminary mornings don't mix well with late rehearsal nights.
2. VIPKid - I should be (pray) well established by then and will (hopefully) be teaching in the evenings.
3. EPIC tutoring. Not in the night, but enough to keep me busy, I hope. Just when am I supposed to get everything else done?

PH - My Theater Memories

Some people know, some people don't, and some people can believe it when I tell them: I am a bit of a dramatist. Not a drama queen, I don't flaunt it, but I have a few tricks that suggest I may have been involved with the stage a time or two.

I've been in, written, and directed skits and roadshows ever since I was a kid. In high school, we didn't at the time have a drama club, but we had Madrigals and they put on performances. I managed to finagle an act or two of my own in them. When I was in the Church Sorority (Lambda Delta Sigma), I wrote the skits for Rush Week. Plus, at first, I was a theater major.

Really? Yep. But my emphasis was on directing, not acting. Some will say I am bossy. I do like to be in charge, in control. I had to take all kinds of theater classes, acting, costuming, etc. And as a theater major, I had to work on one production per semester. My first - and only - semester in the theater I worked backstage as the prop manager for the production of "Chicago." Why did I change? How could English be any more glamorous than theater? It isn't, but for a fresh, naive eighteen-year-old, it was safer. The immoral shenanigans going on back stage had me toting my brother along to help keep me safe. That is, until another friend on the set noticed and kept an eye on me after that. I was just too anxious and immature to handle it. Now, I'd probably be the terror of the set, keeping everyone on their toes!

Still, I love performances and performing. I studied Shakespeare as both literature and drama and my favorite performance class was Oral Interpretation of Children's Literature. I've read the part of Winnie-the-Pooh and been a Scottish farmer explaining the killing of the Jabberwocky! When I took my acting class, as part of my grade I had to audition for the Director's Theater. I did so, but mentioned I had no interest in performing, but was only doing it for my class. At "Tartuffe" that evening, a couple of the directing students approached me and asked why I wouldn't perform. They had liked my audition!

Fast forward to now...as a mother I've performed mainly for my children, reading stories and regaling them with tales and experiences. The dramatist comes out, from time to time, for various church events, or, even now, in my VIPKid teaching. I've had workshop mentors comment on it. One, who's an actor and television celeb in Thailand, mentioned that he could see my theatrical abilities. Okay...I'm a ham. It's kind of fun...and I still like to be in control!