We are blessed with 4 very dramatic, expressive kids. Once a year it is my absolute pleasure to share them with the world when the school presents their annual production. This year, with a new director, Mr Torbush, they worked on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Mr Torbush added some fabulous touches to the show by choosing Clockwork Orange type costumes and adding contemporary musical numbers. It was just the thing to get everyone interested in learning Shakespeare's English...which was basically a second language for everyone. Andrea was cast as the King Thesius...why my beautiful daughter is forever cast as men I will never know. Alexa was cast as the king's servant, which we all find exceedingly hysterical. Joseph, with his natural gift for comedic timing was Bottom and Jessica was Peas Blossom, the fairy who eats.(Maybe he was sending her a message that she needed to eat more?) After several months of practice it came down to the last week of practice. Doesn't it always...when on Monday I watched shaking my head and on Friday I couldn't have been more proud of the job they all did. What a difference a week makes...and an audience!
They had three shows. One Friday night and 2 on Saturday.
Below is Alexa before the Matinee on Saturday with her makeup on.
Andrea onstage with Mr Santos, the school Principal who was the angry father.
Joe as Bottom, who was reading his script when Puck, played by our good friend Annie, whom he can't see took the book from his hands.
Joe having been turned into an Ass, being adored by the fairies...
Above: Jess sleeping on stage. (she had come to me after the Matinee and said she didn't feel well. I could tell right away she had a fever. We went home, I gave her ibuprofen and sent her to sleep for an hour. It was just a fever, no other unpleasant symptoms. I told her it was ok if I went back and told them she was too sick to go on. She had already had two shows. Her part could be skipped or given to another fairy. And she looked at me and said, "Serious actors go on even when they are sick. And I want to be a serious actor so..." and we went with the understanding that if at any time she felt worse she was to bow out. And she performed fabulously.
Above: Andrea and Alexa discussing which evening entertainment to pick
Below Left: Alexa signaling the arrival of the theater troupe. Below Right: Joseph breaking character to explain to the King that his curse was a cue for the actress to enter.
Dancing to Lady Gaga's Bad Romance, which really seemed to fit the play within the play.
They all had a great time. I surely was the proudest Mom there with all 4 kids in the play. But I was just as proud of the kids who were not mine. It was not easy to learn all those old English phrases and speak them with feeling so the audience knows what you are saying. And they performed this all in the library, where we had continuous technical difficulties because the lighting system kept shorting out the fuse. Hopefully next year we'll get a theater...there is some talk about some renovations needing to be made on one that comes with our new property. (keeping fingers and toes crossed that this happens.) But that is for another time. The kids never faltered, remembered their lines and delivered three fabulous shows. And , the curtain closes for another year. Rumors have it that we'll be doing Little Shop of Horrors...stay tuned to see what actually happens.
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