Aftermath

I've run out of adjectives to describe the performances of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" that Ethan and Sam acted in this weekend. The set was stunning: real trees, blue lighting and SNOW"!! It was magic! I actually got to see the show from the "house" today. After watching from my stage manager's perch backstage for the past week, I knew the show was good, but seeing it from the audience perspective with the lights, makeup, etc...Wow, I will say it again...MAGIC!! It was not only well acted and well directed, it was a feast for the eyes. It was gorgeous!
The cast of children was superb! Yup, they hesitated or even forgot a line or two, but they pulled it off beautifully. We even had poor Edmund fall off a ramp as he was being attacked by the White Witch AND he choked on the Turkish Delight he had to eat (because he shoved too much of it into his mouth). It got a laugh, anyway:)
One member of the audience came up to the director at intermission and was nearly speechless with praise for the show. She kept repeating the word "amazing." There was a lot of positive feedback.
The local Opera House is a beautiful place with a very helpful staff. The "tech" guy was incredible to work with. My director had never worked with a more helpful tech guy. Thanks, Andy! Even more incredible was the fact that Andy asked to talk to the kids after the final show. He told them that he was so impressed with their behavior and professionalism, that they were such a pleasure to work with, that he had arranged to have his paycheck for working with us DONATED to the school's drama program!!! Wow! What a gesture!
It was an incredible experience, all around. Sam discovered a love (and talent) for theatre; Ethan developed greater self-confidence and strength to overcome his shyness.
Now, the "grieving" period starts. The director warned us about the post-show letdown. Narnia has been a huge part of our lives for the past 2 months, we will miss it very much, along with the other actors.
We tend to think of "drama" as something fake or not having much to do with reality, but I have discovered exactly the opposite. Drama teaches so many life lessons to our children: responsibility, commitment, self-confidence, public speaking, cooperation, and even, in a sense, dealing with loss after the show is over. Drama helps prepare our children to be healthy, well-rounded individuals.
I can't say why Hollywood actors tend to go off-track in their lives. I think it may have more to do with ego and celebrity status than the actual process of acting itself. I am thankful that my children have access to this drama program and director. It has been, and God willing, will continue to be, a blessing in our lives.

"Long Live the Kings and Queens of Narnia!"

Thanks, Heidi!

The Bear and the Fox

Since the pictures of my own two actors didn't come out well yesterday, I took a couple today with my phone. The quality isn't great, but aren't they cute anyway???

Can you guess which one has been bitten *hardest* by the acting bug?

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

We're getting closer! Only 2 more rehearsals until our first performance of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe! Ethan and Sam are getting excited...and so is their mom!

The show is coming together nicely. I am stepping in for the stage manager who had to have surgery. I haven't stage managed before, but I am having a good time. I hope I'm being helpful:P

We will be performing in our local opera house, a beautiful venue. Even more wonderful is the fact that we have access to more "techy" stuff like special lighting and even snow!!
The set looks magical...thanks in part to my "wonderful husband", as the director dubbed him. The director wanted real trees on stage, and I sort of :) volunteered to be responsible for the trees. Of course, my "wonderful husband" ended up cutting them down and imaginatively configured a way to get them to stand up sturdily and safely on stage. When the lights hit the bare branches, it is magic! I can't wait to see them bathed in blue light with snow falling!!!

Of course, my view will be from the side, as I will be opening the curtain on this scene.

I am very proud of my boys. I see a lot of his older sister's love of drama in Sammy (age 8). He does some of the things Lexi used to do--memorizing the entire script and know everyone else's lines (this didn't necessarily make her very popular with the rest of the cast, as she would say their lines for them if they forgot;), becoming swept away by the story and "live" it even offstage (listening to music, watching the movie, reading the book, and finding coloring pages of the story) and re-enacting parts of the play with his little sister. Sam knows his cues and his lines and delivers them with gusto!! In fact, Heidi Fagan, the director, told me that she wants a video tape of Sammy delivering one of his lines to show future drama students how to "cheat out" and deliver with volume. It is so cute...he does it perfectly!

Ethan is my "shy guy." He wasn't sure he wanted to be in the play at first, but after he attended a practice, he thought he would try it. It helped that several of his friends were also in the play. Although he looked uncomfortable at first, whereas Sammy took to it like a fish in water, Ethan has really "come out of his shell." He also knows his cues and lines and delivers them with volume. Ethan even gets to participate in the fight scene, where he is wounded by Edmund. Ethan will push himself out of his comfort zone, to face his fears and grow as a person. I love this about him! He even told me that he never expected that being in a play would be so much fun, but it is!

Theater is a great vehicle for teaching so many things. Having the experience of speaking before an audience will always be a benefit, no matter what one chooses to pursue as a career. Some of the more hidden, but important lessons are taking responsibility for knowing their cues, memorizing lines, knowing when their costume changes are, taking care of their costumes (if they are not hung up, they "disappear") and taking responsibility for their props. While there are people backstage to help, the kids have to take charge of these things themselves. I have been impressed at how all of the kids in the cast have assumed this responsibility. What a great life lesson! And how wonderful to see their self-confidence and self-esteem bloom because they are successfully accomplishing these tasks.

If you are in the area, please join us on Friday 4/30 at 7pm, or Saturday 5/1 at 1pm for a wonderful show. I'll try to post pictures later.

BTW - the poster above was drawn and painted by the resident artist and 1st/2nd grade teacher at NECA, Sara Breisch. Isn't it gorgeous?

Good Mom/Bad Mom?

A good mother allows her children time to experience the outdoors, revel in God's creation and get mud stuck in between their chubby little toes, right????Do they still allow it when the temps are only in the 50s? Even when a sunny 50 degree day feels so very spring-like after the cold winter?
Here is another shot of the bank they are playing in front of....note the dirty snow pile in the lower right corner. Here's another shot of that bank, further to the right (in the shade):
Now that doesn't look very spring-like, does it??? In fact, the water they are playing in was ice this morning:) Such is the spring weather in New England.
I guess a good mother would drag them back inside....*sigh*
After a good washing down, of course.
Perhaps these St. Patrick's Day treats will tempt them:

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The Drama Queen and her Personal Photographer

Looks like Sammy was fooling around with my camera again, which is not allowed, but he does come up with some neat pictures, the little bugger!

It's all about relationship

Elizabeth Foss shared a parenting truth in her new column the other day, and I am posting it here so that I can remind myself to be this kind of mom. Basically, what Elizabeth states so beautifully, and what I have experienced in my almost 20 years as a mom, is that my children's behavior is dependent on my relationship with them. For instance, I have noticed that when we are having a bad homeschool day, sometimes what works best is to toss the books aside and just enjoy each other. When I am grouchy with them, it affects their moods and their motivation. I am not talking about discipline when it is needed. Discipline doesn't need to be administered with a grouchy attitude. Discipline should be matter of fact, emotionless on the part of parents, if possible. It should be the consequence of behavior that doesn't meet our expectations and then we need to move on. What I am talking about is a general grumpy, "my kids are driving me crazy", attitude that creeps into my parenting if I am not careful. When my kids do not feel my unconditional love for them, they do not behave well. It is all about relationship. Elizabeth writes beautifully about it. Here is an excerpt:

I was in a fast food restaurant the other day. I spoke with six of my children at the table before leaving them to go order our food. I made my expectations for behavior clear. This was one of those times when all the stars lined up and every single one of them was good as gold. Sometimes, it happens. Actually, often it happens, and it has very little to do with the stars and everything to do with how hard we work as a family at behaving well so that we can all enjoy each other. The man in the booth next to them was not enjoying his children. And he told them so. He pointed to mine and asked his why they couldn’t be more like mine. Then, he looked at me and said, “You’re really lucky. You have good kids.”

I caught the eyes of his children and I wanted to cry. His implication was that he did not have good kids. I am certain that this man loved his kids, but if I had been his child at that moment, I would have asked myself if my dad valued me at all or if he valued some stranger’s children more than me.
One thing is certain: I wouldn’t be inclined to go out of my way to be particularly well-behaved for him. If he acted that way often enough, I’d just give up, resign myself to never “winning” his love and move on to other relationships.

Read the rest here.

A new passion

As we passed through the produce section of the grocery store the other day, three-year old girl began making hand gestures and incomprehensible noises as she struggled to find the word that was eluding her. I stopped the cart and asked her what she wanted.

"I want the um, um, juicy sings(things) with grass"

OK, I was having a bit of a hard time solving this riddle, then she pointed to the shelves where the strawberries were displayed....Of course! She has recently developed a love/passion/obsession for these yummy juicy sings. I can't say that I blame her; I love them too....as long as the grass is taken off.