Stage managing part 1

So this is going to need at least to blogs to cover all this.

So there is this popular local community theater, called the Herigage Community Theater

And Ben has done technical theater there in the past.

Lately John and I have been talking about me getting back into theater. I had quit for awhile because I was settling into a new state, then I was pregnant, then I was nursing, then John got a job and I'm the only person home most of the time. But I was starting to get a bit stir crazy and its hard to make new friends (that are adults) when you're called to work in the nursery. So we had decided I was going to try doing a show this summer.

One day Ben gets a phone call, they need a tech crew for a show at the Heritage. So I talk to John and show up with Ben at rehersal. The show is called the Women and it calls for a cast of like 45 women. Thats not a very reasonable number for community theater, so they've double and triple cast people for the supporting and bit parts, cutting the cast down to about 25. All women. Ben and the director, Ross, are the only guys. Ben totally realizes the opertunity he has here and never goes to rehersal with out applying body spray and hair gel.

I think I should take an aside here and tell you first of all that theater is more than a hobby to me, its a core part of my DNA. I remember auditioning to be in Merry Poppins in about first or second grade before I ever moved to Utah the first time. I got the part but was encouraged to make the right choice after discovering many rehersals and performances would be on Sunday. I dropped the show, but the preformance bug had bitten me.

I continued to do backyard shows with anyone who was willing (these were terrible, but the costumes were usually good). And in 6th grade I did my first auditioned for the part show. I also built set and found costumes. I moved to Utah and auditioned for the fall show and didn't get a part. It was so long ago I'm ok with admitting that I was totally crushed, but not all was lost they needed people for the tech crew. Long story short: I sing, dance, and act but plenty of other people do it better than me (especially singing if it's allergy season). So after being just part of the chorus for a few shows, and having to help move scenery anyway, I found my calling behind the scenes. I still auditioned for the shows I thought would be fun to be in, but I wasn't crushed anymore because tech is my thing. I was in a few shows, and I enjoyed them, but even then I was doing a lot of tech.

And so I learned to do everything I could, and it was a blast all through up to high school graduation. And then for a truely inexplicable reason I traded all that to study biological engineering (science is a big interest to me and I'm good at it, but it doesn't get me excited the way tech does). My motivation was good, I wanted to study genetics and cancer, what with all my family history of it. So I quit theater and fought with engineering for 3 years. I finally came to my senses and dropped engineering for biology because with just a few more credits I'd be able to graduate. And I teched another show and fell in love all over again with the crazyness backstage.

So that seems like enough for this post. Later.

The art of story telling

So I read Crystal's blog about fairy tales and I made this comment :

"Fairy tales rock! I've read them since forever. I love to read different nation's versions of the same stories, there's lots of versions of Cinderella for example. My favorite is a beautifully illistrated version of the egyptian cinderella."

And it got me thinking about how much I enjoy them and how I like to tell them to Little John. I started telling them to him when he was just a few weeks old to soothe him and keep myself awake during 2 am feedings. I still tell him them in the car and sometimes on those sleepless nights when he's awake for an hour or 2 in the middle of the night. (I can't just let him sit in the crib and scream, but if I let him get up and play he might make a habit of it :()

I tell him classic Grimms' tales and shortened Disney movies (like my favorite, Mulan) and Hans Christian Anderson and sometimes I just make stuff up. I read an article about how story telling encourages kids' imaginations and builds language skills and stuff, but mostly I just enjoy doing it.

I enjoy reading aloud, but there's something about story telling that really appeals to the preformer in me. If I'm not driving or trying to get Little John to sleep, I love to decribe things with my hands and sometimes I get up and act out the monsters and battles. Little kids love that! I started doing it when I'd babysit, as bedtime stories. And the best thing is little kids are such non-judgemental audiences. They don't care if you forget the details or tell it different than last time, so long as you're into it and animated.

I don't tell the tales quite the way you'd find them in print. As hard as it is to belive, I can't remember all the details at 2 am. Sometimes I make up the details and sometimes I just skip bits I can't remember very well. And I've added my own personal twist to any tale I tell. As I tell the story I always specify that the kings daughter is old enough to date and that's why her hand in marriage is the prize for whatever nasty task needs doing. And also of course the hero is old enough to date too. And I tend to elaborate on things like clothes and the country side (when I'm fully awake that is) and I love to do different voices for different characters. (I do that when I read aloud too) I also love to add sound effects and cheesy melodrama things like "da-da-daaa!".

When I make up stories sometimes I barrow details from other stories I've read. Sometimes my stories follow a regular pattern (begining, middle, end), but a lot of them are silly nonsense that either end very quickly or ramble on and on. The good news is Little John doesn't seem to mind if the stories are real or not or make sense or not. He especially loves when I tell stories about him and Daddy doing things together, even when its nonsense stuff.

As he starts to talk more and more clearly I plan on having him help with the made up stories. Things like what color things are, what weapon the hero uses, what kind of car the bad guy drives. All the little details. I'm really excited to see what neat things he comes up with. I already know he has a good imagination because he holds his cars up to his head and babbles at them like they're telephones.

I still read fairy tales myself and will totally read them to my kids. If they grow up and would rather read text books, that's cool, its their choice, but at least they had the choice. It bugs the heck out of me when people are like "I don't let my kids read that magic stuff because they need to understand reality" (and yet most of these same people let their kids watch cartoons, go figure). It reminds me of that poor little girl in Miracle on 34th Street, no hopes or dreams, no fantasies.

Sorry, my soap box ran away with me there. What I meant to say is: I've read lots of fairy tale collections (among other fantstical stories like the tales of Sinbad the Sailor and Arabian Nights), but there is this collection I've heard such great things about but have never been able to find them so I can read them. They're a series of collections (I think) called the Blue Fairy Book, the Red Fairy Book, the Lilac Fairy Book, and so on. I think there are 7 or 8 all together. Maybe I can find them on Ebay or Amazon. Oh, well, my next story post should be about my other love, scifi. Anyway I should go. Go share a story with a kid. Later.

Little John is so precious!

Ok so it's been a bit since I updated you all about how precious Little John can be.
He gave me real kisses this week! I was addressing a postcard and he came up and reached for me, so I bent down so my head was by his. He closes his little mouth, pushes it against my face and opens it again with a tiny pop sound. And then he did it again a few times. My heart just melted! He's been making kissy noises for a long time, but this was diffrent. And afterwards he just walks back over to his toys and starts playing again, like he has no idea that he is so sweet my heart is puddled in my toes.
So not quite as sweet but just as adorable, he loves phones. He has loved to push the buttons for a long time now. But just recently he holds them put and talks to them. And after he talks for a minute he holds it to my head to talk. Now if I could just get him to talk when there's a person on the other end of the line! He clams up if there's really someone to talk to, but he smiles really big and waves hello and goodbye. It cracks me up.
I love him so much!