God Bless You, Everyone

As I sat in the theater last night and listened to Noah, Liesl and Tom speak to the kids before the dress rehearsal, I was reminded once again of why I love living in this little town. The message from the adults on stage to a theater full of excited young actors was perfect: have fun, keep growing and developing your character and we are so proud of you. What a gift they gave to the kids— the opportunity to stretch their wings and take chances in a nurturing and supportive environment. What more could I ask for?

Charlie and Will scored the good dressing room this year, they're in the basement with 6 or 7 other boys complete with a recliner, internet and power for their iPods, Kindles and Nintendos. Meg is up in the kitchen area with me and that is a whole different scene— lots of girls with lots of things to say and not a recliner in sight. Quiet is the name of the game backstage after the curtain goes up— kind of tough with 8 girls in a dressing room. They are tremendously enthusiastic about everything— the costumes, hairdo's, snacks, Minecraft, homework and Christmas Carol. It's fun to get know the kids outside of schoool— they are a tremendously funny and interesting troupe of characters.

If I had to try to capture the essence of Charlie, this photo pretty much sums it all up— happy, happy, joy, joy.

Meghan is Man A (and she gets to say, is it an ass? in a party scene...she's pretty pumped about that), Will is Father and Charlie is Mr Fezziwig (Julie's daughter, Caroline, is Mrs Fezziwig and for the next three weeks we get to be Mother-In-Laws).

I love these pictures of the boys, they are growing into such handsome young men.

Meg's soon to be famous 'is it an ass' scene.

There Is Theater In These Woods

We were on our way to Stagenorth to see Oklahoma! when we saw this bear about 4 blocks from the theater. A black bear sighting on the way to the theater— only in Northern Wisconsin.

Meghan is in the chorus with her best friend, Emily. This is her second performance and she loves it.

As I sat in the theater, I recognized so many of the faces— my kid's music teacher, Bill the wine guy, friends of Will and Sadie. What a treasure to have Stagenorth in Washburn, it truly is a community theater.

The talent in this area is astounding. My good friend, Liz, is the director. She has directed many productions at Stagenorth and her expertise is evident— Oklahoma! is a polished musical full of beautiful costumes, voices and characters.