It’s been so long since the last post…and lots has happened, so I may as well roll backwards since those memories are at least still very fresh in my mind!
So, this past weekend, was the Nutcracker – 4 shows in 2 days! The kids have been working extraordinarily hard on this production — weekly rehearsals for about 10 weeks which had us at the dance studio pretty much 5 days a week followed by intense rehearsals over Thanksgiving week — and our reward was seeing them on stage as part of this spectacular production.
I worked backstage for 3 of the shows and joined the family (Lola, Grandpa Mike, Auntie Christina, Tom, and Chloe as well as Heather and her brother David) for the first Sunday show. I wanted to be backstage to help the kids out, but they are now so grown up, they would have been just fine without me there! They now have enough love and familiarity with theater and with being backstage that it’s just not that big a deal!
Still, I’m glad I was there to see their excitement whenever they were lining up to go into the wings!
One of Dylan’s roles was as a party guest (Friend of Fritz) in the opening scene, which takes up about half the entire first act! At first, I have to admit, he was not happy about it. He was initially considered for a new part (some lamb role)–and he was pretty excited about having this new, special role! But, he got moved into party scene (not really knowing that kids really covet roles in this scene) and instantly complained about how long his Friday night rehearsals would be(a whopping 90+ minutes)!
I think, in the end, he really liked it. He realized it was a pretty big deal with a lot of stage time and he got along swimmingly with most of the boys in the group.
He also was part of the dragon (which trotted out on stage right before Chinese Tea).
Cameron was a mini mouse again but, this time, she was one of the “featured” mice engaged in a tug of war for the big cheese! At first, she was also not totally delighted with this assignment, but she ended up loving it!
This year, Cameron picked up a second part: being a gingersnap! She was adorable and loved this one!
This production was truly a gigantic effort–the timing of the most important rehearsals were smack dab in the middle of Thanksgiving week! The kids were tired from many long rehearsals (where we had 6-hour days!) and they ran the Turkey Trot and they were excited about seeing family…there was just so much going on! But, they really rallied (as did Tom and I–Tom also volunteered by loading and unloading the truck! And, of course, he watched Chloe and he packed lunches for the kids and, when necessary, he came by the studio or the theater to drop off much-needed food!).
Chloe really missed me and the big kids. We spent so little time with her during the many rehearsals and for the performances (which had us at the theater from noon until about 6:30pm). The kids were able to pop out between shows to eat with my family and Heather and her brother David and to hang out with Chloe. She was so happy to see them and to eat with them!
Unfortunately, the kids only had about 30 minutes break but, as you can see, Cameron and Chloe made the most of it!
The kids are already talking about what roles they want next year, so I guess (at least at this point), I’m assuming we’ll be at it again sooner than we know it!
Wonderful photos! It was so nice to see Dylan and Cameron in the performance on Sunday; both did such a good job. Very impressive…and I can’t wait to see them on stage again next year if they do decide to take part in the next production!