The art of pretending

Make-believe. Daydreaming. Pretending. Wishing.

Every little kid has at some point used their imagination to pretend to be someone else, be somewhere else, do something else. Some of those kids never out grow it. Enter community theater. Or theatre, if you've done more than one show and dream of grandeur and Broadway. 

My darling little girl started her theater "career" last winter with a large-scale production of The Wizard of Oz. She made a darling munchkin. 

My adorable Munchkin.

She was one of 40 munchkins. In my opinion, she was the cutest.

That's her, right in the middle in the back, listening intently to what Glenda and Dorothy are talking about. This production had flying monkeys, flying witches, a live pit orchestra....not a bad way to begin a stage career for a novice. 

  
(Pardon the blurriness of the pit, the phone is a phone first, camera second.)

They performed to a packed house. Over 3,800 people saw The Wizard of Oz in Hutchinson at Memorial Hall over four days in February. Again, not bad for a first ever theater production. 

She had a blast.

Why should she have all the fun? I was talked into auditioning in the next show by a friend who had just wrapped Oz with her daughter. Audition with me, she said. It'll be a blast, she said. Then, she gets pneumonia. But, I was already at the theater, so what the heck.

I was cast in Life With Mother Superior. A fun little show. Not a huge production like Oz which was held in the large community all-purpose building, this one would actually be in the Flag Theater, home to The Flag Community Theater of Hutchinson. I would be Miss Connelly, the sweet, but naive PE teacher.

 

Me with Wendy, who played one of the nuns, and Mallory in front of the Flag Theater in Hutchinson after the cast party for Oz. New found friends, that's one of the fun benefits to being in community theater. I'm still holding out hope that one of these shows, Tracy and I can act together.

Which brings me to now. Mallory and I are in a show together! Tom Sawyer, The Musical. Singing, some dancing, stage time with my girl....and the opportunity to play make-believe. Some kids never grow up. And it's a blast! And, I get to be in the show with friends. Wendy is in this one, too, as is my friend Ben, the director is Piper, a friend from Sterling, and Mallory is making friends with some of the other ensemble kids. I have 3 children in the show, a boy who falls under Tom's bad influence, a daughter who seems to be a bit boy-crazy, and my youngest, my own Mallory. In one of the songs, Mal and I are a "pair".

"A few years back I gave birth 

to the sweetest little baby on Gods green earth.

Baby turned one, then two, then three,

Baby started talkin' back to me.

Four, five, six,

seven, eight, nine,

sugar turned to turpentine.

But the worst thing that could ever be,

my folks say,

she/he's just like me."

A sample of the song Ain't Life Fine. And yes, on most all accounts. But mostly sugar. ;)

So, if you're in the Hutchinson area and are available August 7-10, you should stop by the Flag on Main Street and catch a show. 

I am so grateful for the diversion of the play, for the opportunity to play make believe with my own little baby and the friendships that are forming on the stage. 

And, yes, there is even an oil for this. Brain Power is a blend that can aid in concentration, so a dab of that on the temples for rehearsals and learning music. Add Valor for show nights, for confidence on stage. 

Better living through nature. And make-believe.