In the summer of 2018 the girls and I were able to go to the Tuacahn theater in St. George and see some wonderful plays. One of them was Matilda, a fairly new musical based on Rhoad Dahl's children's story. I was not that excited to see it - I was a huge fan of the book, and I even adored the movie made in the late 90's with Danny DeVito. It's so darling. And I had tried to listen to the music but it just did not click with me in the slightest. Then I saw it. Woah!! I love this show so much. We have listened to it at least a hundred times in the years since then, and seen Siena perform in it, and seen it at Hale Center, and it just does not get old for me.
So this year, Emma is an 8th grader. She loved performing in the play at her middle school last year, and wasn't discouraged by the many many hours she put in just to be in the 7th grade chorus. She loved it. And was so excited to get involved in this year's play, although she had no idea what it was going to be. She had heard rumors that Shrek was a possibility, and to be honest, that wasn't too happy of a thought. But she knew she just had to wait and see. And weren't we all so excited when it was announced that the play was going to be Matilda! Hooray!
The auditions were in November, and Emma got a call back and was asked to read lines for Agatha Trunchbull, the horrible bully of a principal. She kind of got her hopes up but I tried to not think about it. Instead, Emma was initially cast as Victoria, one of the older kids at Matilda's school. Victoria is considered one of the minor leads, so it was nice that she got that part. There are at least 100 8th graders in the show and any lead part is really an honor and a treat. I was so happy for her to be involved at all. But then after rehearsals began, one of the other leads dropped out, and Emma was asked to take on the roll of Hortensia, a younger child in Matilda's class. She had a few lines of her own, and one or two lines of singing in a duet. Emma felt pretty flattered that the director picked her to take over the bigger part and I feel so lucky that Emma got to be involved at that level.
Man oh man was she busy! Starting in January she had rehearsals basically every day of the week, including most Saturdays. And she loved it. Oh, she would talk about how tired she was or how it all felt like "a lot," but she was just happy. She is also in the stage crew class at school so helped a lot behind the scenes as well.
After months of preparation and rehearsal the play opened on March 3rd - Troy's birthday and the night of the infamous Pinewood Derby. Last year I was a part of the costume team that took on half of the 7th graders and it was such an involved job. I didn't do hardly anything leading up to the show this time - I helped my friend Kalleen a couple of times. She's the costume mistress and is absolutely vital to these amazing productions. But I didn't do much else. However, I made up for my lack of pre-show involvement by taking on a few rolls during the run of the show itself. Being the PTA treasurer sort of automatically gets me deep into the concessions stand - which is a huge deal. I mean they sell at least $1600 of treats every single show, nine shows. It's quite astonishing actually. And then I also took the "treat trolley" back stage during every intermission to sell food and treats to the cast members. It was basically a mob scene for 20 minutes each night, and I feel lucky to have escaped with my life. Those hungry teens are no joking matter.
My other special job was to take over the care and preparation of one the of the props. There were these "balloons" made of flexible plastic, almost like a beach ball. They had to be re-inflated every night, and they were all covered in strings of tiny lights so they'd glow in the dark. They were a real pain in the butt. However, there were kids trying to manage them before and they were just a mess. So taking over on those I think was actually super helpful to the play and made me feel like I was making up for not helping much early on.
This play was so impressive. The sets and costumes and special effects - kids on silks and the trapeze, Matilda floating up into the air as she discovers her magical powers, Amanda Thripp getting flung off stage by her pigtails. The singing and dancing. The sheer number of kids included. The acting is always a little stunted because...hello...jr. high non-theater kids. But there were some standouts. The two gals who shared the role of Matilda were especially wonderful, as were the the two Trunchbulls and the two Bruce Bogtrotters. Also my own little Hortencia, I must say. Gosh it was so fun. I'd go to bed each night with the refrains of When I Grow Up and Miracle and Bruce bouncing around my brain.
The kids put on 10 shows - 9 for the public and 1 for the school. It was, in the words of Emma, "A LOT." And yet every time I get to be involved in a theater I just feel happy. I have to hand it to the director of these shows. She takes on so much, and really doesn't delegate as much as we would all like her to, simply because she is there year after year, and all of us parents are mostly in and out in 2 years. What I admire about her the most is how she treats the kids. She can kind of make the parents crazy - I've been on the receiving end of some of her crazy-making and I'll confess, there have been times that I have been non-plussed by her. But I honestly need to take that back. Yes, she's hard to communicate with. But what I see when I see her interact with the kids is so impressive, genuine, loving and devoted. She loves these kids and sacrifices so much for them. Emma had a great experience and I'm so grateful that she got to take part. I'm still a little sad that it's over.
No comments:
Post a Comment