Musings: Things Come in Threes: Part 2

Immediately after the Veterans' program was over, Weldon, my friend Lori Miller, her husband Robert and our buddies Grant and Jordan disassembled the Vet set and reset the gym for our play on Thursday night.

Lori and I have partnered up together this semester and formed The Troupe, a drama group for students grade 3 - 8. This is something I have wanted to do for a long time but was hesitant to try to pull off by myself. As partners, Lori and I can each work from our strengths and resources, and I must say, the result was something special. We decided to put on "The Emperor's New Clothes" - love the story, love the moral. As The Troupe took shape, we had no problem making casting decisions because we already knew the kids really well. We were going to purchase a script, but decided to write our own instead. Lori, being the language arts queen, set to work on retelling the story, working in some appropriate lines to fit the personalities of our cast of characters. The end result was hilarious and fit together so well. Lori is also a very demonstrative and expressive orator, so she was a great vocal coach for the kids. I was amazed at how she was able to get this group of kids to project and inflect!

I am apparently more of a drama queen than I would like to admit. I began to realize this when it came time for the Troupe to begin staging and acting. The kids thought I was crazy most of the time, but getting into character means losing yourself and becoming bigger than life! It's called ACTING! I also had a ball creating the sets, making and advising on costumes, and gathering the props. The husbands were also a great help with the big picture, they even made it to where the scenes were lit up!!

We gave two performances, one in the afternoon for the entire school, and then one that evening for working parents to be able to attend. The student body was wide-eyed as they entered the dimly lit gym and sat quietly as the medieval prelude music played. We were so pleased to give them a quality presentation.

One of the main reasons I wanted to create a drama group was for my son Jadan. He is an outstanding orator and, turns out, an amazing actor. He had the role of the Chief of Guards, the Emperor's loyal adviser. Just between me and you, he stole the show. He would never voluntary ask to be in drama or in a spotlight of any kind, but since I am in charge of it, he is going to be a part of it and maybe he will realize that he has a real gift for it.

Since I was in the middle of producing the program, I wasn't able to photograph much of it, but here are a few shots taken after the curtain call.