The play went great.
The middle school (and the first grade, which played Fireflies) did an awesome job in their performances of The Princess and the Pea yesterday. Well, *most* of them did. There were some kids who were obviously phoning it in, but really, they just made asses of themselves by their obvious reluctance and indifference, so I don't care about that.
What I *do* care about is that Mark did awesome! He didn't miss a single one of his lines (and he had 72 of them, far more than any other individual kid). He worked so hard all week, in between also getting all of his stuff done at school for the end of quarter. For awhile there I was worried there would be some kind of meltdown or something, and I've had to push him pretty hard to make sure he remembered everything, including going to the school on Thursday to make sure he had all of the papers and things he needed. He was totally embarrassed and handled it in typical pre-teen/teen style, by being surly and uncooperative, bordering but never quite crossing the line of outright disrespect.
BUT. The play. He did great. He delivered his lines with expression and style, and projected his voice quite well. His comedic lines received great audience response, which I think fueled his enthusiasm wonderfully. Overall, he was just plain wonderful. Mama was SO proud.
I videotaped the second performance (aside: I have a tripod which I have owned for probably ten years or so. Just last night I discovered that the legs extend to bring it to three times its carrying height. Duh. Very stupid I am.). I haven't viewed the tape yet, but judging from last year's taping and several years of photographs in the gym, it will suck. But still, I have it. I need to make copies for a few other parents.
X actually showed up for the 1:00 performance. Originally he had said he wouldn't be able to make it. He had his camcorder, too, but apparently halfway through he ran out of tape. He rewound and started over at the beginning (losing some previously recorded kid material), so I might offer him a copy of mine, if it's at all decent. I was very pleased he made arrangements to leave work for this; I'm sure it meant a lot to Mark.
My parents went to the evening show. They laughed in all the right places and really seemed to honestly enjoy it--of course, they loved everything their grandson did.
So. I leave you with some of the pictures from after the performance (no flash photography was permitted during).
The entire cast. Well, close. Some people got cut out on the sides.And no, Mark did not perform with zombies. That's airbrushing. Poor airbrushing, but I've got a very outdated program. The only two I didn't airbrush were Mark and Eddie. Eddie's got a YouTube account, so I think his parents would be okay with me having his picture on here.
Mark is not standing on a box or anything, he really is that tall.
Mark and the Princesses. Those are some seriously ugly dresses. They made the girls look huge. They had to wear soft-soled shoes, which is why the girls are in sneakers. Except one, in ballet flats. I love the ladylike way the one on the far left is standing. Of course, her character almost had a brawl with the prince onstage, so maybe she's just still in character.
Don't you just love Mark's smudgy mustache?
The Prince, his Page (the guy who co-owns Children's Stage Adventures), and Eddie, the King.
Eddie was hilarious. He definitely should stick with theater.
At one point the King is supposed to sling his arm confidingly around his son's shoulder. That made for some comedy right there.
I'm not sure what Mark is supposed to be doing here, but Eddie is reenacting a dancing scene that he has that was just awesome. Such a ham.
And finally, Mark alone and looking weird. Maybe it's just the mustache. And the funky shadow that makes his hair look afro-ish. Really his hair just barely showed above the crown.
1 comment:
Great post! Great pics!
Post a Comment