

A wonderful time was had by all and we enjoyed feeling the Spirit of Christmas and celebrating the birth and mission of the Savior of the World together this Christmas 2019.
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![]() Over the years, our family has had a tradition of gathering together on Christmas Eve and reenacting the Nativity complete with costumes for everyone. No one is exempt from joining in -- including guests who happen to just find themselves there visiting. The adults are usually the Narrators, Shepherds, Angel chorus, and the Wise Men. The youngest children are the sheep and donkey, the Angel/Star (holder) and of course, Mary and Joseph. Sometimes we have a newborn to play the role of the Baby Jesus. This was one of those years. Baby Camilla was born just a few days before Christmas, so she got the job, without even an audition! We knew she could tackle the role and do it perfectly. Alas, one of the other actors was not so prepared for her assignment. Our little sheep, 2 year old Avery, did not agree that her role should require wearing a costume. And she much preferred doing her own interpretive dance to the Christmas carols, instead of silently and sedately "lowing in the field." ![]() Five year olds Zak and Iris and 7 year old Ethan, however, took their roles as the donkey and Mary and Joseph very seriously. They stayed in character the entire time. And Iris was a beautiful Mary and insisted (with the ever watchful care of the actual mother) on holding the baby Jesus throughout the songs and narrations. And our Angel/Star (holder) Isabelle (age 8) was perfectly cast to lend sparkle to the production. We even had a few surprise Oscar-worthy performances. The Wise Men this year were played by Great Uncle David, Uncle Michael and cousin Grace. They sang their verses of "We Three Kings" with style and expertise. And Special Guest artist Great Uncle Steve gave a polished performance as the Roman Prefect who announced that "all the world should be taxed." All of the older adults (family and guests) read the Narrations and joined in the singing. They kept in character and also gave stellar performances. This has become quite a tradition in our family. In the olden days, Great Grandpa Tom would read from the Bible and Book of Mormon and any combination of his children and grandchildren would act out the roles. As the family grew bigger and older, the different families continued to carry on the tradition in their smaller groups in their own homes. This year, because our child actors were so young, I decided to write an actual Christmas Nativity Script (a much abridged script) including the words to the songs, with enough copies for everyone to have one to hold.
A wonderful time was had by all and we enjoyed feeling the Spirit of Christmas and celebrating the birth and mission of the Savior of the World together this Christmas 2019.
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![]() Last Saturday I was invited to what I thought was a 5 year old's Ballet Class Showcase. Turns out that it was a combined Tumbling and Creative Dance showcase. At any rate, I was dismayed at some of the problems that occurred. First off, the building was quite new and beautifully appointed with several large studios, changing rooms, a play area for little siblings, rest rooms, kitchen, offices, large foyer, and ample parking. They even had tubs of costume leotards and tutus in Christmas colors for the little dancers and tumblers to wear for the class showcases. Clearly, this studio was invested in training young people for performances. However, when I walked in to join my daughter's family, I became acutely aware that where we were sitting would afford us absolutely no hope of seeing ANY of my granddaughter's or any of the other children's performances. Problem No. 1 - The audience chairs were arranged 10 rows deep on the floor of the studio. Problem No. 2 - The tumbling mat (and dance space) was not six feet from the first row. Problem No. 3 - These little pre-school tumblers and dancers were no taller than the chairs and much of the time they would be performing on the mat at floor level. Didn't the Teachers and Staff people see that these would be big RED FLAGS? Surely, they had done shows there before! Anyway, the performance got underway, and the audience tried the best they could to adjust so they could see, but even standing up in the back offered no solution. Most of us watched the performance through the grace of the 12 raised iPhones held up by arms of the people on the 2nd row. After the 1/2 hour showcase, I found myself seeking out the director of the studio and making a suggestion. I introduced myself by saying that I had done a lot of professional Children's Theater. I then told her that if she had arranged the chairs in two rows around the perimeter of the studio floor and had the children tumble and dance in the center, the audience members would have all been able to enjoy the performance. Then we left. Our little dancer's socks had been dropped on the way out of the studio, so my son-in-law dashed back in to retrieve them. When he found us, he said that there were people madly rearranging the chairs in the studio. Well, I am glad that they took the suggestion and I am glad that our group was the first of many Class Showcases that day. Hopefully the follow-on audiences got a much better vantage point! Being a mother and grandmother can be a full-time job at Christmas --- just trying to keep up with attending all of the the school band concerts, Church Choir programs, and even ballet class demonstrations. And that's not counting my own performances. So, I have been to my daughter's school band, chorus and orchestra concert (she was the teacher and I did some accompanying). I took my granddaughter to a semi professional orchestra concert. I went to the BYU Celebration of Christmas (choirs and Philharmonic orchestra), 2 Church choir Christmas presentations, and this week I will go to more school band and choir concerts, plus the Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert. I love to get to attend such varied concerts and to support my favorite people. ![]() But a funny thing happened today when I visited my daughter's Church Choir presentation. I wanted to go see my daughter sing and play horn in a woodwind quintet. The drive up to Salt Lake City was scary through rain, slush and snow. I was needing time to decompress once I arrived. The choir was still in rehearsal, and I got the benefit of hearing their music more than once today. The pianist was having a difficult time negotiating the page turns for the last song. I saw him struggling and blurted out, "Do you need a page turner?" He looked surprised, but gladly accepted my offer. The performance went very well. How many small congregations can boast that they have accomplished musicians who can play "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" by J.S. Bach as a woodwind quintet? And then sing a 4-part motet in Latin a cappella as well as other varied and interesting choral pieces. The song I turned pages for was an upbeat and challenging rendition of "The Sussex Carol." My daughter also sang a lovely obligato on one of the songs. (Proud mom moment) Anyway, back to the funny part. The week before in rehearsal, the pianist had mentioned that he needed a page turner for the last number. My daughter said, "My mom will be here. She can do it." The pianist said that he didn't feel right asking a guest to turn pages. "Oh, she'll just volunteer anyway." Did my daughter peg me or what? It happened just as she predicted. Mom's are like that, I guess. They want to make sure their favorite people get the support they need. Besides, musicians feel best when they are involved in the music. I love this season of concert-going --- especially when I can get in on the fun! ![]() My neighbors have a son about the same age as my youngest son. He has been a good friend to my boy from their High School years on. Now they are grown-ups. He doesn't visit his folks very often these days because his work is far away, but when he is here, he keeps himself very busy. For example, he was home for the Thanksgiving holiday working on rebuilding his truck transmission. I was visiting with them the other day and was curious about what he was making. It looked like knitting. When I looked closer, he WAS knitting. He told me that he needed a headband of a certain width and color and weight. So he decided to just make it. He did not have knitting needles, though, that would make the stitches as tight as he envisioned. So he took some tent stakes, ground the ends to points, and started his project. What a resourceful guy! When working in Children's Theater, RESOURCEFULNESS is one trait you really need. Either you do not have funds to cover costs the way you would like, or the venue you have for performance is awkward in many respects, or you don't have exactly the talent pool you need for the show ... there is always something that is challenging. So, the best thing is to be flexible and very resourceful. Take stock of what you've already got and think creatively. It is amazing how you can adapt props and sets and costumes you already have for new purposes. And if you think about it long enough, you can usually come up with solutions to how to use the performance space adequately. And so what if you don't have the talent pool, the dream cast, you expected? This gives someone else a chance for a better part and an opportunity for growth. All of the shows I have ever been part of had limited budgets. We scrounged around for fabric, old paint, furniture parts, old shoes, cast off craft materials, and anything donated that might possibly be turned into something for the show. We used a lot of found objects such as tree branches and cardboard boxes for props and set pieces. The funds we did have needed to be budgeted for the things we actually had to buy. Those things were precious. You just have to pick your battles and allocate your funds to cover costs for the most important things and be creative for the rest. You may not need to grind down the points of tent stakes to make the knitting needles to knit your costumes, but you may have some other seemingly insurmountable problems. Remember, with creative thought and some elbow grease, you can be RESOURCEFUL and come up with a solution! |
AuthorMy name is Betsy Bailey. I have sung, written and taught music all of my life. I enjoy writing and directing Children's Theater shows. This blog will be directed to topics on creating the magic of Children's Theater. I would love to hear your comments! Archives
January 2025
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