One of the lead characters in the "Parizade's Quest" cast, Lili Wilson, who was Parizade, asked me if I did children's theater when I was young.  I told her that I did.  She asked if I ever wrote scripts and shows when I was young.  I told her that I did.  Then she proceeded to tell me that she was writing a show for her 4th grade class to present to the school. She was a bit frustrated that the other children did not always follow her directions even though she had spent so much time and effort preparing the script and getting the costumes ready all by herself.  I told her that directing a cast of your peers is difficult, but to keep trying and they will eventually come around.

Judy played Peter Pan, Stanley played Captain Hook and I played Wendy. We danced and sang and pretended to fly and had a great time.  We had wonderful support from our parents and teachers. We had the feeling we could do anything we put our minds to.    We    worked      hard 
and created something wonderful.  Our efforts were rewarded by the fun we had and the enjoyment we gave to those who came to the performance. Little did we know that what we did was foreshadowing our futures.  Judy kept singing, working with children's choirs, and putting on shows.  Stanley went on to play cello in orchestras.  And I continued to write, direct and produce children's theater shows.

So Lili, keep following your dreams.  You may be foreshadowing your future!

          Have you ever really considered the power of happy songs?  This past weekend, I sang in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Pioneer Day Concerts with guest artist Santino Fontana.  All of the songs we sang were upbeat and optimistic.  The camera guys often picked up the expressions of the audience members.  Their faces reflected the wonder and fun of the music being presented.  And seriously, how can you refrain from smiling when you hear and see the choir singing "Whistle While You Work" or "Put on a Happy Face?"  And the audience went wild with applause and yells and whistles when we joined Santino in singing our version of Pharrell Williams "Happy."  Check out this terrific concert on the Mormon Tabernacle Choir website:

A Summer Celebration of Song 2014

          I am constantly amazed at how a simple song can uplift the spirits and soothe the soul.  Last week, I had some of the concert music playing round and around in my head.  I found myself singing it unconsciously.  It just made my heart happy, even though there was a lot of emotional heaviness in my life that could have potentially weighed me down.  Those little light-hearted melodies of "She Likes Basketball" and "Ten Minutes Ago" and "Happy" kept playing over and over like a broken record stuck in one groove.  But I really didn't mind.  It lifted my spirits and sustained me through a rough week.
          When you look around and notice the tragic and awful things happening in the world, or when you turn on the radio or television, you are bombarded with news of disasters and human suffering.  There seems to be nothing you can do to ease the suffering or change the trajectory of what the bad guys are going to do.  But there really is something you can do.  You can sing:
 
       Spread sunshine all over the place -- just put on a happy face.  

          It is a little thing, but speaks volumes.  A smile and a song.  There you have it.  There is a lot of power packed into a happy song delivered with a happy face!