Well, despite some last minute issues, the Premiere of the new children's theater production of "The Adventures of Dick Whittington" went very well. The grand experiment of having the audience join in singing some of the songs worked even better than expected. I think that sending a CD home with the actors actually insured that the families would learn the songs as well. The audience seemed to be very engaged and enjoyed being included in the action! Audience sing-alongs were an integral part of Old English Pantomime.
We were not without difficulties, however. Earlier in the day, I learned that the boy who had been working for a couple of weeks learning to pull the curtain would not be there for the show because he had a Scout camp out that night. So, one of the boys in the cast coerced another friend to take home a script and learn the cues. He did his best, but the Curtain cues were a little off. And two of the girls who had been working stage crew during rehearsals decided not to show up, so the two remaining stage crew people had much more to do. And a beleaguered stage manager got stuck holding up a piece of scenery during an entire scene because it had lost its supports during the set change. (Cute set painting, though, thanks to Lynn Stallard!)
We were not without difficulties, however. Earlier in the day, I learned that the boy who had been working for a couple of weeks learning to pull the curtain would not be there for the show because he had a Scout camp out that night. So, one of the boys in the cast coerced another friend to take home a script and learn the cues. He did his best, but the Curtain cues were a little off. And two of the girls who had been working stage crew during rehearsals decided not to show up, so the two remaining stage crew people had much more to do. And a beleaguered stage manager got stuck holding up a piece of scenery during an entire scene because it had lost its supports during the set change. (Cute set painting, though, thanks to Lynn Stallard!)
At first, I was encouraged when so many adults came to help with "hair and make-up" before the show started. But it turned out that they all wanted to watch the performance. So we ended up not having enough helpers backstage during the actual show. Hence, the disheveled state of some of the actors who came out with costume parts and pieces on backwards or inside-out.
The most heart-wrenching moment of the evening though was watching one of the lead characters try to sing when she had laryngitis. I ended up singing her solo while she acted it out. Poor thing! We hope her voice is back for tonight's performance!
Live theater at the Elementary School level --- gotta love it!
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