Week 5: Lifestyle

My mind races through events and stories of our day and recent weeks.  Last week , we stepped out of our normal routine and hosted an Actor/Director from the Missoula Children's Theater.  We knew nothing about him other than what he shared on his Actor's Bio.  Sunday, our entire family waited with nervous anticipation for his arrival.   Like clockwork, every hour on the hour Little Bird would ask, "When is our guest going to be here?" Such is life, she fell asleep just 10 minutes before he arrived.  Her eyes couldn't stay open a second longer.   After brief introductions and tour of our home he put his belongings in his room and came down to visit with us.  

The photo we had been given of him showed a clean shaven young man in his mid twenties.  The man sitting in front of us had blue eyes and a dark bushy beard.  Yaya was the first to point out how different he looked than his photo.  He laughed easily and joked along with her about how he'd forgotten his razor at home.  He was polite and put us all at ease immediately.  He shared his life experiences and how he came to be an actor.  He also shared how within the last year he had sold all of his belongings and left his New York apartment for a life of travel/acting on the ocean and road.  Recently, he spent 8 months at sea working as Jack Sparrow for the Disney Cruises and was currently working/traveling the Western U.S. with the Missoula Children's Theater.   

It's quite eye opening to learn about other people's lifestyles.  Each week, he and his co-worker began in a new town and new school.  Their schedule was very tight.  Mondays after school the children auditioned for the play and received their parts.  Tuesday night, they split the kids into 3 groups and ran through their lines and songs with them.   Wednesday through Friday they brought the entire cast together and worked through the play on stage as a group.  Saturday they put on the show.   It's hard to imagine so much could be accomplished in such a short amount of time.   Anyone who thinks being an actor is easy is dead wrong.  Holy Cow these two put in long hours and take some big risks just to do what they love.  I certainly can't imagine selling all my belongings, leaving my family and staying in a stranger's house week after week!  Plus they learned every kid's name who participated!  These two were AMAZING!        

The morning of auditions arrived and after weeks and weeks of being told she didn't want to audition Yaya changed her mind.  I'm not sure if it was meeting Drew or seeing the play on YouTube that had the biggest impact on her but she finally admitted it might be fun to be a Mermaid.  Well, as it turns out almost every girl auditioning wanted to be a mermaid and we can't all be mermaids.  Yaya was chosen to be the King Crabby Crab which is funny because if you know her there is nothing crabby about her.  As the King crab she had quite a few lines to memorize which was her biggest reason for not wanting to take part in the first place.  That said, she took the news with grace and was really excited just to be in the play.

 One of the best parts for me was getting to be the show's photographer.  I got to document the week and all the sweet kiddos.  Monday night, I took all 34 of their photos and combined them with the biographies they'd filled out.  Then, I helped 2 wonderful ladies create a huge actor's board for the day of the show which their families loved.  I wish I could share the board and all the photos of the kids here as their personalities really came out.  When I took their photos, I asked them to say, "I'm going to be famous!" and their faces lit up.   They were giddy with excitement and anticipation!  Can you tell?  

These are a few of the photos I have permission to share with you.

   

These kids worked hard all week!  They attended school during the day then attended mandatory rehearsals from 3:15-7:45 each night.  Plus, they had homework to do when they got home.  All that hard work paid off.  The show was a hit!  They remembered their lines and hit their cues perfectly.  Dare I say, a few of them may have even been bitten by the acting bug.  It was a lot of fun for a week but I sure am thankful this isn't our every day lifestyle.