Playing in plays

I swore to Bianca this was the last play she'd ever be in a week before Westfield Elementary's play, Beauty and the Beast Jr. debuted. (Ha ha--it's what it felt like as this was hands-down the most professional elementary school play I'd ever seen.)

Bianca had been given the part of the Hat Seller. It had two small solos in the villager's song. Fortunately, she only had to practice one night a week (and that still seemed like too much to me) until the last several weeks and then they were practicing every night. And then, of course, the full week of performances, which kept Bianca up much too late every night. I was exhausted, and I wasn't the one on the stage.

She did great and really enjoyed wearing all the make-up. And it was nice that I always knew where she was on the stage with all the other villagers as she was carrying around the tall hat stick. See? You can see her amongst the crowd too.

I particularly liked finding the photo below. I know the look on Bianca's face. I'm pretty sure she's actually trying to read that book Belle's holding. That's Bianca, my reader.

Bianca always says how much she hates dancing, and up there on stage, you could tell it's something she really doesn't want to be doing. At least the the Hat Seller part didn't have much dancing. Here she is, a little uncomfortable.

After we left the auditorium at Timberline, though, Portia asked me, "How old do I have to be to try out for the play?" I guess I may have to re-assess things in a couple of years. ("Third grade," I told her.) After all, it's good for Bianca to have a "team" environment in which everyone has to work together to do something great. She doesn't do team sports so I guess this is a nice alternative. And I know she made some friends along the way. Maybe it's like having a baby--the outcome outweighs the inconvenience and discomfort.

In a similar vein, although Beauty and the Beast is long over, Bianca had auditioned and got the part of "Bianca" in her sixth-grade class performing Taming of the Shrew. They've been working on this a lot for the past couple of months. And her costumes are all hung up and ready to go. The big performance is on Tuesday. Stay posted.