The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Taylee was in drama this year and LOVED it! 

Loved her teacher, loved the art, loved everything about it.

Taylee is in the middle, with the black hood on.

When she heard that they were doing a play this year, she got really excited and wanted to be a part of it. She auditioned and felt good about making it. She shared with me that she had even prayed about it and knew her prayers would be answered (great faith!).

Our family was on pins and needles waiting for the results. Every day we would ask, "Did you make it?" Finally the list of "call backs" was posted..... and she WASN'T on the list. She was sooo bummed. I felt her pain and was bummed too. 

As we were talking about it she said, "I must have REALLY STUNK, because some of the people that made it, aren't very good." I assured her that there were a lot of decision making things that go on, that don't always have to do with being good. Sometimes it's a matter of fitting the role/part or who the teacher knows best. She said, "I just really wanted to be a part of it..I don't even care what part...I'll even take out the garbage, if I can just be a part of it."

I asked her if her teacher knew this. "Does she know that you would be willing to do ANYTHING?" I encouraged her to have this conversation with her teacher. --I couldn't see any teacher turning down willing "garbage duty". :)

Although she was sad and bummed, she handled it pretty well. Jason and I were expecting the worst, but she proved her growing maturity. Whew.

A short time passed, several people who didn't get "big" parts or had other conflicts, dropped out. Taylee couldn't believe it! Why in the world would they do this?

A week or so after the parts had been initially assigned, her teacher came to her and asked if she would like to be a part of the "witch's army". She jumped at the chance! She was also given a part that was kept a secret from us. She was told not to tell anyone...and she took it seriously. No one knew her secret part.

After months of practice, the time had come. In the last week of school, they performed, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe".

We were all impressed with the caliber of performance. The kids knew their parts, had awesome make-up/costumes and spoke loud and clear so we could all hear. It was awesome!

Taylee did her part well as a member of the Witch's Army..so well we couldn't even tell it was her. Her secret part was to be a "distraction". She acted as if she was writhing in pain; screaming, moaning and crumbling to her knees. She was so "distracting" I had NO idea that some characters were sneaking others off stage. I also had no idea that she would be so vulnerable and could get into character so well. 

Wow..she blew me away! :)

Mrs. Remley receiving flowers from her cast.

Many people would call Mrs. Remley crazy or weird, but Taylee admired her a lot and really loved her.

Check out her make-up job... creepy. 

We brought her a "flower"(cookie) for a job well done. 

Treyson made her a card and had everyone that attended (family) sign it. So sweet.

We are so proud of you Taylee!

Great job.

Red Riding Hood

The Missoula Children's Theatre company was here!

If you haven't heard of these guys, let me tell you a little about them. They are a non-profit play tour company, based out of Missoula, MT. They have 36 teams of two, touring and directing plays, all over the United States, Canada and 14 other countries. They meet the kids on Monday for auditions, intensely practice all week (like 4 1/2 hours every day!) and by Saturday the kids put on a full-blown play; costumes, sets, memorized lines, etc. It's actually quite amazing!

Taylee had the opportunity of being in "Red Riding Hood", loosely based on "Little Red Riding Hood", but much more humorous. She played a "Forest Shadow -Thistle". She had 2 speaking parts and was a part of 3 songs, with dance moves. I was glad she was picked to be in the play (a few did not make the cut) and that she had a small part to begin with. (A bigger, more lines to memorize part, may have turned her off and made her frustrated.) She says next time she'll be ready for more lines and a bigger part.

It was so interesting to me, (I absolutely LOVE behind-the-scenes stuff) that I hung out the WHOLE week at practice. I was a "stage mom". It was so cool the way the directors taught the kids, learned each one of their names (60+ kids!) and put the whole thing together. Even by the night before the performance, a few kids with big speaking parts didn't know their lines, didn't know their blocking and many kids weren't speaking loud enough to be heard. One of the directors turned to me and another mom and said, "Will you think it's a miracle if this all goes as planned?" We had to admit, yes. Then she said, "Me too."

The performance DID go well and the kids did great! I plan on letting any of my kids that want to, participate in the future. It's free, it's intense for ONLY a week and it's a really neat opportunity. I'm so glad that we took part. I would highly recommend it to anyone. Check to see if they are coming to your area www.mctinc.org.

The whole cast; Forest Shadows(Taylee far left, in front, with purple/green hat and gloves) Ranger Rooney, Raccoons, The 3 Little Pigs, Mama Hood, Sister Hood, Brother Hood, Baby Hood and their cousin Robin Hood, Locksmith, Woodsman, The Wolf Gang, Little Lovable Wolf, The Big Bad Wolf, Granny, Red Riding Hood and her Girlfriends.

The Forest Shadows- Fire and Poisonous Plants (Taylee is on the bottom row, 5th over, with purple and green hat.)

Behind the scenes, turning in costumes and saying good-bye.

Director Jen with her Big Bad Wolf make-up still on.

Congratulations Thistle Taylee!