Little people

 Children’s Theatre is here.  And here.   And over here too.  They are everywhere!  Little ones.  Really little half pints.  I went into the theatre on Wednesday morning, our first preview of Cinderella and the theater was literally vibrating...  A hum like a bee hive.  These little one, who barely take up half of their seats, were literally throbbing with energy and excitement.  “When will the show start?”  “Is that a real bird?”  “Where is Cinderella?”  “We took a bus here.”  You gotta love chatting with kids. 1^st grade, 2^nd grade.  They were raring to go.  There is a certain screech level that is heard throughout the show.  Our offices are above the theatre so we can hear the screaming through the walls.  I will get to know the specific moments in the show by the audience reactions I can hear.  5 and 6 year olds wailing!!!

Here's our Cinderella t-shirt.  My first Arden t-shirt.

One of the best things about children’s theatre is that after every show, the actors come out to answer questions.  The kids ask really good one and sometimes are too busy trying to get picked than to actually think of a question.  Adorable.  Sometimes they just want to tell you they went to Florida.  It happened.  I heard one of the actors say that sometimes she can’t understand a thing the kid is saying.  She says, good question and makes up something for the larger group.  Children’s Theatre actors are good people.

At one point in the show, they bring kids up from the audience to “try on” the slipper.  It’s make believe and done with shadow puppets.  One kid yelled from the audience, “take off her shoe if you want it to fit!”  Out of the mouths of babes…

After the Q  & A, the actors go out into the lobby and chat, take pictures, etc.  It is wonderful.  Really wonderful.  This is why I monitor construction, worry about broken Xerox machines, monitor HVAC and replace roofs.  This is all worth it.

Here is our fairy godmother with some of her fans!

Today was Girl Scout Day.  We should call it Onslaught.  I was here because it was one of our accessible performances for Freud’s Last Session.  About 250 girl scouts of all ages came for drama school workshops, the show and a snack after.  The Arden even makes a girl scout patch.  That’s a whole different story.  A hundred years ago you had to earn those things.  But I digress.

Girl scout patch...

There were girls in princess dresses, sequined shoes, and all matter of glam.  There were girls with sashes and Daisies with vests.  There were children everywhere.

It was a lot.

To take a break between that craziness and tonight’s craziness – opening night for Cinderella. I went and at in the courtyard a Christ Church, next to the theatre. What a beautiful space. There were birds in the bird bath and squirrels darting around, carefully avoiding me. I sat there for a bit before it got a tad too cold for outside contemplation. Sadly it really is almost winter and most of the flowers have lost their battle. Many of the trees are still hanging on as fall slides into colder weather. So far so good. It has been crisp and beautiful. Nothing that a brisk walk to work can’t cure. Enjoy. I’m off to the land of children. Wish me luck!

 

Christ Church.