Virginia!

Several weeks ago I received an email from my friend Sue. She was the director of "Seussical". Remember the play that my dogs were in last year? Dudley and Zurri shared the role of "Max", the Grinch's dog.

Anyway, Sue emailed to see if I had a dog for her upcoming production of "Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Clause". Only she wanted a small dog. The script calls for a cat, but cat's don't do live theater very well! We decided to give Roman a try, and so far, he's been working out great.

Roman is my red Miniature Poodle, who happens to be quite scruffy looking right now, since he's supposed to be playing the part of a stray dog. There was one character in the original movie that is not included in the play, and Sue decided that character, "The Veggie Lady" (I don't know if that's what she's really called, or if it's just what we call her." ) needed to be part of the play, and that I should play her.

The Veggie lady is mean, wicked person who is only on stage for about 2 minutes, with a total of 6 lines. While managing the dog for the performance this is about as much a role as I can handle.

If you've never done live theater before, it's quite a time commitment. Because I was only doing the dog handling, and he didn't have lines to remember, AND I just started the veggie lady last week, I've only been to less than half the rehearsals. Normally its 4-5 nights per week, plus Saturdays. However, the last 2 weeks are even more rigorous! This week we're rehearsing every single night, all day Saturday and Sunday.

Next week is Tech weeks. That's where all the technical stuff like lights, sound, music, etc is all ironed out in preparation for opening night. Problems with costumes are fixed, make-up is perfected, and props are put in place. Monday those few who've never done theater before will learn to put on stage make-up. Tuesday is our first FULL dress rehearsal, with a repeat on Wednesday. Thursday is a dress rehearsal, but we're open to friends and family.

THE night...opening night, is Friday the 21st. We have 19 performances between Nov. 21 and Dec. 21. Most are Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, with a few Thursday performances thrown in there too. It's a long haul, and can only be done with the support of family members who aren't in the play to keep the ship at home afloat. For parents, it's arduous, trying to get kids back and forth. For adults in the play who have kids...well...lets just say it gets sticky!

I absolutely LOVE doing theater. My favorite is musicals, because the energy that comes from the cast just does something to you. It's kind of like an adrenaline rush, and is rather addictive. I know some people who do play, after play, after play, and others who are starting rehearsals for a new play while they're PERFORMING in another! (ok, clearly they don't have little kids at home!) Someday I might be able to do that. For now, it's one play at a time, and really one play PER YEAR for me! Ok, maybe two...or...