Just looking for...

It happened again! The first time we performed Jack and the Beanstalk, a little girl came up after the show wanting to look behind the curtain to find the stove Jack hid in. Yesterday, a boy came up wanting to see who played the giant. Chris (dh) plays both Jack and the giant. What is that term? Suspension of disbelief? Children are so willing to play along. And they seem to have so much more fun.

Adventure in Adding Colors

It's hard enough for me to sketch--I'll erase areas a million times before I leave a sketch alone. Adding colors takes all the courage I can muster and then some. I'm always worried I'm going to ruin something. But I did it! I added color to a few drawings:


The scans don't look as good as the originals (I don't think) and the giraffe picture is not fully colored but there they are.
Phew, I'm worn out. My courage is drained for the night.

The Dog Gets Involved

Yesterday, we had the pleasure of performing at a private residence for the owners and a few of their friends. They have animals...and it was hard to stay in character and not watch the critters. One of the cats started playing with a straw hat when we set it out. It's the cheap Hawaii-type hat so the cat was chewing on the straw that sticks out. Then the poor young Doberman was whining to be let out of the bedroom when there was a party going on. The obedient dog was told to lie down on the floor. Several of my husband's lines are "Oh, come on, Maggie. It'll be fun." trying to convince his assistant (me) to lead the group in a song or entertain everyone with a hula. That well trained Doberman came when Chris called. What else does "come" mean, right? So halfway through the show, Maggie is ripping into Jake (played by my husband) and the dog is starting to get a little hyper, so I'm toning it down slightly. Then Jake is supposed to collapse because someone poisoned the pineapple (This is one of our murder mysteries, titled "Pigs, Pineapple and Poison." Jake's character is so obnoxious, some audiences cheer when he keels over). Luckily, Chris had the presence of mind to collapse, not on the floor as per usual, but on a chair, realizing that on the floor, the dog might consider him fair game. Then as Maggie, I'm supposed to scream. I toned that down, too.

We did make it through the play without coming out of character until the end then laughed with everyone else about the animals. We managed to survive feline attacks and trying to be rescued by a Doberman.

(We happen to like animals. Even as I type this, Big Oh is curled up between my arms, snoozing. If there are typos, blame Big Oh.)

Writing & writing & writing

A month or more ago, I wrote myself another schedule* which I do on a regular basis, refining the list to fit the time available. On this schedule, I included my writing time. All the writing conferences I've been to has included at least one speaker saying, "You have to put your butt in the chair and just write." Although I've also heard "you must write everyday" that hasn't quite worked out. With my new schedule, I have "writing and submitting" on my Tuesday, Thursday time slot. It's been working out pretty good actually. I won the Rejected Letter Contest for this term in my critique group. On MWF, I work on editing my completed theater book. So I'm kind of writing everyday, except sometimes my schedule goes unheeded out of other pressing needs--money-earning work, class preparations, etc.. Well, thinking about it, I realized I've been writing a lot, and not just for story telling; special letters (not just flash emails) is also writing. I've managed to write:

• Four Elvy (character's name) stories.
• Weekly letters to my missionary son for the past 10 months or so.
• Non-fiction article about my cats.
• Non-fiction article about reverence.
• Outline for a new script for children to perform.
• Blogging (okay, I noticed that I've missed a few weeks of adding a new entry; I've been writing stories).

How exciting! I'm actually writing. (Sometimes I have to point little wins out to myself because I often see where I'd like to be compared to where I am and think I'm making no progress.)

*Scheduling: I happen to like lists and schedules. It keeps me focused. Given the time, I may spend hours dinking around and not getting anything done. Then comes the busy schedule all of a sudden (such as money-earning work or needing to fix the roof) and I have no time to enjoy creative pursuits--writing, drawing, sewing, crafts, playing Catan--or no time to actually get the house clean or de-cluttered. So many wonderful things to do in this life. A schedule helps me remember what I really want to do.

The Believeable Hen

We have a hen that lays golden eggs in our play Jack and the Beanstalk. The hen is played by an audience member. Our most recent chicken was played by a young girl and it didn't dawn on me until after the show the little touch of realism that the girl added. She came up on stage when the Giant's Wife (me) called her up. Then she sat down on her knees next to the Giant (my husband). When the Giant and Wife left the room, the hen was standing next to the table where Jack (husband) found her and took her home. The little girl followed Jack to the beanstalk and climbed down it with him. Jack's Mom (me, again) entered and saw Jack and the chicken, who was now back on her knees, sitting on the stage. I wondered for just a moment why she kept sitting on the stage. We've had children be animals before and they either drop to all fours (we usually have 4 + legged animals) or they remain standing. My question was answered when Jack said"Lay." The hen handed him a golden egg. She was a LAYING HEN! Of course! The little girl was just doing what hens do when they lay eggs. I mean, really, what hen do you know that lays an egg standing up?

Roses

I'm still practicing drawing and adding color. I don't know when I'll call myself an artist; it may be a long while. In the meantime, I ended up with a drawing I liked! I took a picture with my camera to upload this so it looks a bit...interesting. I didn't actually color in a light source; it's just the flash bouncing off the white paper. But I was pleased with the way the original came out. (Yay!)