It's been a fascinating month. My daughter was asked to join the chorus of a local light opera company, and watching her find her way through her first semi-professional appearance has been interesting and enlightening indeed.
One curious thing is that everybody(myself and my husband included, I'm sorry to say!) has made an assumption of prior knowledge simply because she's our daughter: she already osmotically knows all those complicated staging processes, scheduling conventions and company protocols, right? Not necessarily....! For sure, she's had experience onstage in her childrens' groups and a great deal more exposure than many her age, but the specific nuts-and-bolts of mounting a full production in professional adult theatre.... she's never needed to know that before; in many ways, it's been a brand new situation and she has had to learn a lot. We've all had to remind ourselves that, like any other young person, she's needed certain things explicitly spelled out to her so that she could truly understand how it all works and act according with expectations. She's done a wonderful job adapting to this new environment and "flying solo", and we're extremely proud of her!
Additionally, I was beyond proud that she took some suggestions from me after I sat in on one of the dress rehearsals. At age 11, it's getting harder for her to accept that Mom might still know a thing or two (funny how moms go from "knowing everything" to "knowing nothing" in the space of about, oh, 3 months!) and there has sometimes been resistance to any comments I might make. Imagine my delight when the next time I was there I saw that she had incorporated every single thing I'd mentioned and, most importantly, in her own way. No blind "doing as she was told", but a clear indication she'd processed the information given and made it her own. What a wonderful warm-fuzzy for a parent!
It's been a wonderful experience for her, I think - the company also has a mission to nurture young performers and thus has provided a nice, safe environment for a first time out on her own and she's really enjoyed herself. It was a thrill to see her so focused and involved onstage at last night's successful opening performance.
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In other news, I'm delighted to share that I've just been cast to perform the Witch in Hansel and Gretel later this year, a plum of a role I've been wanting to do for ages. The production sounds like it will be great fun, and I'm thrilled to start preparing it. Things finally seem to be looking up!
One curious thing is that everybody(myself and my husband included, I'm sorry to say!) has made an assumption of prior knowledge simply because she's our daughter: she already osmotically knows all those complicated staging processes, scheduling conventions and company protocols, right? Not necessarily....! For sure, she's had experience onstage in her childrens' groups and a great deal more exposure than many her age, but the specific nuts-and-bolts of mounting a full production in professional adult theatre.... she's never needed to know that before; in many ways, it's been a brand new situation and she has had to learn a lot. We've all had to remind ourselves that, like any other young person, she's needed certain things explicitly spelled out to her so that she could truly understand how it all works and act according with expectations. She's done a wonderful job adapting to this new environment and "flying solo", and we're extremely proud of her!
Additionally, I was beyond proud that she took some suggestions from me after I sat in on one of the dress rehearsals. At age 11, it's getting harder for her to accept that Mom might still know a thing or two (funny how moms go from "knowing everything" to "knowing nothing" in the space of about, oh, 3 months!) and there has sometimes been resistance to any comments I might make. Imagine my delight when the next time I was there I saw that she had incorporated every single thing I'd mentioned and, most importantly, in her own way. No blind "doing as she was told", but a clear indication she'd processed the information given and made it her own. What a wonderful warm-fuzzy for a parent!
It's been a wonderful experience for her, I think - the company also has a mission to nurture young performers and thus has provided a nice, safe environment for a first time out on her own and she's really enjoyed herself. It was a thrill to see her so focused and involved onstage at last night's successful opening performance.
************************************************************
In other news, I'm delighted to share that I've just been cast to perform the Witch in Hansel and Gretel later this year, a plum of a role I've been wanting to do for ages. The production sounds like it will be great fun, and I'm thrilled to start preparing it. Things finally seem to be looking up!
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