Am-Dram: Junior Edition

Youngest Son has a play in rehearsal this week with performances scheduled for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. His school is producing The Borrowers and he's playing the gypsy boy that comes out near the end of the play to say something prophetic but it's usually lost on the audience because of the strange Romanie/Cant accent he has to perform so that he doesn't blend in with the rest of the characters. However, after listening to him this afternoon, I'm not sure we'll be hearing much of the accent.

It's not that he can't do it. He and I have practiced and I've shown him a lot of information about the Travellers and how to create his character. It's just that he said that most of the other actors don't know their lines or aren't doing a British accent, so what's the point of him doing one? I asked what his teacher said about it and how she likes his performance? He said that they haven't gotten to his part in the other rehearsals and when they finally did today, the teacher had left and someone else he didn't know was in charge of feeding lines to those who couldn't remember them.

Poor kid. He really, really wants this to be a good, standout part for him because he's only been in musicals until now. He wants to show that he can do drama and be a character actor so that when he moves up to high school and begins the drama classes there, maybe he'll have an advantage of getting some of the bigger parts and learning more along the way. He's already decided that he's going to major in theatre when he goes to college. I'm trying to convince him to double-major in acting and technical theatre because there are tons of actors out there waiting for their big breaks but you can always put your technical skills to use even in a small theatre company.

We'll see how the rehearsals go for the rest of the week. Fortunately, he's acting with a lot of his friends (and girls that he likes but won't tell them, too). Even though he won't be onstage much, at least he'll have fun hanging out in the wings.

A little fall of rain

Today's post is going to be short because it's finally raining here and I'm taking some time to enjoy watching the birds looking for something to eat in the freshly mown grass. They were doing that after it was mowed yesterday, but the rain has brought up a lot of treats for them.

And I also just got back from my therapist's office and still feel in a funk about everything that's going on at the moment. She suggested that I go back to school. "And do what?" I asked her. I have a bachelor's degree and most of a master's, but I can't afford any more student loans. There aren't many grants/scholarships for second bachelor's (which I'd need to really do what I wanted). Plus, if I had the money to go back to school I'd have the money to open my own business and that sort of makes the whole conversation moot.

So for now I'm going to sit and watch the birds outside. It's quiet and the rain isn't falling hard, so it makes it cooler outside but not so unpleasant that you're terrified of going out in it. Well, I'm not terrified of going out in it but you'd think the dogs -- who will romp and roll in anything -- believe it's poisonous. They keep looking at me when I open the door for them to go "walkies" as if I've completely lost my mind.

They may be right. But they still have to do their business out there.

Happy whatever to me....

Yes, it's my birthday. No, I'm not going to tell you how old I am. Yes, I went out to lunch for my birthday. No, I didn't do anything else special (at least as of 5:30 p.m.).

Youngest Son had a great time at his friend's party last night. They played Laser Tag and other games before going back home and watching endless episodes of Big Bang Theory before they fell asleep.

Eldest Son called me from college to wish me a happy day. Fortunately he's doing well this semester, doesn't have to have a roommate in his dorm, and weathered the big storms that rolled-in a few days ago and yesterday very well. It's been drilled into him what to do in case of a severe storm/tornado/etc. and his weather radio is on to tell him where to go. I worry, but at least I don't have to worry as much when it comes to things like that.

Anyway, that's all for today.

See....if I'd started this last year like I kept promising myself I was going to I'd be done now.