Acting, Staging, and Costuming

There's just no tune as exciting as a show tune in 2/4. When it's played, you can just smell The greasepaint in the air.  - Jerry Herman

Hello Dolly & Mame are two great shows composed by Jerry Herman, the master poet and composer. He wrote a lot of tunes for his shows in 2/4, and if you don't know what that means, just picture the conductor waving his baton frantically up and down, tons of energy, and a strong pulse from every other bass note buzzing by.  You generally cannot help but tap your foot, thumb, or toe and even though the singer may be singing slowly, an unmistakable rhythm is driving you pretty quickly into the heart of the show.  And this music moves.


We're functioning on a 2/4 right now, something new being staged every other day as opposed to every other beat.  I have to be somewhat of an actress while teaching these little ones.  How else could you hedge in a 1 1/2 blue eyed boy who specializes in balancing on the couch armrest and belly flopping onto the couch.  Good thing we have a hearty Broyhill. I welcome you over to try saying "no" with a straight face.  I have to brush up on these acting skills.


"How you sell is not now you live," was a very helpful comment from our Realtor.  Either she was telling us the truth or just trying to make us feel better about the condition of our house, that latter reason worked regardless.  She said how everyone's house looks like this, especially if they have children, but now we have to pack up everything we don't use daily. "Is there room in the garage?  Fill it up!"  If it wasn't for the 20 pieces of Mr. Potato head scattered about - a nose for pretend soup and eyes as a pacifier - this may not seem that difficult.  I'm now in the pack and seal mode.  If it's sealed and packed, it can't be strewn about.  However, my pretty baskets that I bought to camouflage toys in the living room are working.  They work when everything is in them.  So we are getting there in the staging.  A few more coats of paint and about 12  more boxes and we should be set for staging.  Should we leave all 7 diplomas up?  There's actually 8 if you count mine.  I would say I use them on a daily basis. They remind me how fortunate I am to be fully supporting the endeavors of the best cardiologist ever.  I wonder how literal she wants me to take this packing thing.  


And now onto some costumes.   I have never tried to buy a dress for a bachelorette party and an interview in the same shopping trip.  I wouldn't recommend trying to look classic, classy, and professional without an over the top power image, yet preserving a hint of personality somehow with trying to pull off a fit-in-with-20 year-olds-bachelorette getup. Somehow it is working.  


At the dinner I'll be smiling in a structured black dress with short sleeves, a high slightly embellished neckline with a low profile heel and black stockings.  I'm really grateful I can smile this year! It will be worn at Mike's 2nd interview (which I am dying to call a 'callback') meeting dinner tomorrow night, where we will be with about 6 other doctors who practice there and their wives, one of the female doctors, and an administrator.  His possible future colleagues.  I do fear that I will gasp at some kind of exceeded or under-met expectation if they actually talk contractual issues.  But I won't.  I am totally there to support my love 100% and can't believe we have this evening and opportunity to go together.  My friend Rachel put it well, "When do we ever get to go out with our husbands and support them, and honor them so well? What a great opportunity." 


I have a little snack of an outfit in my closet when I will pull out for the bachelorette party.  I won't go into any detail, other than, it actually fits and stages my curves like a 20 year old's. 


Brett helped me pick out Mike's dinner interview outfit, which was helpful.  He texted, "Suit with a bright tie, a little fun but not crazy."  Brett has a very concise way of getting a complex point across.  In some settings, we call that genius.  As David devoured books in the front of the shopping cart, and Naomi was body surfing under the cart reading her books, I buzzed around the store getting Mike a 2nd suit.  He will be wearing a medium depth grey suit, with very subtle blue and white pin stripes, but they are more subtle than pin stripes.  You would barely notice them until you impart sky blue tie in which the horizontal differently textured stripes mimic the tiny pin stripes.  Throw on the Johnston and Murphy's, some Calvin deep grey socks and he is set.  The cart couldn't have looked classier - two flower girl dresses, lingerie for my little sister, full suit, shirt, socks, tie, we bought a book we ripped a page out of, birthday dress for Naomi, little girl stockings, and two kids who had had enough as we pulled up to the register.  When the cashier asked me if we wanted to donate a dollar to fight heart disease, I was shocked.  We are in the business of donating to heart disease! Where do you think our 20's went?  


 The 2/4 tempo has been quick this week.  A lot is going on, but a lot is being accomplished on the surface.  In all the acting, staging, and costuming, I am finding it quite fun, and looking for opportunities to not get swept up in business.  Committing each set of endeavors to the Lord, praying for wisdom, and being in fellowship every other measure has been a huge help and I can see how it is part of God's perfect acting in our own lives.  From giving me a shalom peace to wherever we are called for Mike's new job, to ideas like, "Two happy meals could buy me 1 hour in Home Depot"  I attribute all of these logistics and craziness, trials and triumphs, to His perfect staging.