In Other Words

The senior advanced theater class put on an amazing performance at CellSpace in the city. They wrote the show themselves and I have to say it's the best production I've seen in a long time. Chloe sang a couple of original pieces and she continues to astound...

Oompa Loompas Doopity-Do!

Bad picture, but great shot!

Out of the Shadows

Claire and Jack had a blast playing with their new shadow puppet theater this evening. The concept is so simple, and I love hands-on, involved entertainment. The stories they made up were so creative, and they entertained themselves, and the rest of us, for a good long time. It just proves that it doesn't take much to have a happy childhood, no matter how old you are...

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Chloé went with Debra to see Wicked this afternoon, and now she's hopelessly stagestruck, as if she wasn't before: "MOM! I got to STAND ON THE STAGE at the Orpheum!" Debra is lucky enough to have some backstage connections, much to Chloé's delight, so they got to meet Teal Wicks and Patty Duke. But probably the highlight of the day was trying on the witch's hat...

Teen Talent

Wynham did an amazing job in the supporting role of Chad in High School Musical -- he crooned, he clowned around, he ad-libbed brilliantly when somebody missed her cue -- he's obviously got theater in his veins (hmm, wonder where he got that...). A large group of us went to see the show on the night of Wynham's 13th birthday, and you could tell that he was really having a good time. The evening was topped off by a stunning and creative cake made by our friend, Michele Mason, who manages Sweet Things Bakery. What a way to celebrate!

Playing the Part

We had to coax and plead to get Wynham to try out for the school play this year, but now that he's got a supporting lead part (Chad, the guy with the afro) I think he's pretty psyched about the whole thing. I finally watched the movie with him the other night (neither of us had seen it before).

The main character is struggling to achieve balance between his commitment to a basketball team with a hard-driving coach and his desire to sing in the school musical. I was struck by the irony -- Wynham has exactly the same problem -- he's bummed out that he often has to sit out at his basketball games because his coach doesn't want him missing practice for play rehearsal, so he doesn't get as much time on the court as he would like...

He's got just over two weeks to learn all his lines (and there are a lot), juggle that with the basketball schedule, and still keep up with his school work. But if I know Wynham, he'll deliver a star performance in all categories. Like Claire loves to say, "Wynham, Wynham, he's our man: if he can't do it, no one can!"