Private School vs. The Navy

This past week is going on the top 3 weeks of all-time for this job. This little private school in Gloucester, VA (WARE Academy) which had never brought in Missoula Children's Theatre before was simply amazing. The whole week was dedicated to drama and the kids who were not cast in the show were given other duties like decorating the gym, building masking, or transforming the foyer into a wonderful underwater cave. When we weren't in rehearsals, classes were playing theatre games or working on decorations. Never in my life have I seen a more all-inclusive effort by a school and never have a met a group of kids less inhibited and more open to whatever we threw at them.
Sure selling 71 t-shirts, having every meal paid for and getting to hang with them at lunch and playing football with boys and stuffing 15 1st graders on the sea-saw was great but when I say that I was not ready to leave this town, I was NOT READY to leave this town...
Now I am on my first military base, which are notorious for being extremely difficult but we shall see what the week brings...STAY TUNED!

Now you get to see how dedicated this school was!

The wonderful underwater cave that the kids bult in the Foyer

Even the Kindergarden and First graders chipped in with their 15 ft amazon mermaid and puffer fish
Monster jelly fish hung from the rafters and underwater masking was built on either sides of the stage
And for some reason they feel the need to make fun of Sherman, the sensitive Merman who loves cooking and underwater basket weaving...

O.K. I don't see the Piano Player...

These were the very words that came out of the Queen's mouth 10 minutes after the show was supposed to start...
Let me set the scene real quick:
650 screaming children ages 4-10 who had already been sitting for 45 minutes and various cast members frantically pacing backstage tugging at my shirt saying things like:
"Are my friends out there?"
"I can't remember my first line"
"Ummm, Mr. Chris, Daniella just went pee-pee in her pants."
Now, combine all that with a woman who demanded that we start the show immediately, and you start to get the feel of the show this morning.
"Ma'am I realize these kids need to catch buses after the show," I pleaded, "but doing the show without a pianist will create a small catastrophe seeing as how the kids won't know when to start singing and all their entrances and exits happen when the music starts."
She promptly shrugged with a "sucks for you" kind of expression, walked out on stage, and announced the show.
I was pretty sure I had just met the most horrible woman alive and that she was kidding until I heard her say, "And now we present, The Little Mermaid!"
I pulled out my cell phone as fast as I could and called our emergency contact number…
"Hey Ellen, Cody isn't here and the show just started so if you could call him and just let him now that we are about to do the show acapella that would be great. Thanks!"

About halfway through the second number, the piano magically swooped in playing against a group of Sea Scouts who soon discovered they were singing about 10x to high.
Well, the kids didn't seem to notice or care as they clapped, cheered and giggled all the way through the show and yet again, someone was looking out for us in small town Tennessee

Kid's tell jokes to brighten up your day!

Need a little giggle to brighten your day? Then you have come to the right place! Listen to the boys and girls of this week's production of "The Little Mermaid" tell some good ol' fashion childhood jokes...

And we'll end with a 15 second joke from our good friend Dillon the country boy...

And a few pics to cap off a great week:

You wish you were a Merman...
Our happy little set in small town, KY

Back in Business!

After the most amazing break I have ever had which included a one week cruise to The Caymans, Belize, Cozumel and Costa Maya, Shirnest and I are back at it! The funniest thing about this week in Hazard, KY has got to be auditioning 60 kids with the thickest country accents I have ever heard. It's also a bit unnerving playing a country singing starfish at one point in the show because I can feel the kids wondering where in the world I learned such a terrible accent. Maybe I'll get a few pointers from the kids...
I will definitely be posting video interviews of the kids this week because they are simply priceless...

And now...Glorious Pics!

Everyone had a great time opening gifts...

A little xmas golf with the fam
The rooming situation on the ship was quite "snug"
At the port in Costa Maya with two girls we met on the ship
There was a new towel animal everyday we came back to the room!

And in closing, always rememeber that no matter how much you may think you hate you job, you will never hate it as much as this little fella does...