MaeLyn's Musings

I love family dinners. Every night we try to sit down together to eat dinner. As my children have gotten older it has gotten a little more challenging as one child needs to leave to get to an event before another gets home from work. Now two of my children have gotten married and moved out so we have their company even less frequently. (It was almost three years ago that Hannah last sat down to dinner with us at home, but she is coming back to the States next month!!!!) In spite of all this, those of us who are at home try to sit down together to eat dinner whenever possible. These dinners together are a chance for us to share what we did that day, discuss and coordinate schedules, and sometimes just talk about whatever comes to mind, which is when things get fun. My kids were drama kids and there is an improv game where someone gives a group of actors a first line and a last line and they have to improvise a skit that incorporates those lines. Occasionally at one of our family din...

This summer, Peter has been involved in a community theater production of " The Servant of Two Masters ". This play is an example of  commedia dell'arte . Many of the characters wore masks, and their actions were exaggerated in a way that added to the fun. Peter played the part of Pantalone, the money-loving father of a young woman whose engagement to the love of her life is put in jeopardy by the return of a man to whom she had previously been betrothed, but who had reportedly been killed in a duel.  The performances were this weekend. We attended Friday night and found it a lot of fun and really well done. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take a video recording or take pictures during the performance, but we were able to take some pictures in costume afterwards. Peter as Pantalone Pantalone and his soon to be son in law, Silvio.

 Last night, Peter performed in Northglenn High School's one acts, in a show entitled "Abra Cadaver." He played the part of Jack Marsh, a man with a heart condition who pops pills like m&ms and washes them down with alcohol. His sister-in-law has convinced him to help murder his wife, her sister, via a magic act. The plan is: at a masquerade party he would convince his wife to step into a box, into which they would insert knives, thus resulting in an unfortunate "accident". Clues start appearing however that show that not everything is as it seems. By the end, Peter has enacted his own death - twice! You can view the program, with Peter's bio  here . Scene 1: Jack and his sister-in-law, plotting Scene 3: Jack and his lawyer, lamenting the deaths of his wife and her sister  After the show, Jack in disguise

No pictures or videos were supposed to be taken during the play... Peter's friend took this one and the next couple and posted them on Facebook and I downloaded them from there. Peter and a couple of his fans.

Northglenn High School presented "Les Miserables" on March 1-3. It was absolutely amazing, especially for a high school production. John and Joshua both participated, growing out their hair to unprecedented lengths. (Pictures below were taken by Anton Mayer, and were copied from his  Facebook page ) Josh leads the chain gang.  John had the role of the bishop who changed Jean Valjean's life. John also had the misfortune of being run over by a loaded wagon John is just to the right of center, as one of the revolutionary leaders. Josh is on the far right, wearing a red scarf. Josh is the dead french soldier lying on the top of the barricade in this image. Josh liked to tell people that he played 2/3 of the French army. In another scene he played a French sniper who was shot, so he got to die twice. (Another actor played a French commander, the other 1/3 of the French army.) We bought a DVD of the musical so if anyone is in the area and want...

Made it to call backs But she didn't get a part. Disappointment reigns.

The young man sitting behind the desk left off explaining the many programs at the college, and commented on how quiet the girl sitting in the seat in front of him had been during the interview. The girl sat very still, her face pale, her eyes staring. Suddenly, she lurched from her seat and liquid spewed out of her mouth and all over both the man and his cluttered desk. "I don't feel so well." she mumbled as she stumbled out of the man's office and off the stage. The audience gasped and erupted into laughter and applause as the lad remaining on stage searched for a dry sweater to change into. This was Hannah's first appearance in the one act play, "13 Ways to Screw Up Your College Interview", which the rest of the family got to watch last night. Other interviewees in the play included an incompetent magician, a drama queen, the star of a documentary, a sleepy kid who dreams of being in a coma, and someone suffering from a rare condition in which he ...

Northglenn High School Fine Arts Department proudly presents: Thoroughly Modern Millie March 13th, 14th, & 15th at 6:30pm Last night, Steven and the boys and I attended the performance of Thoroughly Modern Millie, performed at Northglenn High School, in which Hannah participated.  I have to say right off that I enjoyed the play more than I did the movie - and it wasn't just because my daughter was on the stage. The songs were fun, the acting was fantastic, the plot twists at the end were intriguing. Even the boys were captivated.  Scenes and Musical Numbers (click to see larger) I enjoyed watching the Chinese boys, Ching Ho and Bun Foo as they danced and sang - in Chinese. Not understanding Chinese myself, I appreciated the translations projected on a screen, but I appreciated the efforts they expended learning their lines and practicing the pronunciation. It sounded Chinese to me. Cast List Another song that I thoroughly enjoyed was the "Spe...