Beast Week

 Beast Week has come to a glorious end.  The production was so good, we kept going back!  I was backstage on mics for two of the performances, and saw it from the audience the other two.  Life gets more intense during weeks like this, and I think we all thrive on it at the Dopp house.  It all becomes somewhat of a blur, a slightly more technicolor blur than a regular week.  At the end of it all, there's a lovely buzz of accomplishment, tiredness, fondness and relief, mixed with a letdown that it's all over.  It was a good run.  A very good run.

 Golda was the enchantress at the beginning who offers the prince a rose, then turns him into a beast when he rejects her.  She had a ballet solo, which was beautiful.  Ruby and Hayley also danced during that scene.  One of my favorite scenes of the show!

 Ruby twirling during a break in the scene.

 Two forks.

 Golda, Ruby and Lexie were also wolves in a couple of scenes.  They could not see a thing in those costumes!  It was funny to hear about all the little things that went wrong during these wolf dances, due to the wolves' blindness.  I was just glad none of them fell off the stage!

 "Be Our Guest" napkins/can can girls, Lexie and Ruby (and Golda).  Here, they're facing away from the audience so they get to make funny faces.

 I love the mic job.  I get to be backstage and see the production from both sides.  My favorite part is always right after curtain calls, when the kids come off the stage glowing with pride and happiness, just bursting with the excitement of the audience's applause.

 Golda in the Tavern Scene.

 Golda admiring Gaston.  All the leads were perfectly cast and very, very talented.  I was so impressed with every single person in the show.

 Concurrently with the run of the play was Mack Watkins' viewing and funeral.  It was a poignant time.  The funeral was wonderful, Sarah and her family pulled off a graceful, beautiful program, and it turned out to be a time of friendship and comfort.  Here I am with Tiffany, Michelle, Leslie Bates, and also Christine and Scott, who weren't in the picture, as well as Jennie, Jen, Bruce, and scores of friends and family who, despite living within blocks of each other, only truly connect at these "big moments" in life, weddings, funerals, showers...

 ...and plays.  Even if it's not a "Big" moment, these plays are the small moments that will stand out when the kids look back on their growing-up years.

This moment brought tears to my eyes.  Ari and Ellison have known each other forever.  The past two months have been a bit of a scheduling trick, with three or four play practices thrown in on top of everything else.  But at this moment, I thought, "What else are they going to be doing?  They took their raw time and turned it into something lasting and good, something they had to work hard for, which culminated in tangible results."  I am just glad they had this time to be together.

 Ptolemy went to Kiptyn's birthday party at Build-a-Bear Workshop and came home with this doggie.  His name is Carlos, and he really enjoyed the play!

 Aunt Loretta and Uncle Ken are supportive of everything we do.  It's a good reminder to me that supporting friends is important, and means a lot to them.

 One of my favorite moments of the week was Friday night.  During curtain calls, I looked over at Bruce and Marlene, and they were both absolutely beaming with pride.  I will never forget their faces, and the obvious love and joy that lit them up as they watched their four granddaughters up on the stage.  I knew what they were going to say later.  They were going to rave about how good the play was, and how beautiful their granddaughters are, and what a great job ALL the kids did.  I was right.  (And I do have a good picture of them.  I just can't get it to load right now.)  Thank you for not only coming to see us, but being so enthused about it!

 Our little fork-slash-villager.

  Freestone, the little theater rat, saw it three times.  He couldn't get enough.  I was really wishing he had made the play, he loves the environment so much.  Good thing Henry was there to keep him company for all of the performances!  In true ten-year-old boy style, they ate their programs and wrestled in the halls between performances.  Collin was even there at the matinee to join in on the Kindle fun at intermission.

 Some of my favorite kids, Ari, Free, Hen and Ellison.

 Another batch of fans, Coco and Bill.  They sure get a kick out of these things!  The Beast, Dan Harvey, is the grandson of Bill's best friend, Malcolm.  I bet Bill and Malcolm never dreamed, as young boys on the farm, that they would someday have grandchildren in the same musical!

 Sisters.  *sigh*

This beautiful girl!  We voted her villager costume the best one.  She sure lit up the stage!

Lexie had a little fouette solo in the Napkin dance, and Golda and Ruby had this leg-lift thing, where they twirled in a circle in this pose.  One night, Ruby blanked out and missed the cue for this, so she came late to the center and, well, her head got in the way of Golda's leg.  I wish I had it on video!

 In between the matinee and evening performance Saturday, Sarah ended up with Henry and Freestone at the store, buying flowers for all the girls.  Thank you, Scheullers!!

 Theater rats. :)

 Ari worked hard on this play.  To be honest, it's outside of her comfort zone to sing and act, but she came through.  I was proud of her for stretching.  And I was right about turning the corner from, "I'm never doing this again" to "I wonder what play Jana is doing next year."  In fact, a few of the kids are begging for voice lessons...