Hawk Mountain #4

Friday had come: the day of the plays, perhaps the day of doom. Surprisingly, I was less stressed about the play than I had been before… I couldn’t fix much in this last run through; I had done all I could and now it was up to them. Most of the actors consented to put on their costumes (with one or two exceptions), which was a good sign. Sadly, the rehearsal was one of the worst ones I had ever seen. It seemed like the little kids had all taken an overdose of silly pills for breakfast and the older ones weren’t putting their heart into acting at all. The play dragged on into what seemed like infinity...

Concentrating on forgetting our horrible dress rehearsal, I enjoyed a light lunch and settled down with my cousins to watch our parent’s production of “Marry Poppins.” It was staged in the common room; at scene change my mom (in her constable guise) would come out, announce the next scene and its location, adding a basket of flowers to the table to represent outside, or a sign to represent the bank, or taking both away to give the audience a peek into the Banks family’s home.

A great success – Aunt Albertina’s laugh was absolutely hysterical, as was the constable’s kind English drawl and Katie Nanna’s clipped accents.

George Banks proved to be the picture of an Englishman with his stern orders and stiff manner, his dulcet wife Winnefred at his side (a secret supporter of women’s rights).

Bert (who also played the old Banker) was full of fun, Jane and Michael presented lively childish children, and then of course Mary Poppins: practical, firm, kind and respectable.

As soon as bows had been made, all of my actors decided it was time for a dip. Warning them they would have to get out in ½ an hour I busied myself gathering props and making a master script for the narrator, whose job it was to be sure everything was on stage before the scene began. With much grumbling and annoyance the cast left their wet cool amusement and began to dry off and dress for the play. The audience gathered, and all of the actors were confined to the porch room unless they were required onstage. As director of the play, I introduced the play (Ella Enchanted), then the cast, and blabbed a little about what they were about to see.

For those who are not familiar with the story, I will summarize: the book is a children’s novel based on the Cinderella story but with an odd twist: when Ella (Cinderella) is born she is given a “gift” by the fairy Lucinda: the gift of obedience.

Whenever she is given an order, she must obey it, even if it means hopping on one foot all day or killing someone.

Ella’s mother dies, and her Father remarries;

Dame Olga and her Daughters Hattie and Olive find out about Ella’s “gift” and use it to drive her into submission, working her to the bone and preventing her from seeing her childhood friend Prince Charmont.

When the prince writes her, asking her to marry him, she must refuse, because in marrying him she would put him and the entire country in jeopardy. The Prince’s parents decide it is time for their son to marry, so they hold a ball inviting all the maidens in the land to come and meet the prince.

Ella goes to the ball, disguised with a mask, to say a silent goodbye to her prince; her resolution to remain unnoticed gives way and she dances with Char, who does not recognize her. Hattie, jealous of the attention that Ella is receiving, contrives to pull off her mask, exposing her to the prince. “Marry me Ella” is his plea (an order), which becomes the spark that sets off an inner battle in Ella who finally manages to break the curse. She marries the prince and they live happily ever after.

Well, it was a lot shorter than I thought it would be (I based my guesses off of the rehearsal time) which wasn’t a bad thing at all. Everything went smoothly, and you could even hear the little kids!! We had some wonderful acting!! It was great!

The older cousins discussed the plays, then we went for a quick game of volleyball before dinner. After dinner we were surprised by the Moulder family who came to visit again, this time with 2 luscious chocolate cakes. Let me just remind you, it was Friday evening, and the premiere night for High School Musical 2. Most of us gathered in the screen porch to watch it (I can’t believe I actually did this). My verdict: very weak, but better than the first one. The only disturbance during the movie was a bat flying around the ceiling… after initial screams we just ignored it. For some reason, the parents thought it was too late for night games, so Rachel and I talked for hours instead.

Sunshine on Sat. morning… flurry of packing, pictures, and a video survey of favorite parts of the family reunion. The cars were packed, the keys were found (one at the bottom of the trash can) and returned, and our journey home began. Only 1 ½ weeks left at home, then the REAL adventure would begin…