A good time was had by all

Last night was the kids' performance of Pinocchio, under the direction of two amazing directors/actors from the travelling Missoula Children's Theater company. In less than a week, 50 kids from ages five to 17, from two different schools and the homeschooling community, put on an amazing production of the classic story, complete with singing, dancing, and some dandy costumes. And gained more than just a bit of professional theater experience from two very dedicated teachers. Many thanks to Eric and Melanie for their terrific job, and to Missoula for making real theater possible even for those of us who live far from the bright lights and big cities.

The boys were both wonderful as toy soldiers, and the costumes were beautiful -- tall red hats, red jackets with tails, and big red dots on their cheeks. Davy made the most of his role as the lead toy, carried around (lying stiff as a board) by Mrs. Geppetto, and then hiding in the Toy Box, ready to pop out when the dancing puppets opened the lid (and without falling asleep, which was my concern). Laura got quite a kick out of being a Pleasure Island Child, first skipping around and singing about the joys of school (tee hee), and then as a member of a junior donkey chain gang, after succumbing to Donkey Fever.

All three, not surprisingly, are planning their auditions for next year.









Not my kids (this picture is from the Missoula website) because my digital camera is still living in my sock drawer, but an idea of what the costumes looked like, because I was so impressed with the quality and effort involved.