Little Shop of Horrors

We started on March 12th for an April 21st opening night. 40 whirlwind days full of singing and rehearsing. And although tech week nearly did me in, I had an absolute blast. Needless to say, there was little time left in my schedule for blogging - especially in April!

For a tiny town of around 500 people, let me tell you - Mackinac has got some talent! 

I was cast as the Act One voice of Audrey II, a carnivorous plant with a deep voice and a taste for blood. I was also a member of the Derelict Chorus - A.K.A. a wino on Skid Row (hence the ragged shirt and trench coat.)

Working with the puppeteers to align my voice with the puppet's mouth movements (without being able to see one another) was a challenge, but we pulled it off.

Travis took over as Audrey II's voice when the plant grew and needed a deeper voice. (That's us at curtain call in front of the full grown Audrey II.)

For me, one of the highlights of Little Shop was getting to work with my youngest. K was the puppeteer for the smallest Audrey II. They were so excited when the prop builder said little Audrey II could come home with us. 

Truth be told - singing with a live band, in front of an audience, was pretty cool too. I never really understood the draw of participating in community theater until I was a part of it. Now I completely understand why people are willing to put so much work and effort into a play! 

Irresistible

I mean just look at that face.

So. Stinking. Cute.

I think

Professor Minerva McGonagall,

or Minnie, for short,

is the most adorable

kitty around.

Mackinac Island Carpool

Without a bus, Mackinac families "carpool" via snowmobile. This time of year, when we don't have much snow, kids get a ride as far as there is snow - usually to "the top of Grand Hill." Once there, they have to walk the rest of the way to school. At the end of the day, kids walk to the top of the hill and then ride the rest of the way. 

I Just Don't Get It

Recently Michigan passed an amendment to the Elliot Larson Civil Rights Act. This Act, originally passed in 1976, prohibits discrimination on the basis of "religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, familial status, or marital status" in the state of Michigan. While the law was interpreted to include protections for members of the LGBTQ+ community, Senate Bill Four codified those protections into law by adding "sexual orientation, gender identity or expression" to the list. 

To me, preventing discrimination of a marginalized group sounds like a good thing. Yet I know people who are adamantly against these additions. In fact the comments of an acquaintance of mine indicated that their church "would not stand" for this change and that "the battle is real."  To me the comments made it sound like the church is preparing for a fight. (And yes I know, I'm only giving you snippets of their words, but I want to protect their anonymity. If I were to share their entire quote, people in my community would know exactly who I was quoting, and I am not trying to badmouth or publicly shame anyone. I hope that if you're reading this you know I wouldn't take their words out of context, or intentionally misrepresent the intent of the comment.) Anyway... it sounded, to me, like this person was suggesting a fight was brewing.

It almost sounds, to me, as if the person I quoted wants people in Michigan to have the right to discriminate against others based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. So not hiring, providing a hotel room to, allowing to use a pool, renting to, etc. to people based on their religion, race, age, gender, height, weight, marital status, or nation of origin is not OK, but if you think they are gay or trans, then it is OK? Whether one approves of people being LGBTQ+ is irreverent; they're human beings who, in my opinion, deserve equal protections under the law. 

I genuinely don't understand how someone can justify the desire to keep discrimination legal.  I've never heard of a group of Jehovah's Witnesses picketing a plasma donation center,  a group of Church of Christ, Scientists trying to shut down a hospital, or a group of Mormons trying to get a coffee shop shut down; despite their religious objections to those institutions.

How does a person, in good conscious, fight against all Michigan citizens having equal rights under the law? I suppose all gains in civil rights have come with a fight. Our country was born out of a fight for rights, women fought for the right to vote and African Americans fought for Civil Rights. Perhaps it's just the Queer community's turn? I would have hoped we would have learned something from all those past fights.

Good Luck

This kid, along with the rest of The Great Lakers (Mackinac's robotics team), is off to Lake Superior State University today for his second competition. The entire team  worked hard on building this robot, so I hope they do well. It's pretty amazing to me that we can field a competitive team considering we only have about 30 students in out entire high school!

Lovely

The flight from St. Ignace over to the Island may be quick, but it always puts a smile on my face. 

Nope

Soylent Blue and Soylent Black might be OK, but there's no way they'll get me to try Soylent Green, even if it is mint flavored. 

I would love to talk to their marketing department to find out just what they were thinking. 

Today's the Day

This afternoon was out first read through of the script. I am so excited to be a part of this. Everyone involved is so incredibly talented; I just hope I am worthy of being included.

Changes

As I was cleaning out a closet the other day, I came across a box full of notes I'd saved from high school. Don't ask why I saved them - I really don't know, other than I tend to be a packrat... 

As I sat on my bedroom floor reminiscing and happily attempting to decipher the handwriting of my high school friends, it struck me; neither of my children have experienced the simple joy of finding a page-long, hand-written note in their locker. Nor have they ever been quickly handed a note in the hallway while they rush to class. Of course they don't write notes any more - kids text. Even in our little school with only 30 high school students, who are always together - they text, or use Snapchat. 

Writing a note took time - it took commitment and you didn't do it for just anyone. A page-long, hand-written note only went to someone who mattered to you; maybe that's why I saved them. It makes me wonder if any of the notes I wrote back in high school are in the back of someone else's closet. 

As silly as it sounds, I'm really glad I didn't grow up with a smart phone in my pocket.

Fun

 

It's going to be a lot of work, but I think it's going to be a blast! I've helped out with costuming several community theater shows recently, but I've not been in one since before my kids were born. And even though I won't actually be on stage, I'm looking forward to doing a little voice acting. And I get to sing!  Though I'm sure my family will be sick of my one song well before show time.