Play Season's End and Other Monday Musings

The young Prince (Rapunzel) has his sight restored, and Rapunzel and her Prince look lovingly at each other - okay, not so much.  But at least he can see again.

A long and active play season for both Benjamin and I drew to a close this weekend, as Pierce County Middle School put on a rousing performance of Into The Woods, Jr.  Many attended and all enjoyed this fine show.  It gave many students experience, both performing onstage and working backstage.  The sets and stage direction was fantastic, and I really appreciated the fact that play had a lot of movement, both in musical numbers but also in regular scenes.  Sometimes plays lose a lot if there is little movement, or the characters react woodenly.  

My own play, The Graduate, finished the week earlier.  It was a great experience with one of the best all-around casts that I have been onstage with.  Because it was an "adult" show, the crowds were light, but with only one or two exceptions, the small crowds were enthusiastic and receptive.  It was a joy for me just to get into a play and have as my only responsibility my own acting.

I don't normally eat supper until after a rehearsal or performance, so now that it is over, I'm having trouble getting my appetite to respond at better times.  I'm still getting hungry at 10 or 11 each night, and that is not a good thing.  Hopefully, I can get back to normality in week or so.

My middle son Doug was down here this weekend, and we had a blast.  He saw Benjamin perform Into The Woods, Jr, and we also saw two movies, as Strait boys are wont to do when they get together.  One was Star Trek: Into the Darkness and the other was Iron Man 3.  Both were very good, but Star Trek was very, very good!

I was a little bit perturbed when I realized that Star Trek was going to have good box office, but not in the same class as Iron Man 3.  Since it was a superior movie, it kind of threw me off.  Then I realized that Alison chose Iran Man 3 to see over Star Trek, and even stated she had little interest in seeing it.  I have a friend who is a huge Star Trek fan, whose spouse said he would take her to it if she wanted to, but emitted little of his own enthusiasm for it.   And these are people who do not automatically dislike anything fantasy and science fiction.  Alison has a great deal of enthusiasm for these genres. I think the whole weight of the Trek mythology may sometimes weigh against it when people who are not immersed in it consider seeing a Star Trek movie.  Well, you're making a mistake.  You do not need to be "immersed" in Trekkie stuff to enjoy this movie.  If you are on the bubble on Star Trek: Into the Darkness, pop it and give it a try.  You won't regret it.

There is little over the summer to participate in drama-wise, which is good, because our family needs to take a break for it from awhile.  But next season, WACT is doing Dracula and A Christmas Carol, and it's going to be hard to stay out of those shows.  And I'm sure there will be opportunities to perform and write for Flying Dragon, and another middle school play in 2014.  

And that's how it is in Strait World.  As the curtain goes down on one season, we are already anticipating the curtain rising on next season!

Until next time,

T.M. Strait