Tonight is the closing night of Annie Get Your Gun. It’s the culmination of over 2 months worth of rehearsals. I figured that if we rehearsed on average 15 hours per week, times 10 weeks, that’s 150 hours, and since there’s three of us in the show, times that by three, add in travel time….etc. It’s been a big deal. A lot of work, and a lot of fun. 
Doing the show with my kids has been quite a different experience than just doing the show on my own, like I did last year. On one hand, it’s been a nice way to connect with my girls, have something in common with them, and experience this whole thing together. On the other hand, coordinating with their softball schedules has been difficult, and listening to their whining and complaining has been even more difficult. And it’s one thing to be at a long and boring rehearsal yourself, but to worry about what your kids are going to do during the long and boring parts and having to plan for that is a lot more work.
One of my friends in the play, Debbie, has ALL her kids in the play. Seriously–all of them. Her daughter who just got married, her other daughter and her boyfriend, and her three younger kids. So when they are getting ready with makeup and costumes, they are ALL doing it. Wow. I hope the girls have enjoyed the experience. I worried about them a month ago because they were complaining every single time we had to go to rehearsal, and I just thought maybe this had been a big mistake to encourage them to do the play. But now, at performance time, I can see that they are really having a lot of fun.
It’s a different experience being in the chorus as apposed to being a lead last year. I do admit that there were times I felt unappreciated and even ignored.
Since there are a lot of dancing scenes, and without enough guys to include everyone, they would choreograph for couples, often forgetting that the chorus ladies were actually supposed to be in the scene as well. It all got worked out in the end, but there were times where we would sit at rehearsal for two hours before anyone realized we were even there, and figured out where to place us in the scene. 
The best part of being in a show is the friends. I’ve made lots of new friends in this show, and reconnected with some friends I made from last year. It really is a lot of fun, and worth all the hard work.
I’ll be sad when it’s over tonight, although I’m happy to have my free time back.
There’s no business like show business.
What great pics! Glad to hear it all went well. Soon the kids will be in school and then we’ll have even MORE time to get things done 😀
It looks fantastic! Oh, I miss being in shows so much. I’m glad you and your girls are taking advantage of the opportunity! Now enjoy a few free evenings 🙂