I can't believe that after all the drama my twins put me through, neither one of them wants to try out for the school play. Both Arielle and Tyler made it very clear that they do not want to act, sing, dance, or do any activity that involves performing in front of an audience.
"I would be SO embarrassed!" Tyler said. This is coming from a kid who once mockingly bit his hand and dropped to the kitchen floor to express his shock and disbelief when I asked him to close the refrigerator door. "Hollywood, Broadway" went through my mind.
Arielle not only echoed Tyler's sentiment, but quoted him word for word. That's the girl who want my attention ALL the time. "Mommy liked being on stage when she was a little girl" I told her the morning of the try-outs. "It made me feel like a star!" By the way, I usually don't talk about myself in the third person, but if it works for Elmo . . .
"Mommy, star!" Arielle replied and stroked my cheek--very sweet but no indication of a desire to get on stage. Both kids expressed an interest in helping paint the set. So, instead of reaching for the spot light, they were going to paint themselves into a corner!?!?!?
When I was about their age, I discovered that the terror I initially felt when asked to stand on a chair and recite a poem in front of company, can magically turn into a thrill. When school plays came along, I realized that the bright stage lights make it impossible for the actors to see the audience. The best part was that the audience never talked back. So, by being in a play, I thought, you get all of the attention and none of the "talk-back!" I don't think the expression "captive audience" was a part of my vocabulary then. I certainly appreciated the concept even if I couldn't verbalize it.
If you're wondering why you've never heard of me, that's because the dream of being an actress lasted only through my tween years. It was a temporary childhood/adolescent fascination, not a life-long dream or calling. Although, the thrill of performing stayed with me through adulthood and gave me quite a high when I got to sing the National Anthem--along with about twenty other people, all members of the Foster City Community Choir--at a Giants game a few years back. It was that old "terror-into-thrill" experience, intensified by the largest "captive audience" I've ever had.
It would be accurate to say that my children don't share most of my interests. Although, I got excited when Tyler asked me to read him a book in late afternoon! An avid reader myself, I cringe when I hear "books are boring" from my kids--although some books are boring indeed. Tyler's book of choice was If You Give A Mouse A Cookie. Both kids pulled their chairs next to mine (that's as close to a Hallmark moment as this story will ever get) so that they could follow along (we're working on reading skills.)
My son's gaze quickly wondered to a catch-up bottle label, which I promised I would read AFTER we finished the book. I pointed and read both the writer's and illustrator's names--of the book, that is, not the catch-up bottle. We talked about the meaning of the word "illustrator." "How do you get to draw so good?" Tyler asked pointing to a profile of a smiling mouse puffing tiny clouds of "super beauty powder" into the air. Did I ever tell you that I was the kid who NEVER drew anything?
"Well," I thought out loud, "You probably spend a lot of time drawing and also looking at other people's drawings to see how they did it." In addition, I felt it was my duty to tell them that the rats and field mice who live in our neighborhood are not nearly as enchanting and harmless as Felicia Bond's creation.
Yes, we made it to the end of the book, which, as everyone knows ends with the beginning. Ah, that literary technique of taking the kids through the process to a predictable ending. How about some suspense for the adult reading the book to the children? After we finished, Tyler excitedly traced the pictures in the book (on tracing paper, of course) while Arielle cheered him on.
"We have an artist in the house!" Arielle announced.
The try-outs for the play were a few days ago. It just occurred to me that I could have explained to Arielle that you can't see your audience when you're on stage and it's hard to feel embarrassed. Oh, well, there's always next year's play.
