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Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Talking Back

We've hit Week 3 on the road, and it's safe to say we're settling into the swing of things with Beauty & the Beast.  By far the most interesting and entertaining part of the typical workday, in my opinion, is the question and answer session (a "talkback" in theatre jargon) that we hold with the kids after each performance.  It's an opportunity for them to ask us questions about the show or what it's like to be an actor, etc.  Many of the questions are insightful, or at least thoughtful:  How old were we when we started acting?  Was it difficult to memorize the parts?  How long did it take us to rehearse the show?  More recently someone asked us what characters each of us would most like to play.  (For me, at the moment, this would be Miranda in Shakespeare's The Tempest, but for the kids' sake, I added that I also have "this secret desire to be the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz," and did my best "I'll get you my pretty," for them—which is pretty impressive if I do say so myself.)



But for every one serious question, there are two silly ones and at least three preschoolers or kindergarteners telling me "My favorite part was when the Beast died."  (Question: when they say this, do they mean the part when the Beast turns into a Prince?)

Not a day goes by that Jenn and I are not asked if we are actually sisters, but occasionally it gets more creative and I am also asked to add that I am not Jenn's mother, either.  Slightly more disconcerting was that I recently showed up in a school's front office, where the school faculty thought I was there to pick up my preschooler.  Apparently I'm giving off a maternal quality lately.

At one school every person I picked to ask a question simply wanted to inform us of his or her favorite color.

Jack has been asked how he removed "all that makeup" (and presumably reapplied it) each time he switched characters.  Note:  Josh wears a rubber halloween mask as the Beast, not makeup.  Still others have demanded to know why he's not wearing a "full Beast costume," which I imagine would be something akin to a gorilla suit.  Other than the practicality of costume changes,  we inform them that all of our costumes, props, and set pieces have to fit into our two duffel bags, which have to fit into one very small car.  The real reason?  Poor Jack would have a heatstroke.  Many of these gyms and cafeterias are not very well air-conditioned.

Of course, Jack and Jenn (who has been our Belle so far) are regularly asked if they are really married.  Several students have ignored Jack and Jenn's response to this question, spotting the ring on Jenn's hand.  They seem to think that Jack and Jenn are keeping their alleged marriage under wraps and that they, the students, have cleverly caught them in their lie.  The ring Jenn wears is on her right hand.

One of the highest compliments we receive is when children ask where "the fourth actor" is.  Jack and I, both playing multiple characters, take this as a great tribute to our acting.  Of course, they might be under the impression that there is another actor playing the Beast, and that Jack's slight-of-hand removing the mask on stage is one heck of a magic trick.

Naturally, with it being so popular, we are also regularly asked, in round-about ways, why our play is not the Disney film of Beauty & the Beast.  We, of course, explain that our play is an original work, with elements not only from the Disney film, but also the original French fairy tale written in the 1700s, as well as some ideas the writer came up with on his own.  This satisfies most, although some still want to know where Lumiere and Chip are.  In one case, a child asked me if you could "fail a play," like you can fail a class.  I told him no, but that of course we all make mistakes sometimes, like missing an entrance or forgetting a line, but you have to keep going and work through it.  "You guys forgot a ton of lines," he accused me severely, before sauntering off to class, presumably to become a theatre critic.

Still, as wearying as this journey has been so far, I can safely say that I get up in the morning for the kids.  They are beyond wonderful, and it's great to be able to bring them a little bit of theatre.

On a quick side note, a few teachers have been taking photos for school websites, etc., and one a couple of them were kind enough to email us some of those photos, so I thought I post a few of the good ones over here. (Follow the link to see the photos.)

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