For the record, Annie's easily a top 3 show from my duration at CAI. It might be #1.
The cast did a tremendous job bringing the show together, and while it wasn't perfect, they gave their audiences a memorable evening. The audience was equally memorable, with both houses being records for CAI theater productions. Friday night was sold out, the first sell out in school history, with extra seats brought in and people sitting on the sides of the auditorium.
I made some good back stage friends in this production, with a number of parents stepping in to really help out. In many ways it was less stressful than smaller shows because issues like costumes, props, and tech needs were delegated to several different people. I also got to re-connect with one of my old friends from high school Sunday School class. Her daughter was one of the orphans in the show.
Some memorable occurrences took place during the run. Warbucks backed out on shaving his head thanks to his prom date (prom is in 2 weeks), and I had to call in a favor to a film director friend of mine, the great Herschel Zahnd III. Herschel called one of his makeup guys who arrived just in time to put a skull cap on Warbucks in time to go on stage. My aforementioned old friend did the honors on Saturday and did a marvelous job as well.
One of my personal favorite things back stage was the phrase "Smokey Red 22," which was code for changing over the Warbucks mansion set. Yes, it's also a reference to Smokey and the Bandit, and it did my heart good when one student actually got the reference after I coined it.
I won't miss the tedious nights of rehearsal and the time away from my kids, but I will miss my students and a few moms and dads and teachers after this one. I got to send off a few beloved students who were seniors this year, and I'm looking forward to seeing where they go from here. I'm equally excited about the potential for the school's theater program. It's good to leave on a high note, not just for me but for them. Annie was a huge success, and my prayer is it will inspired them to even greater heights. The students and the community need it, and in the long run, the theater and film industries need more Christians to make it their vocation. It's a mission field; all that's missing are the workers.
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