A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol opened last night at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts in Burnaby. Fiona's in it. She plays Martha Cratchit. This is a musical version of the Charles Dickens classic, and it's very good. And I'm not just saying that because I am Fiona's mom.

The house was full last night with opening night well-wishers. We laughed and cheered and gasped at the ghosts. We giggled when a doorknob fell of the set and the actors had to compensate to get through the door for the rest of the scene. Other than that it was an amazingly polished, confident and spirited opening performance.

I had the interesting experience of re-connecting with two people from my own past in community theatre. Before Footlight was Footlight, it was Heritage Musical Theatre. I was in a couple of shows, "Here's Love" in 1977 and "The Sound of Music" in 1978. When I was reading the program last night, I noticed the name of two lifetime members of Footlight Theatre Society, Bev Adams and Roy Fairbairn. I hoped I might see them at the reception following the show. Well, who should sit down right beside us, but Bev! I introduced myself and we reconnected. Bev is still a supporter of Footlight, and now writes and directs plays at Dogwood Community Centre in Coquitlam. She pointed Roy out to me, and I introduced myself to him at the reception. He has written a book about his experiences in musical theatre.

When I knew Roy and Bev, I was the same age that Fiona is now. What a lovely happening that she is involved with the same good group of people, thirty years later!

This isn't my first brush with past friends from Footlight. This summer, as I sat in the audience for Theatre Under the Stars, I noticed a familiar face beside me. I introduced myself and discovered I was sitting beside David Berner, who directed "The Sound of Music" for Footlight.

There must be some reason for the past to be rolling itself out to me. I have a hunch I am being nudged (by God, the cosmos, my own inner energy-source) to reconsider my creativity. I don't think I'm going back to musical theatre. That's Fiona's world now. But something is telling itself to happen inside of me. For now, I will try to listen and notice and be open.

In the meantime, I will see A Christmas Carol two more times through the run. I am sure I will love it more and more.

On the way to the theatre Friday, Fiona and her friend Shannon were talking about my propensity for crying. It's true that I cry at just about anything, happy or sad. I am moved easily and I like that about myself. What a great feeling it is to be emotionally connected to what is happening around me. Fi and Shan were speculating about where and when I would cry in the show, and they urged me to keep track. They were almost right with their guess of 5 times in the first act and 5 in the second for a total of 10. I actually counted 5 and 4, for nine. Andy held my hand, and gave me his extra tissue before the show began.

I hope that you will see the show if you live close by. I think you probably won't cry nine times, but if you do, that's just fine too.

question: why do things happen the way they do?

mompoet - tuning in to synchronicity and feeling mightily connected