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| I have no memory of last year's church adult Christmas program, whatsoever! This year, Cindy mentioned something tonight about being relieved to have the musical over with so that she can begin her true vacation time - boy, do I understand THAT feeling. I'm even relieved to have this performance over with, though my stress level can't begin to compete with Cindy's, as the director and overseer of everything to do with the evening.
It seems like we did our program much earlier in the month last year and I think i like it better that way. While it's nice to have Christmas music so close to the actual day, it does prolong the stress of having something to do that requires work. The earlier my school AND the church musicals are concluded, the sooner it can start to feel like a truly stress-free vacation.
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| Whew! Thank God the adult Christmas musical is over!!!
Cindy tried something new this year - having little bitty kids act out the manger scene between songs. Oh my, that turned out to be quite the experiment. Joseph (Jeremiah) and Mary (Lilly) were seen slapping the angels' hands when they tried to touch the Baby Jesus, one angel (Maddie) had to be taken off the stage and ended up being chased by her dad across the back of the sanctuary, while the littlest angel (Roxie) climbed up on the speakers, took her shoes off and stood staring at Joanne, in complete rapt attention. The 3 Wise Men (John Mark, Joshua, and Gabe) were absolutely adorable as they marched around the auditorium and then came up on to the stage. Joshua sucked his thumb as he sat by the manger, close to the Baby Jesus.
At one point, Cindy was so busy trying to corral this motley crew that we all got completely off on one of the songs. It was so bad that even Cindy couldn't figure out where we should be and when she finally brought us back in to a certain point in the score, it ended up being wrong so we did our grand finale measures, only to have the accompaniment go on without us.
The costumes for our little manger people came from my stash, particularly the kindergarten outfits I made last year. These kids were even smaller than my kindergarten class, so I had to use pins and tape to modify the robes for such itty-bitty baby stars. I love watching the transformation of children from their everyday looks to the sweetness of nativity costumes. It always amazes me how something as simple as a unisex tunic can be dressed up to give the image of Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, Wise Men and angels.
This was definitely a different kind of program than what we usually do for adult choir but there was a sweet family feeling to singing out the Nativity story with the help of all those precious preschoolers. | | |
| I've been watching lots of sappy Christmas movies - and loving every one of them. | | |
| Messing around on Youtube today, i decided to look up "Miracle on Main Street" and see if any children's groups have put their performances online. Yep, they have. There was a particular choir I watched that made me appreciate my own kids so much! The Youtube Stars didn't know their lines and had to be constantly prompted what to say and do next. Not at all like my wonderful students who do such a great job memorizing and performing their parts each year.
I did, however, really love the timeliness of the message in "Miracle on Main Street". Even as I watched the not-nearly-as-good-as-my-kids-choir, I found myself thinking about which students of mine could fill the different roles. Then I began working out staging ideas! HELP, SOMEONE STOP ME!!!! It's not even Christmas THIS YEAR and I'm already planning Christmas next year!!!
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| Talk about a quick turnaround - the DVD for "Christmas County Spelling Bee" was in my box today! I watched the entire thing this evening and got such a kick out of being able to see things I missed in all the directing for the night of the program. For instance, my focus had to be on the choir for "Mighty God" so I could only get a glimpse of the cheerleader choreography. Watching it on the DVD was wonderful because I could clearly see how well the girls did in staying on their correct motions and doing everything as a synchronized group. No wonder Virginia was so impressed with the way all the kids in this musical knew what motions they were suposed to be doing, at all times.
Of course, watching the DVD also allowed me to see the funny glitches. The new twins off in La-La land, Peyton's hair completely messed up after she put her antenna on, Aaron getting increasingly desperate to get to a bathroom....lots of endearingly humorous kid-moments that only served to make the program even more charming.
My kids aren't exactly ready for prime time, but they look like an exuberantly enthusiastic choir, which pleases me greatly. And that Nativity gathering was just as touching on the tape as it was the night of the performance.
For a program I wasn't originally too thrilled with, I really do love how this musical turned out. I'm so proud of all my leads, as well as each adorable kid in the choir. | | |
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