PORCH PONDERINGS

Laughter in the Time of Corona

I read somewhere there are no small parts, just small actors. I have a small part in a small play in a small community theater group in a tiny town. So I thought, make this part I have the best part I can. I memorized my lines in a few weeks. Then I thought hard about the costume, and it's a winner. I thought of a bohemian grandma hippy type, so I have a neon green long sleeve top under a rainbow colored tie dye dress with silver glitter on it, neon green knee socks with clogs, silver dangly earrings and a huge silver bubble necklace. In my hair I found a black and orange feather thing lying about. I also have some red glasses. The best thing is all those bits and pieces were cobbled together from my personal clothes and thrift store finds. And oh boy, do I make an appearance. They can't ignore me on stage. Besides my few lines, I do a lot of screaming. Ha.....

I thought of something else this morning. The play is a comedy. I thought of this: "Laughter in the Time of Corona". A wordplay on the excellent novel "Love in the Time of Cholera". So the play is 'Happy Birthday Dear Grandpa'. The gist of it is Grandpa's birthday is being celebrated, he's 96, and the grandchildren think he's dead. They think they killed him by giving him 'sleeping pills' in his coffee. Well, he falls face down in his cake.(Yes, we use a real cake.) And stays there for most of the play. Of course, nothing is as it seems and hijinks and hilarity reign supreme.

We did have over 30 attend last night. We expect more tonight. Then on Sunday we do a matinee with just dessert after the show. We serve a dinner before the show on Friday and Saturday. This year it's salad, bread, lasagna, vegetables, then birthday cake and ice cream plus beverages. All the food is homemade in the commercial size kitchen in the old school. The cast and crew serve the guests. The dinner theater is usually well attended, and we thought long and hard about this with the virus and all. But by working with the health department, decided to go ahead and proceed. The Musselshell School is now used as a community center and the play is the largest money making venture. This is the 17th year for the 'Illustrious Musselshell Players' and I'm glad we are keeping the streak alive.

Next year I think I'll have to bow out. I can't take a chance on driving there all those weeks. It's going to cost us to fix our car, of course. We don't have a high deductible, but any money you spend for emergencies is more than you expect. So now I have a rental car. Talk about pressure! I drove last night before and after the performance, prayed all the way for protection, at 30 miles per hour.

After Sunday, my attention will shift back to Roundup and goings on here at home. Hubby will be happy. Then also the big push to OctoPrep here on Writing.com. I thought about doing NaNoWriMo this year, but since I signed up to be a Cheerleader and Judge for the prep, perhaps I'll just concentrate on those chores. That will be more fun.

So everyone be safe, stay calm, enjoy the fall days that are here. In Montana it is changing over from Summer. Cool days and nights, the leaves are turning. The clothes are moving from storage, summer to winter. The great migration is on.