I remember during last year’s production of 12 Angry Men Andrew told me that no matter the stress I had endured, I’d want to do it all over again the next year. I wrote him off as crazy and promised myself that I’d never get so heavily involved in theater again. Promise broken. Yes, another production has come and gone, and I jumped on board as assistant director. There I was losing sleep, making phone calls, coaching actors (for better or for worse, not sure which), putting teams together; but ask me if I regret the decision, and the answer is a resounding “No!”
The script title read You Can’t Take It with You. I had never heard of it then, but never will I forget it now. After some editing and tweaking by the director, an appropriate yet hilarious drama unfolded. The Sycamore family home provided the setting while the eccentric Sycamore family with their adopted friends supplied the incessant laughter. As the high school students worked diligently to develop their roles, a team from Crown College built an amazing set under the guidance of our carpenter-in-residence Mr. Andy Pace. Props and costumes arrived; a professional hair stylist and a make-up artist volunteered their time. Problems were solved as the performance days drew closer. Success followed! The funds came in as the seats filled.
Then…all was done. The set came down. The props were put away. The make-up was washed off. Hairstyles were combed out (after removing countless bobby pins). Costumes were given back (after Andrew, Jenny, and I had fun with them:)). Yet, friendships remained, and memories endured. Memories like those of teaching Tony how to purpose marriage to Alice (without eating her face) or those of bringing out the “Penny” in Vanesa. Thoughts of Kolenkhov wrestling Mr. Kirby and Essie dancing to Ed’s tunes come to mind while Donald and Rheba still make me laugh. Watching fireworks on July 4th made me wonder what De Pinna and Paul’s fireworks would have looked like. Tax talk is reminiscent of Grandpa’s refusal to pay his own taxes, and I’m still waiting to have a waitress like Olga Katrina.
Such is life. We pour ourselves into productions of various kinds only to watch them finish in a short time. But it is the purpose behind the project that gives hope. From the beginning, we dedicated this production to God’s glory. Prayer preceded practice, and God transformed our trivial contributions into something greater than ourselves. Perhaps we can't take Penny's typewriter or Grandpa's stamp collection or Paul's fireworks with us, but we can take the testimony of the great things God did for us and through us. All the funds from the play go to the new building, a project designed with the purpose of reaching more families for Christ through education. Such is our God. He expands our vision, helping us look past self to see a greater need, a greater purpose. I had a teacher who said, “Anything good you see here, God did; and anything bad, we did.” May that occupy our thoughts as we remember past plays and look forward to new ones.
The script title read You Can’t Take It with You. I had never heard of it then, but never will I forget it now. After some editing and tweaking by the director, an appropriate yet hilarious drama unfolded. The Sycamore family home provided the setting while the eccentric Sycamore family with their adopted friends supplied the incessant laughter. As the high school students worked diligently to develop their roles, a team from Crown College built an amazing set under the guidance of our carpenter-in-residence Mr. Andy Pace. Props and costumes arrived; a professional hair stylist and a make-up artist volunteered their time. Problems were solved as the performance days drew closer. Success followed! The funds came in as the seats filled.
Then…all was done. The set came down. The props were put away. The make-up was washed off. Hairstyles were combed out (after removing countless bobby pins). Costumes were given back (after Andrew, Jenny, and I had fun with them:)). Yet, friendships remained, and memories endured. Memories like those of teaching Tony how to purpose marriage to Alice (without eating her face) or those of bringing out the “Penny” in Vanesa. Thoughts of Kolenkhov wrestling Mr. Kirby and Essie dancing to Ed’s tunes come to mind while Donald and Rheba still make me laugh. Watching fireworks on July 4th made me wonder what De Pinna and Paul’s fireworks would have looked like. Tax talk is reminiscent of Grandpa’s refusal to pay his own taxes, and I’m still waiting to have a waitress like Olga Katrina.
Such is life. We pour ourselves into productions of various kinds only to watch them finish in a short time. But it is the purpose behind the project that gives hope. From the beginning, we dedicated this production to God’s glory. Prayer preceded practice, and God transformed our trivial contributions into something greater than ourselves. Perhaps we can't take Penny's typewriter or Grandpa's stamp collection or Paul's fireworks with us, but we can take the testimony of the great things God did for us and through us. All the funds from the play go to the new building, a project designed with the purpose of reaching more families for Christ through education. Such is our God. He expands our vision, helping us look past self to see a greater need, a greater purpose. I had a teacher who said, “Anything good you see here, God did; and anything bad, we did.” May that occupy our thoughts as we remember past plays and look forward to new ones.
No comments:
Post a Comment