Come & join me in general chat all you patents of performers - be it dancers, actors, singers or musicians

[Picturesinthefirelight]

There are quite a few if us onhere though I know done if you from NAPM & Balletcoforum too

Here we can have a general chit chat about what our children are up to so we don't clog up the threads on specific topics

So Sparkly, Katy, Cory & loads more. Come chat!

[saintlyjimjams]

I have a feeling ds2 will always enjoy theatre because you get that feedback from the audience. I also think seeing how weirdos others behave around famous people was a bit of an eye opener for ds2. 'WHY are all these women here?' he said as he had to push his way through hordes of them at the stage door.

Ds3 told me yesterday that he wants to be famous - but he is NOT a performer. thank goodness. Ds2 is the only one in the house (another thank goodness I think - but maybe quite unusual judging by NAPM??? I have no idea where he gets it from - he is a family anomaly!)

[DowntonTrout]

When does your DD start school Pictures? We have another week to go. Although the school isn't new to us, it is the first time boarding and a whole new intake for Y7. DD is with 3 of her friends from last year, which is good, but it is still daunting.

[Picturesinthefirelight]

She starts on Thursday Downton

[cory]

oooh, just spotted this thread



dd's show opened last night- 3 more nights to go; I thought it looked rather good

and this morning she set off at 7 to start sixth form college where she will be doing A-level drama and BTech in acting; not a performance school as such though her college does have a very good reputation for drama

it will be a tight fit getting back to town for the evening performance and very long hours, but she might as well get used to the idea of long hours now

she is in the chorus+ small character part and is very happy with this; she's loved the physical theatre training they've had

[Picturesinthefirelight]

Hi Cory. All the best for the rest if the run& college

Waved dd off at 7.15am this morning. Very nervous with dance kit in hand.

[saintlyjimjams]

Oh good luck to your dd's pictures and cory. :)

[DowntonTrout]

Hope it goes well today for your DD Pictures

I'm sure she'll love it!

[KatyMac]

Hello!

You started without me....how did I miss this?

How is everyone? & the DCs? Is everything going to plan?

I'll catchup on DD later

[KatyMac]

DD has been rehearsing all summer for the Bi-annual Ballet show (is that twice a year or 2 yearly? I mean 2 yearly)

The show is in October, the following week is a show DD is putting on for her Arts Award - raising money for a school in Zimbabwe; she has organised everything, arts, theatre, stage management, publicity - it's all going well

As a result of all this she can't do her first half-term of her Sunday dance class in London - but is making up for it with a Saturday school which we hope starts in late Sept.

When the shows are over we start applications for Vocational 6th form & I'm panicking

[Picturesinthefirelight]

39 PM
Got in st 7.50 as they stopped for tea en route - she was starving as apparently they were out late for lunch and not much left. (Although I don't think tuna wrap, salad & yoghurt is not much myself what's the girl want?)

You'd have thought after such a long day shed rest for half an hour before bed. No. She practised her street dance & did some stretching.

Hasn't done ballet today because of assembly - that starts tomorrow. Two classes plus tap.

[KatyMac]

DD would think that 'not much' too.....they need more carbs I think & protein

[Picturesinthefirelight]

There was bread & pasta & it's not their fault dd doesn't like ham etc. think she was expecting a three course cooked dinner!

[KatyMac]

[BrigitBigKnickers]

Not professional (yet) but my DD lives to perform.

She is incredibly busy this half term with a dance school show in October, school production of a Chorus Line- rehearsals starting next week with performances next March- where she is in line for a main part, youth theatre production of Little Shop of Horrors where she has a main role and a schools' Shakespeare thing in November where she also has a big role with loads of lines to learn.

This on top of singing, piano and guitar lessons and eight performing arts classes a week not quite sure when she will fit in homework for the GCSEs she has just started...

[saintlyjimjams]

Glad it's all going well for everyone. :) We meet the new production company tomorrow, just starting to try and sort everything out for the licence. I'm hoping it should be straightforward as he won't need to miss any school.

[DowntonTrout]

Glad it went ok pictures apart from lunch!

The nerves have started to kick in for DD. not about the school, but the being away from home. She has gone from being adamant at the end of term that she would do the train journey on her own ( when I booked the ticket) to now asking me to take her, so I've booked tickets for us to go down on Monday instead and stay in a hotel so I can accompany her to school with her suitcase on Tuesday morning.

Of course, I can't do that every week but I think once she's back with her friends it'll be fine. I hope. She is only 11, and I know lots of other people wouldn't dream if allowing an 11 yo to travel by herself to London. Plenty of the DCs at the school do though. Sometimes I think we are mad.

[cory]

I think you know your own child, Downton. Not to mention that children who learn a certain amount of independence early on tend to cope better with things. Dh used to travel all over London at that age and I don't see why a journey to London should be any more difficult.

[cory]

We had a bit of excitement last night: dd fell through a trap door during performance (apparently it looked very dramatic) but she extracted herself and carried on with the scene, like performers do. GP reckons a sprained knee and should be fine with supporting bandages and painkillers for tonight's show.

[saintlyjimjams]

OMG!!! Hope she's okay cory.
In his first ever professional production ds1 saw one of the adult cast members fall over on stage. I think it helped him really to see how everyone reacted and how they dealt with it & to realise that even professionals go wrong sometimes :)

[KatyMac]

Oh dear - I hope she is OK

I am 5.5 dresses in (@250ish crystals a dress) & only 18.5 dresses to go

I HATE ballet shows

& DH has been sewing dots on Dalmations - I don't think he is very keen either

[cory]

She's fine, thanks, just a little bruised and swollen.

I did let her stay off school on Friday so she could get it seen by a doctor, but he reckoned with a supporting bandage and painkillers she couldn't come to much harm. She is all eager and raring to start college on Monday.

Enquiries among the audience revealed that they hadn't noticed anything untoward. I'd have thought the sight of the choreographer sprinting up the aisle while the director shot out of his chair and shouted "fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck" might have given it away, but I suppose everybody's attention was focused on the stage.

Auditions for the college musical on Wednesday, but I'm not holding out very much hope there: dd, sadly, has rather a weak singing voice.

Katymac, you have my sympathy. I was so grateful when dd gave up ballet: I couldn't cope with all that bloody sewing!

[RussiansOnTheSpree]

Cory IME :( a weak singing voice is less of a drawback than weak dancing.

[RussiansOnTheSpree]

We are currently watching the clock before setting out to pick up DD2 from Panto rehearsal - she sang the psalm at mass (and played in the music group with the rest of us), then had to shoot out straight after communion to leg it round the corner to the panto rehearsal (DH took her, she's too little to walk there by herself even though it's only about 1/4 of a mile). That finishes at 12, then she's back at the same venue for rehearsals for the musical she is in at half term (at our professional theatre, although it's her theatre group putting it on) at 1-2:30, then DD1 who is also in the musical but playing an adult part (actually it's v small, not like DD2 who has one of the featured child roles) is rehearsing from 2:30-4:30. And they both have to fit in practice. Sigh. I meanwhile have shitloads of work to do but am finding it difficult to summon the arse, since I will have to leave to be taxi service of mum and dad in 10 mins.

DH keeps referring to our weekend being 'completely fucked up' a viewpoint I am valiantly challenging since from the POV of the girls, this is what they want to be doing and a sunday doing what he wanted to do would be their idea of 'fucked up'. But secretly I'm with him since it would be an ideal day to go walk on the beach and laugh at the elements going 'HA! I have a jumper!'. Oh well. At least he hasn't quite clocked that the overriding reason we aren't doing that is I have shitloads of writing to do and nothing to do with the girls. He will probably realise at about 5 when he notices I haven't been for a run. But till then I am safe from blame!

[KatyMac]

Rehearsals today should have been from 10-12:30.....we were still helping at 5

The teacher is snowed under with work & I couldn't leave

[teacherwith2kids]

DD has, just for a change (I suppose as good as a rest) spent the morning with a few other girls from the dance school acting as artist's models for a series of paintings of fairies...

The artist is doing a blog as the paintings develop, which is quite interesting, really.