Disney

Just keep swimming

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Maddy and Molly were back to our local community theatre recently as part of the cast for Finding Nemo Jr. This show was adorable and one of my favorite theatre for youth shows, not just because my children were in it!

Auditions were held in April, with callbacks the following day. Both girls were excited to receive callbacks! But the real excitement came when they received phone calls inviting them to join the cast. Maddy was thrilled to be offered the role of Peach the Starfish, a member of the tank gang. And we were so surprised and over the moon when Molly was offered the role of Nemo.

Maddy has loved theatre since she performed in her first show seven years ago. Molly did a few shows and then decided to dedicate her time to drumming, before deciding to audition for Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer earlier in the year. She was cast as young Rudolph and remembered how much she loved the stage. She went on to audition for and be cast in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (her first mainstage show), and was so excited to audition for Finding Nemo. She couldn’t believe she got the role of Nemo!

Finding Nemo the movie just had its 20th anniversary! If you are unfamiliar with the story, Marlin is a clownfish who finds himself as a single father to a baby clownfish after a barracuda attacks his wife and their eggs. One egg is left, but it is damaged. This results in the baby, Nemo, having one damaged fin.

Marlin is a bit neurotic about keeping his son safe (as I can imagine one would be after witnessing the rest of one’s family being destroyed). So when it’s time for Nemo to start school, Marlin is a bit nervous. When he finds out Nemo’s class is going to the dropoff, he rushes there to remind Nemo he can’t do the same things as his friends because of his little fin.

This makes Nemo mad, and he swims off to show his dad he can do those things, only to get fishnapped by a diver. In the movie, he is taken to a tank in an orthodontist’s office, but in the musical it is to an aquarium. There, he meets the tank gang, led by Gil. Gil also has a damaged fin and is cooking up a plan to get them all out of the tank and back to the ocean.

Meanwhile, Marlin is frantically searching for his son. He meets Dory, a blue tang who is bubbly, but has a problem with short-term memory. She offers to help Marlin, and together they encounter sharks and jellyfish, ride the EAC with sea turtles, and swim across the ocean in search of Nemo.

In the tank, Gil’s plan successfully helps Nemo escape back into the ocean and to his dad. Father and son are reunited, and with Dory, head home to start over again.

My favorite part of their casting was that all of Maddy’s scenes were with Molly. As Peach, Maddy acts sort of as the “mama” of the tank gang. She’s concerned with ensuring Nemo feels safe after he’s kidnapped. And some of their favorite theatre friends were cast as members of the tank gang, too, so it was extra fun.

This show was a big one, with more than 60 cast members. But it was so much fun!

The theatre’s costumer is outstanding, and it is always amazing to see her creativity at work. Who knew pool noodles could make adorable octopus tentacles? As usual, she knocked it out of the park with the costuming.

And the set, while simple, was so beautiful. The background for the tank gang was my favorite. It looked just like the tank in the movie!

The girls had the best time getting to do this show with some of their favorites on the production staff and some of their favorite theatre friends. They also made lots of new friends along the way.

I was so nervous for Molly since this was such a big role, but she took that stage with no fear and killed it each time! They performed 12 shows in a week, and it was beautiful every time. I cried every time Molly belted out the song “That’s My Dad.”

Since Molly was Nemo, she got to have some fun promoting the show. She even got to go on one of our local radio stations with the theatre’s education director!

I mainly worked backstage for this one, helping the kids with costumes, mics, etc. But we did take Patrick to see it for Father’s Day. Molly bought him an adorable shirt to wear, and he was one proud daddy!

The girls had lots of friends and family come to see them in this one, including some of their older theatre friends who have graduated from theatre for youth productions. Molly’s favorite part of every show was the meet and greet after – she loved having people ask for pictures with her!

I was so impressed with this entire production, but man oh man did my girls shine in this one. Maddy’s sweet voice was perfect in her tank gang songs, and I still can’t believe Molly tackled this big role at only 9. But this show was cast so perfectly! The actor who played Marlin was able to capture his love for Nemo paired with his frantic need to keep him safe. And our Dory was spectacular! Her voice was beautiful and she captured her character so perfectly.

We loved, loved, loved this show! It was beautiful and really was one of my favorite theatre for youth shows. We closed the show on Sunday, and the girls woke up bright and early Monday morning – Molly has theatre camp and Maddy is volunteering at it. We just can’t stay away from the theatre!

So many ways to be wicked

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If your kids are anything like mine, they probably went through a Descendants obsession. The Disney TV movie had catchy songs, flashy costumes, and my girls were hooked. Especially Regina, who had all the Mal and Evie costumes and I’m pretty sure every book ever created. We have Mal’s spellbook (1 and 2!), Evie’s fashion book, the Auradon Prep yearbook, etc. So when our community theatre was doing a production of Descendants last summer we were pretty excited.

Maddy was the only one old enough to audition, but I got to be the rehearsal stage manager. Molly decided to tag along and name herself my assistant. Regina wanted to strictly be an audience member, but when a tech had a conflict, she stepped up to join my tech team for the final weekend of shows.

I love all of the shows I get to be a part of, and always say they are special (because they are!). But I did particularly love this one and this cast! It wasn’t a junior show, as most of the ones I work on are, so there were cast members over the age of 18. Maddy was actually the youngest cast member, having turned 12 the weekend of auditions.

I love getting to watch the process of a show coming together. From auditions (man, there are some big talents here in our little town) to watching the kids become their characters, and then getting to see everything come together to create a beautiful piece of art – it’s pretty fantastic!

At rehearsals, my job is to keep the kids on track and take down any blocking and other notes (props, questions, etc). Molly came to every rehearsal with me and took down diligent notes. She kept us on our toes for sure!

Molly’s notes
Molly kept me in line!
Molly’s book with blocking

This show was the first one I attended all of dry tech for, as well. I’ve been a part of other shows, but this was the first one that I wasn’t handing the reins over completely to someone else. So on dry tech, I took down all the fly cues, my crew and I spiked all of the set pieces that would be moved on and off stage, and we fine-tuned the lights (as much as you can without actors). It’s long day, but once everything comes together it is so worth it!

Molly captured some shots of me writing down fly cues
My book was full sticky notes and highlights and so much writing!

Once it’s showtime, I hand over the show to a production stage manager. The thought of calling a show terrifies me! I can’t help but think I’d mess something up, then feel horribly guilty for calling the wrong fly cue and ruining the show. I much prefer to be backstage, moving set pieces, guiding the cast, and even quick changing (although that is a bit anxiety-inducing, too!). The production stage manager comes in on wet tech day and helps us get the show ready for dress rehearsals. Wet tech is a long day – the actors go through scenes slowly so we can capture the lights and be sure everything we set up on dry tech is going to work with actors in place.

One of our leads was out of town for wet tech, but Molly knew all his blocking and filled in!
Molyl took her role as tech so seriously!
Harley is our favorite – we love when she does shows with us!
These awesome kids performed their hearts out for two weekends
The most adorable cookies as a thank you
Maddy and Elijah became fast friends during this show
Can’t wait to watch the stellar careers ahead for these two!
A toast to a fantastic show

The show ran for two weekends, and was a hit! The talent in this cast was phenomenal and everything about the show was so beautiful. I loved getting to see Maddy doing what she loves, and alongside the crazy talent in this show.

There’s No One I’d Rather Be But Me

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Daddy went to the lake with his buddies for the weekend in January, so the girls wanted

to have another theme day. We opted for Wreck it Ralph and Ralph Breaks the Internet. And I have to say, it was my favorite theme day so far!

Our day was filled with fun and lots of sugar!

So much sugar!

Our supplies for the day included lots of candy, along with Diet Coke and mentos for a fun science experiment.

The first activity of the day was making or own Sugar Rush candy racers while watching Wreck It Ralph. I moved a folding table inside so the girls had plenty of space to decorate and were still able to watch the movie.

I raided the Dollar Tree for candy and cookies for our sugar rush racers. We had a variety of options to choose from so each racer could be unique.

We even themed our lunch around Wreck It Ralph, enjoying Burger Time Burgers, Ralph’s smashed potatoes, and Tapper’s root beer.

While the girls were making their racers, I whipped up a batch of heart-shaped sugar cookies and homemade buttercream frosting so the girls could make their own You’re My Hero medals like the one Vanellope gives Ralph.

Vanellope lives in Diet Cola Springs, so we had to have a Diet Cola Springs explosion! The Amazon delivery driver happened to show up at just the right time for the show!

While we watched Ralph Breaks the Internet, the girls also designed their own net users and colored color-by-number Ralph and Vanellope pictures. But their favorite part of the day was definitely the pancake milkshakes! In Ralph Breaks the Internet, Ralph and Vanellope enter a game where you feed a cat and a bunny either a milkshake or pancakes. So, we made pancake milkshakes!

Regina chose a strawberry shake while the other two opted for vanilla. We topped them with whipped cream, Lucky Charms marshmallows, pancakes, and a marshmallow-topped straw. It was the perfect sweet treat to end our day!

Your Identity is Your Most Valuable Possession – Protect It

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On the last day of Christmas break, we decided to squeeze in one last day of fun with an Incredibles day. We hadn’t seen the movies in a while, so it was fun to see them again and talk about it.

We started our day with Mr. Incredibles waffles because who doesn’t love to start their day with that fluffy goodness? We happen to have a Mickey waffle maker, so it was perfect!

While we watched the first movie, the girls thought about what superpowers they would like to have and designed their own superheroes. Molly chose Freeze Girl with the power of ice and water. Maddy chose Creati with the power of creation – she can create an object from the mass around her (as long as that mass isn’t human or animal). And Regina chose Lava Lady, who Reg described as “cool, the best, and amazing.”

While they watched the second movie, we also made Elastigirl slime and Jack’s Num Num cookies. I used my standard chocolate chip cookie recipe for the cookies (found on the back of a bag of Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chips!) We ended the day with Frozone milkshakes. We opted for mint chocolate chip ice cream, with a pirouline cookie, candy canes, and snowflake sprinkles.

7 am the Usual Morning Wake-Up

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I loved the movie Tangled when it came out. We listened to the soundtrack non-stop. Regina was a bit obsessed with Flynn Rider and used to carry a stuffed Flynn doll everywhere. So they were excited for a Tangled day.

This one was the most involved of the ones we had done so far. First, we did some melted crayon art:

Next up was bread baking. We made braided breadsticks to look like Rapunzel’s hair and they were delicious! The recipe is quick and easy, and we make these breadsticks a couple times a month now.

Recipe:

  • 1 T active dry yeast
  • 1 1/2 C warm water
  • 2 T sugar
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 3 1/4 c flour

Preheat oven to 375. Then, combine the yeast and sugar with the water. Let this mixture sit for several minutes until foamy. Add the flour and salt to the water mixture and mix until well blended. If the dough mixture is too wet, add more flour a bit at a time until it reaches the right consistency. Sometimes, I have to add as much as another additional cup of flour. Knead until smooth and elastic.

You can then shape the dough however you want. The girls like to braid the breadsticks. Brush with butter. Sometimes we also add garlic salt and parmesan cheese to the breadsticks before baking. Let the breadsticks rise for a bit. Then, bake for about 20 minutes. And voila – delicious breadsticks!

For our Rapunzel day, we wanted the breadsticks to look like Rapunzel’s hair after the little girls braid it. So the girls cut out flowers from the dough and added them to the braided breadsticks.

We also made dresses as we thought about all the activities Rapunzel sings about.

Regina used hot glue to embellish a dress she made fo a Barbie.

How Far Will We Go?

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The girls all love Moana, so when it was time for another theme day, that was top of the list. I love Moana because she’s not the typical Disney princess. We love that she’s strong and confident and brave. (And the girls all got to be in our community theatre’s production of Moana)

The girls loved making their own flower crowns. I bought headbands and fake flowers from the Dollar Tree, and let them go to town. With a little hot glue magic they turned out super cute!

Next up they made their own boats to sail across the ocean to restore the heart of Te Fiti.

Again, I found these boat kits at the Dollar Tree. They decorated the sails and then assembled. I wasn’t sure how sturdy they would be, but it’s more than a year later and the girls still have their boats!

I Just Can’t Wait To Be King!

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The girls were all in our community theatre’s production of The Lion King, so when it came time to choose our next theme day, that was their choice. Regina has loved The Lion King since she was little and was even Simba for Halloween one year.

Movie watching was of course on the docket, but so were a couple of fun activities.

First up, we made Simba’s sunrise punch. We used orange juice, grenadine and sparkling water. They garnished it with gummy worms and orange slices, and of course used adorable flamingo straws (Maddy was a flamingo in our theatre’s production, so it was a fun touch!). Honestly, we didn’t use a recipe – I just got out the ingredients and let them mix until it tasted right to them.

My girls love art, so our activity was painting their own Simba. I drew a lion head and then they painted how they wanted. I loved Molly’s so much that it is hanging in our dining room!