Memorable Musicals

When I was 12 years old I joined the Eau Claire Children's Theater and performed in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat"- it was the first time the theater ever put this show on and the first two nights, we ended the show with a full house and standing ovation!

Then when I was 14, I was in "Bye Bye Birdie" which was also for the Eau Claire Children's Theater.
I had been involved in high school theater, was a beauty school dropout and ensemble in "Grease."

Plus when I was in middle school, 8th grade to be exact, I gathered up the nerve to try out for a high school production of "Sleeping Beauty."  I didn't get a part and was told that my audition was good, but I was in middle school and even though they allowed younger kids to try out, usually they offered all parts to high school students.  I wasn't upset and proud that I tried out.  Then I got a phone call about a week later from the music director and she told me that she loved my voice and even though I wasn't in high school yet, she wanted me to sing a special song at the very beginning of the show. When I asked what song, she said it was from the film, "The Princess Bride"- one of my favorite films!  The song was called, "Storybook Story" and I ended up performing that for the three nights the show was put on. :-)

Every person has special memories growing up and the theater and music give me a rush of so many wonderful memories.

When I can find some photos from the shows I've been in, I'm going to post them in this blog.

But I thought in the meantime, I would post the video of the love theme from "The Princess Bride":

I have a gang of photos from "Joseph" and "Bye Bye Birdie" but only have a handful scanned and readily on my computer.  So I'm posting those now and then hopefully after I get the scanner hooked back up, I will be able to add more of my theater pictures! :-)

Photos from, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat"~

The above picture is the choir.  I was one of the "reds"...lol  We were all colored coded as the colors of the rainbow.  Fitting!  I'm on the far left and it's tough to see me.  I remember that being in the choir was tough because there was only one instance and that was about five minutes, that we got to go OFF stage.  Otherwise we were there on that stage 24/7.

The next photo below is of "Joseph" and I- had to get my picture taken with the lead!  Bruce was such a nice guy- very humble and kind.  I could actually see him going places because of his good attitude and kindness.

Okay, when I was in, "Bye Bye Birdie" it was so much fun!  I was in the chorus or an extra, however, I was picked to be in a specific scene that only three other girls were in with me.  I will have to find a photo from that scene!  I loved being in this show because I had to learn a lot of choreography and it was challenging to sing, dance, and smile all at the same time..lol

The photo above I am on the left hand side with the dorky and bright rainbow colored shirt on and blue pedal pushers...LOL  This photo was one of the "stills" for the show.

The next photo (above) is another photoshoot with the whole gang.  I am sort of in the middle in the second row, sitting down.  Again, I have on the quirky rainbow shirt! ;-)

In the Eau Claire Children's Theater, we did a lot of fundraising and selling tickets.  When I was in "Joseph" we were in the summer parade.  "Bye Bye Birdie" was no different.  They were a lot of fun! I am in the back on the right hand side with my hair in a ponytail.

So many wonderful memories I have and will always cherish.  Being in something like theater can boost a child's self esteem so much and it did wonders for me.  I became more sure of myself and learned so much from my cast mates.  It was incredible and now that I'm an adult, I wish I had the time to do another show.   :-)