Get a Clue!

MrsDarwin as Mrs. White; Isabel as Yvette

 We are gearing up for our production of Clue on Stage this weekend. Production week is familiarly known as "Hell Week". While not actually infernal, this week has definitely been purgatorial in the sense of stripping away every extraneous part of our lives not directly geared toward getting the show on the road. Due to various emergencies, we've lost several key people at the very last minute, and so Darwin has built the tech from scratch in two days, while the majority of the set has been thrown together this week. Everything is coming together -- and it will look great! -- but wow, is it intense.

Let me tell you what -- we could not sustain this level of commitment and firefighting if we did not homeschool. The kids are getting a theatrical education, if nothing else. There is also a major life shift that happens when your youngest child is five, and you have older children who can act, tech, and babysit (that's three separate older children, if you're keeping count). Theater is our family hobby. We don't play sports; we don't travel; we don't do marching band. We renovate a money pit, and we put on shows. 

All this is complicated by most of the family recovering from a respiratory illness (not COVID) that has some long falling action. I can speak now, which I couldn't do last week, and I'm beginning to be able to warble a few notes again. The little kids were Down all last week -- they wouldn't have been at school even if they went. When we had rehearsal, I dosed them up with medicine, tucked them on the couch in front of a movie, and left the 12yo in charge while we were at the theater. Then each night we coughed long into the night. Will this schedule of theatrical activity prolong our recovery? Well, the show must go on...

But what a show! If you're in the Central Ohio area, come see us this weekend! As Wadsworth says, let the games begin.