This year at our homeschool co-op, the kids had the opportunity to be in a production of Peter Pan. Going into this I had no idea how it would all work. I worried that my kids would not memorize their lines. I worried that everyone would figure it all out in a few short months. And I'll be honest, I had my doubts. But we ended up with a truly amazing production.
Because of the number of kids we had and their ages, a few roles were written into the play. Ethan for example was a little indian named "Runs Like Fire". He ended up being quite the little scene stealer. During his scene two boys carried a teepee onstage and sat it up, all the while Ethan sat inside. Then when his music started he popped out of and ran around banging on his drum. Now it was supposed to be a surprise that there was a little boy in this teepee, but Ethan could never stand it to just sit quietly in the teepee. He always peeked out before he was supposed to. Ethan is supposed to sit down after awhile, but the night of the play he kept running around the indians and when he finally sat down he almost fell over he was so dizzy. It was cute.
Belle was a Lost Boy as well as a mermaid. She had a decent amount of lines which made me a little nervous. She rocked it while practicing at home, but once you start introducing distractions, it's pretty easy to lose Belle. During practices she'd concentrate on playing with her bow or watching other people rather than watching for her cues. I drilled her lines all the way up until the night of the play. And I'm pretty sure it all paid off. I say pretty sure because I didn't actually get to watch the final production. I was a stage hand, so I was dressed in black moving set pieces around or running around back stage.
My role in this play was the set. I was in charge of making set elements and enlisting kids help in building/painting. I think it all came together pretty well.
While things got to be pretty stressful, this was truly a great experience and one my kids will always remember. Weeks after this happened the kids are still playing Peter Pan. Ethan has been Captain Hook and even tied Belle (Tiger Lily) up to the grill. I can't wait to see the video of the play.
