Stage Debut

I knew it was only a matter of time before Amelia made her way on stage.  This girl seriously wants to act out EVERY. THING. ALL. THE. TIME.

Her stage debut came when my friend, Tracy, mentioned that she would love for Amelia to come and be a part of one of her performances.  In particular, she needed a "princess" to come on stage and tell the prince that girls are tough, too, and don't need to be rescued all of the time.  Tracy is part owner of Monkey Tales Theatre and the company was the opening act for Shakespeare in the Park near our house.

This is, in fact, the Belle costume that Amelia wore when she was TWO years old for Halloween.  If you don't believe me, click HERE!

Amelia was pretty pumped about this opportunity and she was all questions for about 3 days leading up to the performance.  Once we got there, however, and the play started, she began to get a little nervous. It was a REAL stage with LOTS of people in the audience. I told her that she didn't have to go on stage if she didn't want to.  She could just say, "No thanks" when the time came and Tracy (who not only owns the theatre company, but also acts in the plays and writes them too--seriously, she is Super Woman) could choose another little girl in the audience.

Well, there are my two talented friends now!  Tracy as Princess Marigold and Melissa as a lion.

But Amelia was feeling pretty excited by the time it came for her to join Tracy on stage.  She eagerly ran up on stage and was all in agreement to everything Tracy was whispering to her.  But, when it came time to actually voice how strong princesses are, Amelia appeared a little shell shocked.  Luckily, Tracy is a professional and spoke up, while Amelia stood by and just shook her little head in agreement.

And if you happen to hear Amelia retell the story, she went on stage and told the prince all about how princesses are tough and strong.  You can, after all, "say" a lot without really saying anything at all, I guess. :) 

See for yourself--assuming blogger hasn't jacked up my video....

It was a really cute play and I loved the message! Girl Power!  All of the Monkey Tales plays have great messages about gender empowerment, environmental responsibility, disability awareness, etc.

Amelia really, really wanted to stick around for Much Ado About Nothing.  We told her she could watch a little of the play and she happily moved her chair front and center of the stage, while we moved our things out of the way since we knew we wouldn't be staying the whole time. That little pink dot in the middle of the picture is Amelia sitting all by herself watching the Shakespeare play.

My mom, who also attended the performance with us, generously offered to take the kids for the evening so that Jason and I could enjoy a quiet dinner by ourselves on Main Street. But before they headed out, Henry insisted on enjoying this puddle a bit....

 

So, not only did my mom get to handle both kids for the night, she also got to give them both baths!