Emma's acting debut took place this year in the church's Christmas pageant (a cute musical written by one of the older Sunday school students).
She took her role as a sheep seriously. As we drove to her first rehearsal, she said, "Mama, I'm not being annoying, I'm just practicing." And "Bah. Baah. Baaaah. Baaah." floated from the back seat all the rest of the way to the parish hall.
After her one musical number (wherein the livestock all sang, "The angels sing--la, la, la" etc. with appropriate hand gestures), the play wasn't quite so exciting.
More than six months before this year's Christmas Pageant, one of the young children in Mrs Philocrites' Sunday School announced as his mom was driving by the church that he was ready to be in the pageant and wanted to be a sheep. It is amazing how seriously they take this!
I spent the pageant sitting on the floor in the very spot you did -- I was the official photographer -- and midway through the pageant, while the congregation was singing a carol, my director-wife whispered, "Look! They're acting!" And sure enough, ten-year-old Mary was leading the main characters in unscripted adoration. It only lasted a moment before the Angel of the Lord and Joseph went back to looking out at their parents and the cow wandered across the chancel and the heavenly hosts started moping. What a production.
Posted by: Philocrites | January 28, 2006 at 09:54 AM
Philocrites, I love this story! My daughter is already planning to be an angel next year, and another woman at church reported that her daughter wanted to be Mary for a whole year (and fortunately got the part). We never did pageants in church when I was growing up, so I am very impressed with how much work goes into it and how meaningful it is for the kids.
Posted by: Beth | February 01, 2006 at 07:33 PM