Play postponed

Ah... the traumas of being the author/director/star of the show - but NOT the producer!

We ran into a hitch the morning of our performance. As we all prepared to begin rehearsal, it was suddenly brought to our attention that several stuffed animals had joined our cast. At first, I admit, I thought this was an ingenious idea and went over to shake the paws of my new castmates.

Then it occurred to me to ask just why we needed an expanded cast.

And so the script re-write came to my attention. Apparently, no one goes out to see simple "boy rescues girl from bad guy" story anymore. We needed something new, something thrilling, something to grip our audiences heart and imagination...

We needed a mystery (complete with 12 clues and an entire extras cast of bears, rabbits, raccoons, and hedgehogs).

I asked for the new plot to be explained to me; it wasn't a good sign when the playwright got herself turned around more than once with all the ins and outs of our new storyline. If I couldn't follow it and she couldn't follow it, I didn't think Jack Jack and Dad had much of a chance at all.

Mermaid Princess was horrified when her sweet, elderly character actor suddenly morphed into her erstwhile producer and refused to fund this new Total Recall version of our little play. I found myself equally shocked to hear myself saying my husband's oft-repeated line:

"Perhaps, since this is our first time attempting this, we should start small and learn from the experience?"

Oh, the moments come fast and furious these days, when I see me so clearly in her. Neither of us have a bent towards the small and undistinguished; we crave big, loud, dramatic change: "Well, if painting the hall is a good idea, then painting it with a faux finish and adding wainscoting and crown moulding must be an even better idea! In fact, such a good idea, I won't start on any of it until I have all the supplies and time set up to do all of it at once."

Start small and let's see how it goes... that's a refrain I've hardly ever used in my life. Until now. Perhaps the hallway would look nice in an eggshell ecru?