"We've got trouble, right here in River City." (#31DaysofMemories)
If you know the musical from which the title of this post comes from... you win a gold star or a high-five. Whichever you prefer. If you don't... how is that possible?!?! It's a classic and one that I have loved for years.
It's the story of a traveling salesman who sells bands, boys bands. But he is a schemer and usually just cheats people out of the money before skipping town. That is until he reaches River City, Iowa.
Yes, I am talking about The Music Man. It is by far one of my favorite musicals and one that holds a very special place in my heart.
Some backstory for you... when we moved to Iowa we joined a rock-star homeschool co-op. We were able to take classes with other homeschoolers. We had a great library that I took full advantage of. And we had a phenomenal drama group. Now, I am not one to get on stage in front of people. I leave that to my siblings. I am, however, one to work behind the scenes. And my sophomore year I started being a part of the backstage crew for the annual high school plays. It started with Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, my sophomore year. My junior year, we did Nate the Great and Heidi. My senior year was Music Man and my off year between high school and college was Peter Pan. I loved all of the plays I was a part of. But Music Man was my favorite.
It was by far the biggest production we had done with the biggest cast. We had students of all ages and it was chaos at times. But we had an absolute blast! Our director was (and still is) amazing to work with. She was sweet, but serious. She expected hard work from everyone, but loved to make rehearsals fun. She was creative and patient. And she made each production a joy to be a part of.
The years leading up to Music Man gave me a chance to prove myself as someone who was committed, organized and could lead. My junior year, the year of Nate the Great, our director asked me to be the backstage manager. I was shocked, scared and excited all at the same time. Then she asked me to do it again for Music Man. I was even more shocked, scared and excited knowing just how big of a production it was going to be. But I agreed and am so glad that I did.
We worked so incredibly hard on everything from set design to dance numbers to costumes to finishing touches. It was a lot of work, but so worth it when it came to the performance weekend. Especially when we sold out all 3 of our performances (granted, the high school auditorium we used isn't the biggest, but hey... we still sold out 3 shows!).
That year was one of the best when it came to friendships and memories made. My sister Samantha and I had a group of friends that we shared and spent a lot of time with. From movie nights to bonfires to lunches at Pizza Ranch. We would laugh so much through each and every rehearsal. It was seriously wonderful.
I honestly love the fact that I was homeschooled and I especially love the fact that my hometown has such a strong support system for homeschool families. I am so grateful that I got to have the experiences that I did in high school. That I got to be a part of sports and drama. That I got to make life-long friendships and grow closer to my siblings. I am just incredibly grateful for my homeschool years.
And so let me just end by saying (or singing) one of the songs sung by the Quartet in Music Man,
It's the story of a traveling salesman who sells bands, boys bands. But he is a schemer and usually just cheats people out of the money before skipping town. That is until he reaches River City, Iowa.
Yes, I am talking about The Music Man. It is by far one of my favorite musicals and one that holds a very special place in my heart.
Some backstory for you... when we moved to Iowa we joined a rock-star homeschool co-op. We were able to take classes with other homeschoolers. We had a great library that I took full advantage of. And we had a phenomenal drama group. Now, I am not one to get on stage in front of people. I leave that to my siblings. I am, however, one to work behind the scenes. And my sophomore year I started being a part of the backstage crew for the annual high school plays. It started with Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, my sophomore year. My junior year, we did Nate the Great and Heidi. My senior year was Music Man and my off year between high school and college was Peter Pan. I loved all of the plays I was a part of. But Music Man was my favorite.
It was by far the biggest production we had done with the biggest cast. We had students of all ages and it was chaos at times. But we had an absolute blast! Our director was (and still is) amazing to work with. She was sweet, but serious. She expected hard work from everyone, but loved to make rehearsals fun. She was creative and patient. And she made each production a joy to be a part of.
The years leading up to Music Man gave me a chance to prove myself as someone who was committed, organized and could lead. My junior year, the year of Nate the Great, our director asked me to be the backstage manager. I was shocked, scared and excited all at the same time. Then she asked me to do it again for Music Man. I was even more shocked, scared and excited knowing just how big of a production it was going to be. But I agreed and am so glad that I did.
We worked so incredibly hard on everything from set design to dance numbers to costumes to finishing touches. It was a lot of work, but so worth it when it came to the performance weekend. Especially when we sold out all 3 of our performances (granted, the high school auditorium we used isn't the biggest, but hey... we still sold out 3 shows!).
That year was one of the best when it came to friendships and memories made. My sister Samantha and I had a group of friends that we shared and spent a lot of time with. From movie nights to bonfires to lunches at Pizza Ranch. We would laugh so much through each and every rehearsal. It was seriously wonderful.
I honestly love the fact that I was homeschooled and I especially love the fact that my hometown has such a strong support system for homeschool families. I am so grateful that I got to have the experiences that I did in high school. That I got to be a part of sports and drama. That I got to make life-long friendships and grow closer to my siblings. I am just incredibly grateful for my homeschool years.
And so let me just end by saying (or singing) one of the songs sung by the Quartet in Music Man,
"Goodnight ladies. Goodnight ladies. Goodnight ladies. We are going to leave you now."
Thanks for a great post! I'll be back for more :-)
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