Family Weekend+

We hug Ella goodbye in August knowing it will be a full 2 months until we get to hug her again.  A lot happens in those 2 months, but they do fly right by with the all the calendar-filling activities associated with the start of new classes, new routines, new plays, and (for Ella) new friends!  We were so excited to spend time not just with her and her people, but also...with some of our extended family members!!  It worked out perfectly that Kyle's work brought him to LA days before our plans to be there.  He met up with us and shared all the fun of Family Weekend and his first look at Ella's college.  

 

Delia has actually applied and already been accepted to this school too.  First order of business: the official tour and meeting with an Admissions Counselor that gives her a $500 scholarship.  Ella's best friend Ori works for Admissions giving tours and was able to request she be the guide for ours!  Since Ella has spent lots of time helping Ori memorize her script and practice her tour speeches, she came along to cheer Ori on!  This was a fun way for Uncle Kyle to get a comprehensive view of the school too.

After the tour we met up with Gideon to share the night's activities: dinner and a show!  Dinner was at our favorite Cuban eatery, Portos. Gideon and Kyle were both introduced to their specialties-- spicy potato balls, empanadas, meat pies and cheese rolls.

The show was a murder mystery farce by the school's theater program.  It was amazing!  We got another opportunity to support Ori here too as she starred in it!  One drawback to Delia possibility attending this school is that Drama is for theater majors only.  But, that does ensure some MAJOR talent was in the show!  We were entertained and impressed.  Our morning started very early so we could make it to LA by lunchtime.  We adults were pooped by the time the play ended and anxious to head back to the hotel as Delia had another fun dorm sleepover with Ella and her sweet roommate.

On Saturday the grand plan was to meet Anna and Derek at The Huntington Library, Museum and Gardens.  This has long been on my LA List and it exceeded expectation!  What a lovely day we had strolling around enjoying the incredible sights while catching up with some of our dearest ones.

In the Huntington Library my favorite items on display were the Gutenberg Bible and the original Birds of America paintings from Audubon.  Incredible history here, so impeccably persevered.  We also saw original works from Newton, Thoreau, Shakespeare, and Chaucer to name just a few!

The Art Museum had lots of interesting things too.  My eye was drawn to the beautiful nest sculptures and bird paintings on the glass.

And then there were the gardens.  We could have spent an entire day exploring each of them!  The Rose Garden was my favorite with rows and rows of vibrant and thickly scented rose buses as far as the eye could see.  Many were genetically engineered right here at The Huntington, so you can't see these particular breed of roses anywhere else!

The Japanese Garden with its koi ponds, many manicured bonsai trees, and raked Zen sand patches was serene and special.

The Chinese garden, peacefully nestled around a lake with multiple bridges, was calling us to stop and enjoy a Boba tea in the little tea shop pagoda.  We also walked through an Australia Garden which was mostly hot and dry, a Desert Garden where everything wanted to poke you, and a Jungle Garden full of lush greenery, shade and waterfalls.  I love that in our many trips to LA we are still finding new gems to discover.  It was the perfect place to spend a day with family.  

A hearty dinner of every kind of pasta at a local place we've come to love was followed by a time to just visit and chill in Ella's dorm room, where we got to know her roommate (who she LOVES) a little better.  At about the time I'm normally putting my pajamas on at home, we decided to venture out again and check out Don Churros-- this busy churro stand right by Disneyland made famous by the Food Network.  We waited a whole hour for our freshly fried, piping hot churros with ice cream and dipping sauces and it was worth every minute!

Especially since our wait was timed perfectly with Disneyland's 9:30pm fireworks show!  Ella actually hears this every single night on campus, but we had front row seats to seeing the 3 different places Disney shoots off the fireworks, using a forced perspective that allows their guests to enjoy all the angles.  Did you know the fireworks actually go off miles away from Disneyland?! 

On Sunday morning we said goodbye to Kyle and headed off to Ella and Gideon's church.  After church we had a nice lunch at Gideon's family's home.  For a month we've been hearing about the puppies their dog Pepper gave birth to-- what a treat to meet these sweet pups before they go off to their forever homes.  The time to get to know Gideon's family is always something we enjoy too.  This time his brothers, aunt, uncle and cousin joined us.  

Delia was in heaven giving each of the drowsy puppies a chance to snuggle in her arms.

We left Ella with the taste of home we had brought along for her and her friends.  And with the "See you in a few weeks!" hug goodbye that always makes coming to the end of a wonderful weekend a little easier.  If the months of September and October flew right by, we know November will go that much quicker!

Best Cast Ever

A peek at some of the behind-the-scenes and after-show fun!

Delia knew going in that she was going to love this cast.  Over half of them were freshman, who she got to know while mentoring Elf last year.  This is famously a lovely, talented, enthusiastic, hilarious group of kids.  Delia loves that she got to share one year of Drama with this special bunch and feels good about the future of her beloved program in their hands.  Shrek, in fact, was played by a freshman and he was amazing!

These are the Senior Four.  All good friends of Delia-- BFF Kate playing Shrek's mom; longtime Drama buddy Dylan, absolutely killing it playing Donkey; and Bella, a girl who was new to our school last year, but who Delia immediately sought out and connected with because of Drama, brought Fiona to life with her huge personality and powerhouse voice.

They are each amazing leaders, bringing different strengths to the group and we expect our director will weep over them after the spring show. ;)

This show was a ginormous undertaking!  From the large cast to the green makeup to the elaborate costumes.  We parents were told at the beginning that it could not happen without us.  Not being a seamstress, hairdresser, or set-builder, I found my niche the way I normally do-- feeding the kids!  Long practices meant many dinners at school.  I was happy to run and get food and organize and make light suppers and hearty snacks to keep our actors fueled.  (Doing this job has the added perk of letting me get to hang out with this crew a bit too-- they are delightful and SO appreciative!)

They have such sweet prayer times!  When I feed them, I get a peek at practices as I clean up.  I know these kids are deeply bonded and it's for so much more than just sharing a stage.

The Performing Arts Center's lobby was decorated with these promo posters featuring each Fairy Tale Creature for Performance Weekend.  Here is Delia's.  Fun, huh?

Delia spent a lot of time writing each member of the cast and crew a heartfelt note calling out their strengths and encouraging them.  Such a Delia Thing to do!  

Some of the dearest friends she made (or already had) on the cast.  The Sunday after the show closed, her phone was blowing up with the 40 person group chat all sharing silly pictures, videos, and messages of love about what this experience meant to each of them.

A few of the non-cast friends who came to see it.

Long time mentor, Megan, always comes to show support!

Proud parents-- and not just of the great job Delia did performing, but of the strong leadership and character she shows her fellow, and younger, castmates throughout the whole process, something our Director shared and praised.

Mrs. M., guiding theses kids through another show they all feel super proud of, but also shepherding their souls as she points everything back to the Lord.

Something so fun that Mrs. M. had our Fairy Tale Creatures do was visit the elementary playgrounds during recess in costume and character!  Shrek is a show for kids, so they wanted to make sure kids knew they were invited!  It worked-- over half of Friday's afternoon audience was kids.  Delia said interacting with the children as the Ugly Duckling was one of her favorite parts of the experience.  She jumped rope with them at recess and signed programs after the show and explained why she was called "Ugly" when she didn't look ugly.  One little friend from church, Joelle, said she'd want to be Delia of all the people in the cast.

A fun double picture-- left taken on the first day of practice in August, right taken the day they came to strike the set and say goodbye after Performance Weekend.

Some goofy fun Delia and her fellow Duloc's cooked up backstage.  While in their creepy Conformity Costumes singing their synchronized song, they made up a "cry for help" horror story told just through whispers and terrified eyes!

A super fun cast party!

And a little taste of the silliness.  This was the day the giant dragon puppet arrived.

A sad, but accurate, testament to the closeness this cast shared this season: as soon as the show closed, a good chunk of them all got sick and spent the week at home, Delia included!  Not exactly unexpected.  Hopefully a weekend of rest and all these amazing kids will be back to 100%.

Shrek

Last weekend we enjoyed all the highs of another performance!  Shrek was Delia's 12th show.  She's had some amazing Drama experiences: getting the lead role, acting with her sister and best friends, playing iconic roles in iconic stories, and getting to sing and dance in some super catchy numbers...but this show was by far her favorite.  There was not a moment of it that she did not love and was not having an absolute blast!  It was such a FUN show, full of crazy characters and big comedy.  But, it was the cast that made this one awesome for Delia.  

  

When Shrek was announced last year, everyone assumed that veteran and senior Delia would be going for and maybe get the Fiona role.  But she never wanted it!  After playing the bride last year, Delia knew the pressure of a lead and just wanted to sing and dance in all the fun ensemble numbers for this one.  She got the perfect part, Ugly Duckling, which had a few cute lines and solos and the best costume!  Our director also gave Delia the special responsibility of being the Dance Captain-- the person who reviewed the choreography at practices and kept on eye on making sure everything looked clean and synchronized.  I think Delia did a great job!  The dancing in this show was some of the best we've seen!

Delia's costume was a legit ballet gown that someone donated and one of our talented seamstresses sewed feathers on.  She loved and felt so fun tiptoeing around in Ballet Swan/Ugly Duckling character!

Shrek has this cast of Fairy Tale Creatures that sing some of the most fun songs.  We meet them right away after they are evicted from their homes and banished to the swamp.  They sing Story of My Life about all their many woes, from being labeled a "Fashion mess because I wear a granny dress" (Big Bad Wolf) to having their hat ridiculed (Peter Pan).  

Shrek is their only hope for getting their homes back. He's big and scary and he can talk to the bad guy, Lord Farquad.

After a quick costume change, Delia is back on stage as one of the identical Duloc's singing Farquad's silly song of conformity.  Can you spot her? ;)

Lord Farquad in his rented costume with the itty bitty legs was HILARIOUS!  He performed the whole show on his knees for our amusement.  Such a great sight gag.

The middle of the show is Delia-less, but not without awesomeness!  We meet dorky, but lovable Fiona.  She is rescued from her dragon-guarded tower.  Donkey, Shrek and Fiona get to know each other as they journey back to Duloc.  When Shrek misunderstands something he overhears Fiona saying about ogres being hideous, unlovable beasts (she was talking about herself), he leaves dejected.  The Fairy Tale Creatures come back to reassure him that what makes him different makes him strong in the song Freak Flag.  In this song each character reveals their own weakness to show we all have them.  Delia has one of my favorite lines here-- "I live in constant doubt!" delivered with a huge smile and cheerleader jump.

Fiona and Shrek share a kiss, but it is her ogre form, not her princess form, that true love has turned her into.  Shrek assures her she is beautiful and the show ends with the goosebumpy song This is our Story.  My favorite "We are different, but united.  You are us and we are you" line reminding us that we all have parts that make us feel different and unlovable, but we, and those around us, are actually created exactly right.  This is a silly story with a powerful message wrapped in it.  Our director did a great job each night of explaining their attempt to tell, not the world's story of acceptance for your personal choice of sin that makes you different, but instead a story of loving who God created you to be and inviting everyone to belong. 

Our beautiful swan takes her bow, a sweeping ballet bow she was excited fit her character, as the high energy song I'm a Believer blasts.  This cast got 3 standing ovations for their 4 shows!  It was SO well performed and had a mix of both big laugh-out-loud and tear-jerking scenes.    

By Saturday night, the crowd didn't just stand, we were all dancing along too!  Since Drama has long been Delia's favorite part of school, how wonderful that she begins her exit from this stage singing and dancing her heart out with what's been her favorite cast in her favorite show!  

There was a recording made and its pretty good quality.  Let me know if you want the link to watch!