The Matron will start this post the way she had planned. The weekend was a bittersweet event.
Photo by George Calger
Photo by George CalgerScarlett had her last two runs as Annie on Friday and Sunday night. Now, the Matron has sat in many an auditorium chair and watched her daughter -- including famous, prestigious or otherwise renown venues.
No, the Matron is no stranger to maternal pride watching her daughter prance onstage! But nothing could compare to the strange cocktail that Ashland's Annie handed this Stage Mother. The production was the best community theater the Matron had ever seen (not that she's partial?). The teen and adult talent flickered and flamed-- indeed, most of the adults were semiprofessoinals with CDs and rock-solid credit to their names.
The orphans? Delicious.
Annie?
The Matron honest to God-Buddha-Oprah-Allah-Universe could NOT believe that her flesh and blood contained this much talent in that little body. Scarlett blew the roof with her singing! When Annie sobs that all she wants is to find her parents and be a real kid like everybody else? Weeping in the audience. She can honestly say that she actually finally fully realized that her daughter had some gen-u-ine talent (she has been under the impression that Scarlett is over-rated-- probably a bad stage mother sentiment).
This little community-theater-that-could can boast one star to emerge from its ranks.
And the verdict from the theater ranks?
Scarlett is the next Laura.
The Matron was all duly flattered but the reason she was weeping? She just wants to bottle up this moment in time! Can she make this last forever--this gilded childhood of dreams come true?! A moment in which you can just sit back and marvel in your child's talents and joy?
Good Buddhist that she is, the Matron felt the moment nearly impossibly joyful because she was acutely aware during Annie's last show that this heady moment is -- over. Scarlett is just 11 but one day she will leave behind childhood, as well. The Matron hopes her transition into life's next stage is as blissful as the current, but she highly doubts it.
From life's peak we descend -- plains and valleys ahead.
So life's transience was weighing on the Matron today and she was all "oh those were the days" about that era -- well, that era that existed 24 hours ago. But a phone call today at 10 am reminded her that unknown great adventures could also be ahead.
That child has been asked to audition for a major motion picture directed by someone so famous the Matron nearly dropped the telephone!! She feels like it would be bad form to blog about it less discreetly (is blogging every discreet?).
But wow.
What a way to end Annie.
Photo by George Calger. Photo with the red curly hair coming when she gets them! It was impossibly adorable.
No, the Matron is no stranger to maternal pride watching her daughter prance onstage! But nothing could compare to the strange cocktail that Ashland's Annie handed this Stage Mother. The production was the best community theater the Matron had ever seen (not that she's partial?). The teen and adult talent flickered and flamed-- indeed, most of the adults were semiprofessoinals with CDs and rock-solid credit to their names.
The orphans? Delicious.
Annie?
The Matron honest to God-Buddha-Oprah-Allah-Universe could NOT believe that her flesh and blood contained this much talent in that little body. Scarlett blew the roof with her singing! When Annie sobs that all she wants is to find her parents and be a real kid like everybody else? Weeping in the audience. She can honestly say that she actually finally fully realized that her daughter had some gen-u-ine talent (she has been under the impression that Scarlett is over-rated-- probably a bad stage mother sentiment).
This little community-theater-that-could can boast one star to emerge from its ranks.
And the verdict from the theater ranks?
Scarlett is the next Laura.
The Matron was all duly flattered but the reason she was weeping? She just wants to bottle up this moment in time! Can she make this last forever--this gilded childhood of dreams come true?! A moment in which you can just sit back and marvel in your child's talents and joy?
Good Buddhist that she is, the Matron felt the moment nearly impossibly joyful because she was acutely aware during Annie's last show that this heady moment is -- over. Scarlett is just 11 but one day she will leave behind childhood, as well. The Matron hopes her transition into life's next stage is as blissful as the current, but she highly doubts it.
From life's peak we descend -- plains and valleys ahead.
So life's transience was weighing on the Matron today and she was all "oh those were the days" about that era -- well, that era that existed 24 hours ago. But a phone call today at 10 am reminded her that unknown great adventures could also be ahead.
That child has been asked to audition for a major motion picture directed by someone so famous the Matron nearly dropped the telephone!! She feels like it would be bad form to blog about it less discreetly (is blogging every discreet?).
But wow.
What a way to end Annie.
Photo by George Calger. Photo with the red curly hair coming when she gets them! It was impossibly adorable. 
22 comments:
I'm dying to know more!!! You are such a tease.
BTW--Yay, Scarlett!
It must be something to be one of the oh-so-few parents who find out that your child has real, honest-to-goodness talent, far above and beyond their peers. Olympic Gold Medal talent, Jeopardy talant, major motion picture talant...... I'm shivering for you.
College funds for EVERYBODY!
This is so exciting!!! It is so amazing when your kids shoot off into the atmosphere of their own life, and Scarlett is sparkling and twinkling all the way... make a wish!
That is wonderful. She looks so cute in those pics!
I too am dying to know the scoop.
Any videos online of parts of the performance?
Your "overrated" philosophy might be what's kept you sane through all the craziness. Stage mothers who overrate their children are the worst!
I can't wait to see the pictures. Love the last one with the hat!
Wow. What a kind.
And in other news, you are the only blogger I have ever read to use "renown" correctly.
Oh, Matron, I am just so happy for you and Scarlett. Ups and downs there may be, but this time right now is special.
Wow.
Even in a still photo you can see that she IS Annie.
How wonderful for you both!
Wow. Just wow.
Congratulations Scarlett!
Hey you know what! There are video clips of Annie. As soon as I get the DVD I'll post some!
There is no doubt you love your daughter. However, her future acting career that you care about so desperately in so many ways may be well-served by you stepping back and watching yourself in the third person (as you like to write that way). Hopefully, you will realize that it is your daughter's life, her talent, her performances...not yours. If you stand behind her rather than out front demanding everyone pay attention to her, she will indeed thank you in the years to come.
Scarlett is SO darn awesome. Good luck with the movie audition kiddo, not that you'll need it.
She looks radiant in those photos. Bravo!
Hey Anonymous - You have no idea how unattached I am to this. I'm a writer. This blog is in part, fictive. I could take the whole 'stage mother' narrative arc and milk it WAY more than I do. This is a narrative arc not necessarily me. The only reason I don't roll out more stage mother is that I can only write about my children in terms of MY story, not theirs. Our lives intersect and I can write about that intersection. But Scarlett's career is entirely hers and to write more (and believe me, there are people and stories and plenty of space for me to aggrandize) or more explicitly in some cases would be to tread on HER life or otherwise jeopardize a career and reputation she's built. I certainly wouldn't use the word 'desperately' to describe how I care about her acting and doubt that anyone would use that word to describe parental engagement if the child's activity had been hockey or gymnastics. There's nothing desperate about how I feel about Scarlett. It's currently all ease and 'whatever.' I'm just very grateful at the moment there's a note of joy surrounding the end of something else. That joy shall too end and the valley will come. Such is life.
Congrats to your girl, Matron!
Holey-Mackrell!! Just too, too exciting! Can't wait to hear more.
Big Congratulations.
I read but don't comment much on the blog. I really liked your response to Anonymous, though. When you blog, it's about you not about anyone else and I truly felt that when you commented on your daughter's performance. Everyone else may have been clapping and cheering but you really saw that spark of talent and seeing that in your own kid is so precious. Plus you got a phone call for an audition - icing on the cake! Good luck with everything.
Go Scarlett! Dying to see video!
Post a Comment