Artists

Today was spent at Eastern University watching Anna and Ella's dance recital, followed by lunch, and then Sammy's piano recital... an Epic day.

At about 12:00, we tooled up to the University in the coolest vehicle ever made - our obnoxious Chevy Express with an oh so subtle bubble top - we exited the vehicle, and proceeded to make our way into the theatre in a single file line. Don't mess with the divas that are the Morris Family.

After we unloaded, Geana took the girls back stage and finished getting them ready. By the time they were all done up they looked like rock stars and, if I might say, were the cutest girls in the whole recital (but you can decide for yourself). Ultimately - they really had a fun day and the recital was a blast!

I hope you paid extra close attention and noticed the big yellow cut out of a ballerina that was hanging center stage. You'll notice that it is in one piece and doesn't seem to have a rip going from her neck to her arm pit... yet... (more on that shortly).

The recital was followed by lunch at Bertucci's. Mmm... they have the best Martguerita pizza with caramelized onions. I only dropped one slice of pizza on the floor before Geana confiscated the serving thingy from me and served the pizza herself. One day I'll learn to just fall in line with the kids and stop trying to help with stuff... but not today! Luckily we had enough pizza (the leftovers, I'm eating right now... mmm.)

Anyway - we played with pizza dough, scarfed down some food, and then we headed back to Eastern for Act II - Sammy playing The Can-Can. While we were waiting for Sammy's recital to start we took some pictures outside on the beautiful campus. As you can see - the boys really illustrate the beauty that is the campus of Eastern University. I had a feeling we were in for a long afternoon...

Let me tell you... the girl's recital was perfect. It was about 45 minutes long, all of the numbers had no more than 6 kids so that they ALL were in the front row. They didn't split them up into front and back. It was very well done and I couldn't stop praising the school for its organization. Bravo to a school which I've already raved about. The music recital - not so much.

I'll start by saying they really didn't have a choice. It was what it was and the length couldn't really be helped. After about 2 hours of listening to other kids play the piano, clarinet, trombone, and sing Tomorrow from "Annie" - Sammy finally took the stage. Before I talk about Sammy's stellar performance, I'd like to mention Geana's contribution to today's shows. Remember that yellow ballerina I told you to take note of... well... here it is after the dance recital:


See - Geana was trying to go backstage and was on one side of the curtain while the performers were on the other side. As any unsuspecting parent might do, she thrust the curtains open, not realizing that their was a paper figure pinned just above her head - half to the right side and half to the left side of the curtains. As she forced the curtains open, she heard (along with a riiiiiip) the booming voice of the school director, "WHO IS OPENING THAT CURTAIN?" Before he could see her face, Geana ushered the curtains shut and bolted off stage to a sea of other adults, milling about with their other children. She was safe... but the evidence remained. If the Napoli's are reading this blog - Geana Morris did it... but you didn't hear it from me.

Anyway - Sammy kicked some can-can and rocked the house. Here is his performance. It was a fun day... and after taking another hour and a half to, upload video, organize pictures, and write this post - I'm exhausted. Good night all! Enjoy...

An Unprompted Promotion

Why is it that anytime I see someone that I went to college with or see anyone who graduated from UARTS, I feel it necessary to babble on about why I'm not pursuing acting and theatre as a career anymore? I love my job... I love the path I've taken in my life... I couldn't be happier - I'm serious. But yet I still get this impulse and feeling when speaking to other UARTS grads or artists. URGH.

This happened to me yesterday, immediately following Sammy's piano lesson and the girl's dancing school class. All three take classes at Napoli School of Music at 6:30 on Wednesday nights. (First off - let me say that I LOVE the school. Having gone through a professional training program and having lived in that world - they employ the structure, discipline, and energy that is necessary to foster creativity. A lot of times, particularly in kids' classes, structure and discipline are thrown out the window and what you end up with is a bunch of unfocussed kids with no real direction and no real understanding of what it is they are expected to do... but anyway...) Both Sammy's piano instructor and the girls' dance instructor were chatting in the office right after class while I was packing up Sammy's books and the girl's shoes. Turns out both instructors went to UARTS! (They are a bit younger than me, though).

I immediately piped in and said, "Oh - I went to UARTS, too!" We all thought it was pretty cool and we chatted for a couple of seconds about it before I carted the kids off into the car. It was wierd, though. I refrained from doing so, but I immediately felt like I had to tell them why I'm not in the theatre world anymore and how I really love my job and how I got here, blah blah blah... etc. I didn't do it - but I had the impulse. I wonder when that will go away? Will it ever? I've had conversations with friends from UARTS who experience the same thing. Why is that? Is it because the competition is so great in the entertainment business that we feel we have to justify why we "lost"? Is it because we all assumed we would be professional artists when we were in school and the reality is that only about 10 - 25% of the people will actually make a living doing what they went to school for?

The truth is - I don't know the answer but I do know that I'm incredibly proud of myself for refraining from justifying my current existence like a babbling idiot. At the end of the day - I'm psyched that my kids are going to a school where they are being taught by people who know what they are doing and know what they are talking talking about, who have been professionally trained, and who implement structure and disipline into their teaching of a creative craft. I've finally found my home for art classes for the kids. Woo Hoo!!!!

Check out their link earlier in the post, particularly if you are in the Philadelphia area.