The Curtains Closed

The curtain closed after a busy Christmas Show season for Joel in Sight and Sound Theatre's "Miracle of Christmas" show. Mark and I were able to go see his final show on Friday night. It was a wonderful performance! We were so proud of Joel and so thankful for this opportunity he had to be part of such a fantastic Christmas show.

On Saturday, we saw the final showing of the season's "Voices of Christmas" show at Sight and Sound's Living Waters Theatre. That was so much fun! We really loved that show and highly recommend it to everyone. I think the "Miracle of Christmas" show at the bigger theatre gets most of the attention, but "Voices of Christmas" was an absolute delight! Jaden was enthralled as were the rest of us! It was amazing.

So for now, Joel has a bit of a repreive from the theatre. He is hoping to be back as Ishmael in "Abraham and Sarah" which opens in April. It is time to send in the head shot and measurements and wait for a contract. We would love for him to have another year there. After 6 years, it has become home away from home and such a valued part of his life and experience.

Joel won't be bored though.... Future City Engineering competition is in 3 weeks and he will be busy, busy, busy preparing for that. He has been chosen to be one of the spokesmen at the competition in Philadelphia. Much to prepare for! We hit the ground running today getting back into the routines and rhythms of schooling. Our break was wonderful, but always seems too short!

Flexibility

Our oldest son is an actor and the rehearsal period for the upcoming Miracle of Christmas show at Sight and Sound's Millennium Theatre is now in full swing. That means that our whole life for the next couple of weeks has to revolve around the rehearsals! Each night, we listen to the next day's call.... the hours are different every day and we don't know from day to day what the next day will hold. And the hours are always iffy - like today, he was called to work 10-6. At 5:00 tonight, he called and said he was done and needed to be picked up. Thankfully we only live a half an hour away!! But we do need to always be ready to go at a moment's notice. It makes homeschooling a bit more challenging too, but thankfully Joel is a quick learner! He does take some school work with him to the theatre, but many times he doesn't have time to work on it because the breaks are very quick.

So this month of November, there are no appointments scheduled. Everything is "pencilled in" and subject to change. No plans can be fixed permanantly. But soon, once the show opens, life will be back to normal for us with a schedule that we can anticipate. Opening Day is Saturday Nov. 22!

Come see the show this season! For more info, click on the link to Sight and Sound Theatre or go to www.sight-sound.com

Joel got a contract!

Joel will be back at the theatre, playing the roles of Judah's son, Nathan (inn keeper's son) and Gideon (shepherd boy) in the "Miracle of Christmas" show at Sight and Sound's Millennium Theatre. He is so excited! We were worried he would be too big to play the role, but they wanted him back again. This is the 7th show that he's been contracted for at Sight and Sound since he started back in 2003 at age 7.

I remember so well the first time we saw the "Miracle of Christmas" show back in 2000 when Joel was 5 years old. It was our first time at a show at Sight and Sound and we were amazed! Joel sat there totally transfixed and I remember telling Mark that Joel would be in that show someday!

Then just 2 years later, Joel auditioned at the theatre and got the role of Isaac for the "Abraham and Sarah" show and then "Ruth", "Miracle of Christmas", "Ruth" again, "Psalms of David" and most recently "Abraham and Sarah" again.

He was in "Miracle of Christmas" for the 2005 season which was the time that Jaden was born. I remember sitting there watching the show the day that Jaden was due to be born! So this show is extra special to us and I'm so glad he gets to be in it again.

Please come see the show! You will be so glad you did!

A Sad good-bye at the theatre

Yesterday was Joel's last performance for this season. In the post below, I had the wrong info. and corrected it. Joel actually performed 90 shows this year in "Abraham and Sarah" and it began in April. Time flies! He hated to say good-bye to everyone last night because some people he may not see again. Here is a picture of him with two other young actors with whom he has worked with in several shows over the past few years.

The End of the Show

This picture of Joel was taken tonight at Sight and Sound's Millennium Theatre in front of the display advertising the "Abraham and Sarah" show. So here is Ishmael himself standing in front of a wax Isaac and Sarah. The wax Abraham was in the scene too but not in this picture. It is a very nice display!

Tomorrow is Closing Day for the 2008 season of the "Abraham and Sarah" show at Sight and Sound's Living Waters Theatre. Joel performed in 90 shows since Opening Day in April! It will be a bittersweet day tomorrow as he performs the role of Ishmael two last times - the 1:00 and 4:15 shows. Of course, he could be back again next year - IF he doesn't grow too tall!

We had a special evening tonight - we went to see "In the Beginning" at the Millennium theatre! It was a perfect ending to our school week's study of creation. What a beautiful show it was. It was even better than when we saw it last year. Jaden loved it too - although he thought he would be seeing Noah and the ark! (We measured Noah's ark earlier in the day today!) He said "There's all the animals, but where's the boat??!!!"

Both times that I have seen "In the Beginning", I cannot help crying when Adam and Eve are created. It is so very moving and emotional. It was so thrilling when God breathed the breath of life into each of them! If you haven't seen this show, you still have a chance - it runs through next month and then will be returning again next year. I still like "Abraham and Sarah" the best, but this one isn't far behind.

For more info. on these shows or others coming up at Sight and Sound Theatres, click on the link to the right on this page under "My favorite links."

One more week until school starts!

I am almost ready for school to start again.... I have gotten our schedule printed out, Joel and Ivy's TOG notebooks ready for the first unit (9 weeks), and have reserved the library books we need for the first several weeks and have received several packages of books in the mail! Even the kids are getting excited about "hitting the books" again.

We also just found out what classes they will be in at the WHEE homeschool group this fall. Ivy will be taking Archeology and Fun With Spanish and Phys. Ed. Joel will be taking Public Speaking. Civics and he's also taking Phys. Ed. And Jaden will be going to a pre-school class and will be having story time, crafts, and music! WHEE meets at our church on Monday mornings and there are 50 families enrolled.

We are also continuing with Hempfield Homeschoolers where we have been members for 7 years. On Thursday afternoons, Ivy will be taking Art class, music and choir and also gym and fitness. Joel will be taking Future City Engineering and will be in Yearbook class. Jaden isn't old enough for the pre-school class at Hemfield so he will be in the nursery. There are 75 families in the Hempfield Group and we've been very blessed to be part of it since our kids were of school age.

Our schedule will be very full with two homeschool groups as well as a very challenging course of study here at home. One big change for us this year is that we are hoping to begin our day of schooling at 8:00 which means we've got to get up early! We've also started around 9 or even later depending on my night's sleep with Jaden! But this year with so much packed into our schedule, an early start will be necessary.

Joel's theatre contract ends Sept. 20th so the number of shows he is doing is winding down. For those of you who haven't seen "Abraham and Sarah" yet and want to, let me know ASAP! There are plenty of 50% off tickets available. We don't know if this will end his 6 years at Sight and Sound or not. He is growing so fast that he may not be able to play a child anymore. Very sad! But it has been a wonderful experience and we'll always be extremely thankful that God has enabled him to do this for so long.

Sight and Sound Theatre tickets

Just a reminder to anyone who would like to go see a show, we can get you tickets at 50% off for "Abraham and Sarah" (Joel plays the role of Ishmael) or for "In the Beginning". To get the discounted tickets, we need to purchase them within 2 weeks of the show that you would like to see. "Abraham and Sarah" runs through September and I have his schedule for the rest of the season if you are interested in seeing a show when he is in it. Just let us know!

"Abraham and Sarah" is a beautiful show! I've seen it twice this season and I will be going a few more times before the end of the show run. Joel has been absolutely enjoying himself there and its been great for him to play the role of Ishmael after having been Isaac there 5 years ago! He loved acting in "Ruth", "Miracle of Christmas" and "Psalms of David", but we all agree that "Abe and Sarah" is our special favorite.