I ran into a friend Saturday afternoon during the Raising Arizona Kids Magazine 2011 Camp Fair. She almost always greets me with the same line: “You’re everywhere!”
Sometimes she goes so far as to suggest I’ve been cloned, but if that’s the case she must surely have met a similar fate. She’s only seeing me everywhere because she too is out there flitting to and fro in theater world.
Cloning feels particularly tempting on weekends — when there are far more music, dance and theater offerings than we can possibly enjoy in just two days time. Festivals, art exhibits and museum fare also abound.
Lizabeth hit the ASU Kerr Cultural Center, just up the street from our house, Saturday night for an improv work titled “Jane Austen UnScripted” performed by L.A.-based Impro Theatre.
Comedy meets classic lit. That choice was easy. Especially given that missing such a show would be tantmount to blasphemy in our family prone to musings on history, literature and philosophy.
Sunday brought a tougher challenge. As longtime season ticket holders for the Broadway Across America series at ASU Gammage, we were sad having to miss today’s matinee of the musical “9 to 5.”
I was too busy working “5 to 9” to take advantage of their ticket exchange program for season ticket holders. I kept thinking “the show’s not until February” — but alas, it’s now nearly March.
Lizabeth and I planned to see “Friends, Enemies, and People on the Subway” — a show featuring student-directed one act plays — together Sunday afternoon.
It was presented by fellow theater arts students at Arizona School for the Arts, whose next work — the play “Triangle” by Laurie Brooks — is being performed April 29, 30 and May 1 at the Phoenix Theatre Little Theatre.
But Lizabeth checked Facebook Sunday morning and found a reminder that a friend she’s studied with at Childsplay Academy, a friend who faithfully attends all of Lizabeth’s shows, was appearing in a show that ended its run Sunday afternoon.
Amanda was “Scar” one year when Lizabeth was “Pumba” during a musical theater workshop based on “The Lion King” — and they’ve been friends ever since.
“Mom,” Lizabeth told me Sunday morning over the breakfast table, “I have a dilemma.” She was torn, wanting to support both her classmates and her friend.
So we found a way to do both. She hit the Mesa Arts Center for the East Valley Children’s Theatre production of “Puss ‘N Boots” (which had two ASA students in the cast) while I enjoyed the ASA performance of five one-acts.
We got pizza together afterwards to swap notes on the shows, then headed home to watch the 83rd Annual Academy Awards — where I discovered that the thing I’m most interested in cloning is Helen Mirren’s stunning grey gown.
— Lynn
Note: David Hallberg, principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre in New York, will be honored Tuesday with the inaugural Young Alumnus Award from Arizona School for the Arts in Phoenix. Click here for information about the free ASA event at which Hallberg will be recognized for his outstanding achievements.
Coming up: Art meets dance, A mother/daughter costume tale
Stage Mom Musings 