Staging

BEING DRAMATIC: Many hours this week have been consumed by activities revolving around a play that Annabelle has a role in. Specifically, she plays Matilda Cobblestone, wife of the Shoemaker of "The Elves and the Shoemaker" fame.  Pictured above, she's hiding behind the fireplace, spying on the elves who are making shoes.

Annabelle had performances on Wednesday and Thursday night, and Friday, the show goes on the road. But not too far down the road, just to a retirement community that is next door to the school.

Our family worked on the sets for the play. Over spring break, we turned foam board insulation into a little stage magic.

First we carved 'rocks' into the stone with knives. We used a heat gun to round some of the edges. 

Next, we had to paint the rocks (several different shades of grays and browns), and the 'grout' lines.

Below, CJ and Annabelle work in the fireplace's inside. It was darker, due to the many fires that have burned within the Cobblestones' hearth.

We made flames out of orange, yellow and red fabric cut into flamey shapes and then stiffened via fabric stiffener.

We went down to a local beach to pick up a few pieces of driftwood to serve as the base for the fire. We were lucky enough to find some that had been charred by an illegal beach fire, so it was perfect. (We'll return the driftwood after the final performance, because I have an inkling one is not supposed to take wood from the beach.)

Below is a not great photo of the fireplace 'in action.' I'll try to get a better shot of it at today's performance. 

Oh, and did I mention that we also worked on catering dinner before each of the performances? We, along with some great volunteers, ran "Cobblestones Kitchen." The menu was simple, like the Cobblestones' lifestyle. People had choices between two types of hearty soup (posole or lasagna soup), and there was bread, vegetables, and homemade cobbler for dessert. We fed about 45 people each night, I do believe.

CJ helped with seating and serving and setting the stage both nights. 

We do allegedly have video, so stay tuned for that.