The word combo "endless summer" has resonated for decades. It was a documentary title, a Beach Boys album, and a youthful hope not to return to academia. We break, beach, and bask in summer. From solstice to bummer, it is an emotional gauntlet of a season - often going shockingly quick. We question where the time has gone as if we were victims to calendar thievery. July does a fly by. Thus, we must eat up the August sunshine. Before we know it, we will be in embattled September - a month that mostly claims summer yet sometimes feels all fall.
This is my first official blog of the 2021 summer. I have not taken the time to type simply because summer has demanded my presence. And after the time warp that was 2020 to Spring 2021, our family has shot out of an activity cannon, swimming, splashing, and scootering back into the mainstream.
To fully appreciate 2021, our family had to travel back to 1865. Yes, it was 156 years ago when Lewis Carroll authored Alice in Wonderland, arguably the greatest literary nonsense of all-time. The bizarre nature of our modern times goes quite nicely with this rabbit hole. Inside the Community Arts Center of Cambria County on the last Friday of this July, we had a mad and wonderful experience. Two outstanding young ladies performed a 45-minute tour-de-force, capturing the nuttiness of a classic novel.
Bright Star Touring Theatre, a North Carolina based production, adventured to Westmont, treating dozens of kids and adults to Alice's antics. My 6-year-old and 4-year-old girls are captivated by live theatre, having attended multiple local plays and musicals over the years. Their mother usually has led these conquests. Their father usually is doing heroic things like cutting the grass, golfing, or blogging during showtime. I was front row with my leading ladies this time around. Quite simply, it was an enjoyable performance - clever, humorous, and demanded audience participation.
Following the show, there was a Q&A where my 6-year-old exploded her right arm into the air. She asked the performers how old they were. I'm almost positive the question was asked because my daughter was counting down the years when she can travel the world as an actress extraordinaire. The question would have been a lot weirder if I as the front row Dad asked the same question; goes from cute to creepy in a heartbeat.
Speaking of hearts, the Queen of Hearts character was tremendous. There is no better theatre magic than "off with your head". The threat of being decapitated brought a smile to my face. Warm my heart, Queen of Hearts...
After the Q&A, all the kids got to participate in acting lessons with the performers. A circle of talent was formed and the rest was history. It was improv, exercise, and education wrapped into one silly shape. Special thanks to the Bright Star superstars who inspired imagination.
Alas, it is August - the eighth month in another eventful year on Planet Earth. Sometimes it is nice to escape; to attend a fantasy tea party and forget about what we have survived and what is to come; to let kids be kids; to welcome and thank others for making our community brighter.
Summer will surely end.
Let Alice and Wonderland and all of us shine on.
