Claire's Big Debut

One of the first things that I can remember being discussed when Grandma Call came to Lancaster to help us move back in November was the possibility of Claire being in Clearfield High's production of Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" with Aunt Julie and Aunt Katie.  The minute it came out of Grandma's mouth, Claire thought of virtually nothing else.  Luckily for us, Mr. Uminski (the theater teacher) OK'd Claire's participation. :)  

Starting early in February, Claire started attending rehearsals with Aunt Julie and Aunt Katie.  She was playing a little village girl, and would be participating in both the opening village scene (the "Bonjour" scene) as well as the mob scene towards the end.  I had no idea how much time Claire would be spending at rehearsals before opening night, and I have to be honest, it wasn't easy for me!  In fact, I struggled with her participation more and more as opening night got closer and closer.  She's still just a little girl!  But, I'm glad Danny is around to balance me out. :)  

While Claire was busy with rehearsals, Grandma Call was busy making costumes for Aunt Julie, Aunt Katie, and Claire.  Claire literally spent whatever hours she wasn't at rehearsals sitting next to Grandma and her sewing machine, watching the costumes take form.  She.  Was.  Obsessed!  When Grandma wasn't sewing, Claire would convince Aunt Julie or Aunt Katie to watch musicals with her on You-Tube.  It was incredible to see this passion start to bloom in Claire.

Finally, after a month of waiting not-so-patiently, the big day came!  Opening night!  There were a total of four performances, starting on Thursday, February 23 and running through Saturday the 25th, with an additional show on Monday the 27th.  Claire could barely eat on Thursday night, she was so excited!  As soon as we convinced her to take at least three bites, she quickly got dressed in her costume and was ready to get her hair done.  I think she was definitely the cutest little villager!

Claire made a couple of very good friends during all her rehearsal time.  One of her teachers at school, Mrs. Moss, had three kids participating in the show.  Her son played Cogsworth, and her two daughters played village girls like Claire.  The three were instant friends, and since Brynnlee and Presley (both 8) were older than Claire, they were in charge of watching after her.  They did a great job!

The show started out with our very own Aunt Julie, playing the Enchantress.  (Side note: I did get an early birthday present from my wonderful husband.  A new camera!  More on that in a later post, but that's why we were able to get some awesome pictures!)  Aunt Julie did a wonderful job, and definitely got the cast started on the right foot.

I couldn't believe how much confidence Claire had on stage.  She had absolutely NO problem taking her place, and she remembered every cue.  Even with all those people in the audience.  I was so proud of her!  And I couldn't believe that I had anything to do with that beautiful little girl up there.  I won't lie.  There were tears.

At first, during the "well scene", I was so sad that Claire wouldn't sit closer to Belle and the rest of the kids.  But she would consistently sit in the exact same spot, no matter how often we told her to scoot in.  Turns out, there were a few kids that were there for dress rehearsal that weren't there for the performance.  Claire was blocked in that spot, and that's the spot she was going to sit in.  No matter what.  That's my girl!  She took this whole acting business very seriously!

As mentioned, Claire was also a part of the mob scene, and she did a wonderful job there as well.  Because of the action in the scene, it was incredibly difficult to get a decent picture.  :(  But I can absolutely guarantee you that she was every bit as cute during the mob scene as she was during the "Bonjour" scene!

Perhaps Claire's favorite part of the show was the end and the grand bow.  Again, there were usually tears involved for me.  I just couldn't believe how wonderful she did!  I couldn't believe my little baby was big enough to do anything like this.  And I just couldn't get over how amazingly beautiful she is.

What an incredible experience for our Claire Bear.  But, believe it or not, four performances wasn't the entirety of this experience.  There was so much more!  Someone from our family was at every performance.  All of us went to support Claire, Aunt Julie, and Aunt Katie on opening night.  During the second performance, only Danny went, and I stayed home with two sick kids.  In fact, Sophie had one infected ear and the other was on the cusp of infection.  Sheesh.  During the third performance, Danny stayed home with Johnny, and I took Sophie and Isabelle.  And, of course, we were all in attendance for closing night.  But we weren't the only ones to make a point of supporting all our budding actresses.  Uncle Kenny, Aunt Susie, and Braxton and Tavin came to support Claire and their aunts during the Friday night performance.  From what I understand, they loved the show!  But Braxton had something special for his favorite cousin after the show.  And he worked extra hard that day to earn the money.  What a special guy, and wonderful friend!

The productions department at Clearfield High had the fun idea of having a "Be Our Guest" party before the Saturday performance.  Kids could come early and meet the cast, get their pictures taken, and make crafts.  The price of the party also included the price of a ticket, and special seating was reserved for those who attended.  Obviously, we weren't going to miss that!  But if the girls were excited, Grandma was twice as excited.  See, she got this idea during the first performance of how cute it would be to see Claire and Sophie is real Belle dresses during the party.  She sewed, and sewed, and sewed up to the very last minute to produce two absolutely gorgeous Belle gowns for her two oldest granddaughters.  The girls were so excited!  What an industrious Grandma they have!

The party was so much fun.  The girls enjoyed making crafts with Aunt Julie and Aunt Katie, decorating crowns, and coloring pictures from "Beauty and the Beast".  We were lucky to be able to take Isabelle with us, and she had so much fun supporting Claire and being a princess with her cousins.  I can't believe how grown up all these kids are getting.

Grandma was so proud of how cute her girls looked!  Can't say I blame her. ;)  And she brought her emergency needle and thread, just in case it was needed.  Which is was.  Both Claire and Sophie stepped on their skirts within about 3.6 minutes of putting them on, and pulled the gathering out.  Good thing Grandma could fix it!

And even though we were too late for cast pictures (Grandma had to get those dresses finished!), Aunt Julie was able to pull some strings.  We were able to get our own private photo shoot with Belle...AND the Enchantress!  It's nice to have connections. ;)

During intermission on closing night, Claire was sought out by an admirer.  We have no idea who this boy was, but he took a liking to Claire, and stayed right by her side throughout intermission.  At one point, Claire brought him over to meet her family, then they went over to meet his parents.  I know!  It was simply crazy to watch.  I was transported 12 years into the future, and it scared me to death!  I was able to catch a picture of these two just when he got brave enough to break the touch barrier. :)

And with the curtain down on closing night, "Beauty and the Beast" was over!  Honestly, I don't think any of our family could take one more late night!  Sophie was still struggling with her ear infection, Johnny was teething and running fevers, and even Claire was running a fever off and on with a horrible cough.  But we were happy to have made it to every performance!  Grandma Candy came for closing night, and brought some flowers for Claire.  Danny brought her a single red  rose, in recognition of the enchanted rose, and even Grandma and Papa brought Claire flowers!  She was absolutely overwhelmed with joy (and exhaustion!) :)

Claire, we're so proud of you!  You did a wonderful job, and we all know it won't be the last show you're a part of.  It's so exciting as your parents to watch your talents and passions emerge, as we get a little more of a glimpse into the daughter of God that you are.  How humbled we are to have such a special girl to call our own.  Love you, Claire Bear!!