Last Saturday my son and I appeared in our first stage play, held at the Sechelt Legion: The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey.
It’s a story set in the late 1800s about a widow and her son who meet up with a grouchy old woodcarver and proceed to work their way into his heart. Through the one act play, we discover the reason for Mr. Toomey’s angry disposition – his heart is broken. His wife and baby died, days apart from each other, so he keeps his mind occupied by carving and keeps his heart safe by shutting out the world.
The story is very touching. The play was put on as part of a Christian outreach by My Father’s House, which sought to reach people that night with the good news of Jesus. No pressure.
Acting in a play isn’t something I’d normally do, as it goes against my desire to stay as far away from the stage as possible, but Els Mercer of My Father’s House approached me one day, a kind and loving smile on her face, and told me she thought my son Ryder and I would be perfect. She also told me about the other mother and son duos she had asked who couldn’t commit and her strong desire to offer the play to the community. I felt compelled to say yes, so I did. Soon I wished I hadn’t.
Did you know that practising for a play is a ton of work? I didn’t. Over the next two months The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey consumed me.
If we weren’t at our weekly rehearsal, Ryder and I were practising our lines at home, at work, at the store, at school, wherever we were when we had a few extra minutes of time.
In addition to trying to memorize our lines, we practised the way we walked, how we moved and what our expressions would look like.
We went to sleep dreaming about the play and woke up thinking about it.
Any time I went thrift store shopping (which I’ll admit is almost daily) I was looking for clothing or items to add to our costumes, and soon I started seeing everything through 18th century eyes, folding hats and collars to see if I could make them fit the era.
Sometimes I felt like I was my character, the widow McDowell, and I would catch myself walking differently or talking as if I was her.
The only other thing I can think of that took over my life like that was planning for my wedding.
As with most things, before I did it myself, I didn’t realize the immense preparation that’s needed to make those 30 minutes on stage worth watching. Now I get it.
I’ll never look at a play the same way again.
