Christmas Play Diary

MaltaGirl, convenor of the first Malta blog awards, takes her readers through the production stages of a church Christmas play that she has directed. Her diary starts with script preparations and ends with the encore at the first performance. From Diverse Ramblings:

Start rehearsals with kiddies, deal diplomatically with the sulking that ensues when you cast the play. Have a little lottery to see who gets to be the princess. Explain what an understudy is. Compromise by letting one little girl be Princess for first play performance, and the other for the second..

Spend the next half-an-hour walking everyone through the play, glossing over the bits that include props you don't have yet. Yell a lot. Yell at adults who keep wandering into the room. Swear under your breath (so the kiddies can't hear you). Yell some more. Feel bad when you yell at an adult who interrupts practice, because then you realise she only wanted to give you a Christmas present. Feel very relieved then the walk-through is finally over...