Animals to the Rescue! (Meo's first real play)

bowing at the end of their performance 

This fall, Meo joined a program called Storybook Theater at our local Schoolhouse Arts Center. The program was designed for 5-8 year olds to get there first real taste of theater and what being in a play is like. They learned a lot about the process of creating a play and gave input for ideas to help their teacher (the lovely Sarah Flagg) write their very own play. They then had to memorize their lines, learn about blocking and stage presence and finally preform in front of a real audience. Since Meo loves to make up stories, dress up in costumes, and knows how to project his voice we thought this would be a great opportunity for him. And it was! He was always very excited for class! He made some friends and had a chance to work really hard on something. Link (age 3) enjoyed listening to Meo practice his lines and even ended up memorizing Meo's part (as well as the other kids parts). He actually knew the play better than me and would correct me when I messed up Meo's lines. Maybe we will have two theater kids.

Tonight was their big performance. Meo played the role of "the friendly dragon" who rescues a lost bunny and makes some new friends. Meo was excited and not nervous at all! Grandma, Grandpa, Memere, and Pepere were able to come and watch him which made it extra special. Here is a video of Meo's part of the play:

Here are some photos:

Afterwards, the grandparents came over with cake to celebrate Meo's big night. We were so proud of him! He spoke loud and clear and remembered all his lines without needing to be reminded of what they were. Awesome job Meo!

Mattimeo's First Play: The Very Hungry Caterpillar

One cool thing about the Children's Museum is that they have a theater where they put on regular plays and occasionally offer acting classes. This summer when Music class and Martial Arts classes were over, and I saw that they were offering acting classes for preschoolers at the museum, I jumped on the opportunity. Mattimeo is very good at memorizing long stories and poems, and has a natural flare for acting. He recites stories and poems very eloquently with a lot of emotion and pizzazz. I thought it would be fun to see how he did in an acting class with other kids.

The play was "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and over the course of three days (one morning once a week), they learned their parts and made the scenery. I would drop him off in the morning then have some one-on-one time in the museum with Link, which was excellent. After the third day, they put on their play in front of us parents. This time it was just Meo and two little girls, but I think it was good that it was a small group so Meo didn't feel overwhelmed with lots of new people in addition to being dropped off with a stranger (for the first time). They were all very brave when they preformed in front of their families and did a great job. We thought it was super cute and we are very proud of our little Mattimeo. He even prepared his own little "very hungry caterpillar" themed snack to share with his family after the play.

Here is the play:

And some photos: