Theatre camp fun

My 5-year-old daughter went to theatre camp this past week.  It was Mary Poppins themed and she was so excited.  It was what she was looking forward to all summer long and it was finally here.

So, I sent her off, from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. every day for a week.  Monday, she brought home her script and her music book.  She was quite devastated because she didn't get the part of Jane, like she wanted.  She was crying so hard, but I talked her down and explained to her that you don't always get the part you want, and when that happens, you do your best with what you were give them.  That night, she went through the music book and picked out the solo she wanted to try out for and she started practicing it every free second she had.

Tuesday, she came home happy.  She was really excited about learning the penguin dance, and she was really excited about solo auditions that were happening Wednesday.

Wednesday came, audition day.  And, she came out so excited that she got the solo!  I was so proud of her.  But, she was even more excited because they finished learning the penguin dance.

Thursday was just another day for her.  She was happy it was over, because that meant the next day was show day.

Friday came, show day.  She had a full day of camp and then they had two shows that evening.  She was so excited.  We only got four total tickets, divided among the shows, so we decided that I would go by myself to the first show and the Papa and little man would come to the second show.  So, I sat nervously awaiting her performance in the front row.

For a 5-year-old who only had a week to learn a dance, a skit, and a 20-minute song and dance routine, she did great.  Sure, it was perfect.  Yes, she had to look around to remember some of the dance moves, and she didn't sing every word, but I was very proud of her.

My big surprise came when the music portion of the show started and when it came time for what I was told was my daughter's solo, she was standing in the back row behind 4 much bigger girls while they sang her solo in front of her.  Every other "solo" during that night the soloists all stood in a row together.  Never was there a soloist standing behind the rest of them.  She was told it was because she didn't tell the dance teacher that she was a soloist.  But, I'm pretty upset about that.  Why can't they get their act together and not rely on a 5-year-old to relay details between teachers for her first show like this.

But, she loved it and she has asked to audition for the Nutcracker in a couple of months.  I have a true performer on my hands.