The Menno Melange

As forewarned, here is the (hopefully eagerly awaited) post about our musical.

We are about 2 scenes from finishing, and have found a theatre in St. Jacobs to perform it in. We are hoping to have it performed in spring or summer of next year. Some of the proceeds will go towards our expenses, and some will go towards an organization, like MCC (Mennonite Central Committee)

Many of you have been following along, but for those who haven’t, or who have forgotten, or who are new to this blog, I will explain the musical a bit: “The Shadows of Grossmunster” is about Anabaptist history, focusing on the original Anabaptist leaders; Felix Manz, Conrad Grebel, George Blaurock, Ulrich Zwingli, etc. All the beginnings took place in Zurich, and the Grossmunster is the big cathedral that all the meetings and debates took place at. We also focus on how things changed with the invention of the printing press, the corruption of the early church, from the perspective of Martin Luther, how the group was formed and persecuted, right to the execution of Felix Manz…and yes, there is even comedy and romance (believe it or not). Also, the script and music is all original, script and lyrics written by Will, and music all composed by me.

It is now time to find people to make the musical possible:
-We need actors (most of whom can sing), about 15, although, that number may change.
-We need musicians; I am hoping for a cellist, a guitarist, a banjo player, maybe a violin, or whatever I can find and I will then write musical parts to accomodate that instrument. I will be the one playing the piano
-We need a producer, or at least someone to help us do that
-We need people to help us sell tickets, advertise, put posters up, spread the word, etc.

If you are interested in any of that, or just in coming to see it, OR if you know of someone who might be interested, please contact us by e-mail or by phone: (519) 655-6882
Soon, we will be updating our website, or creating a new one specifically for the musical, where you can go to get more information. We will let you know when that happens.

Hope this is intriquing to some of you, and that we get some responses. We are very excited about this project.

So, apparently I look younger than I actually am.

Example #1
I was catering at a wedding through the restaurant I work for, with a bunch of middle-aged to senior women. One of them said to me, “So what grade are you in now?” I was stunned for a moment (thinking, “I’d have to be 17 or 18 to be in the grade she must think I’m in!”), then all I could say was,” Umm, I’m 25.” Oh, she was embarrassed. To prevent further embarrassment among the group, I announced to everyone that I’m 25. This may sound like a silly thing to do, but at this point I was getting tired of being seen as a teen.

This notion makes me uncomfortable, but I’m sure if I was 20 years older I would appreciate that sentiment. But for some reason, it irks me. Perhaps because I feel like people might treat me with less respect, thinking I’m a mere teenager, rather than a 25 year old woman. Or, perhaps it’s these specific scenarios.

Example #2
I was training a 17 year-old guy at work last week, when I started to get the feeling he was flirting with me. In all honesty, that didn’t flatter me one bit. It made me very uncomfortable. He was giving me attitude, but in a joking, teeange flirty kind of way, and other things that made me realize I should probably fill him in. I managed to subtly mention that I’m married, and watched curiously at how his facial expression changed. A blank stare, then a befuddled question, “How…old are you?” I made him guess. After various guesses in the younger 20’s, he finally figured it out. He said he thought I was 19. Needless to say, the flirting stopped after that.

Example #3 (and there are more)
At the nursing home I work at, I was attending a meeting with co-workers. One of them, not too much older than me, heard me make a reference to my husband. I have never seen such a shocked reaction to someone hearing I’m married before. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head, and she exclaimed, “You’re married?! I didn’t know you were MARRIED!” There’s no other reason why she should be so shocked at that fact, except that she thought I was a teeny-bopper. She seemed to look at me with new eyes from that point on. Oh. A new member of the mature married women’s club, I guess.

Maybe it’s my young face…maybe it’s my attachment to my clothes of 5 years ago….maybe my bubbly personality…whatever it is, I just want everyone to know that I’m 25. Not 19, and certainly not 17. And yes, I’m married.

1. I shake, ’cause a tornado hit Bulpit Lake

Many of you don’t even know what Bulpit Lake is, but it is the small lake that my family, as well as 14 others, shareholds near Bancroft. As some of you may be aware, “cottage country” was hit badly by as many as 8 tornadoes 2 weeks ago. My lake was one of them. Amazingly, none of the cottages were destroyed, save one window, in my family cabin. My mom was in the cabin at the time, but she and no one else (everyone else was in the dining hall, watching the storm) was hurt. The devastation was great, with many old trees blown over or away, a few roads covered with felled trees, being described as “unrecognizable”. That’s pretty sad, but remembering that many local people in surrounding areas lost their HOMES, some damage to foliage is hardly anything to cry about. Granted, I haven’t gone up yet to see the damage for myself. I may be feeling differently once I see it. Apparently the inside of the cabin is covered is dust and dirt from the broken window, and of course there is no hydro up there, but Will and I are still planning on going up there in 2 weeks for our “vacation”. We plan on being fully prepared, with lanterns, wood stove and campfire cookable foods, and lots of water. However, I imagine we’ll spend much of our time up there cleaning up, chopping trees, and other maintenance. But that’s all a part of having a cottage, I guess, and it’ll be worth it in the end.

2. A Viewsical of the Musical

We are excited to announce that we are scenes away from finishing the musical, and have already found a theatre to perform it in, in the Church Theatre in St. Jacobs. We will be sending out formal emails about it, and maybe a more formal blog entry, to recruit cast and musicians. This, I’ll admit, is the scariest part for me. Are we going to find enough talented people who want to volunteer their time for a few monthes? And will we find them in time? Will we find enough funding to put it together? Will we find someone willing to help us produce it? Will it be a hit or a flop? I guess we will see, soon enough.

3. Knitted Senator Sweanator

I admit, I’m trying too hard to make my titles rhyme. Oh well. I am almost finished knitting Will an early 1900’s Senators jersey, back when they used to be knitted. I’ve wanted to knit Will a sweater for a while, and recently I asked him what he wanted, and he found me an old black and white picture online of the old Senators team, and said, “This is what I want.” So, I found me some white, red and black yarn, and have been working away for the past month. It is now all pieced together, and I am currently working on the turtle neck, or at least it looks like a turtle neck from the picture. Will is pretty excited to wear it, and I’m pretty excited to see it on him. What an accomplished feeling, to see something you knitted being put to use.

4. Planning on Canning

Will and I went to the St. Jacobs market last week, and bought 2 huge baskets of peaches for canning. We canned last year as well (strawberries for jam, which we picked ourselves and peaches), and enjoyed the heavenly peaches throughout the winter. Canning is one of those lost trades that I think we should revive. As well as supporting local farmers. There is something SO satisfying about buying locally grown foods and preparing/preserving them in a traditional way so they can be enjoyed throughout the off-season (rather than buying imported fruits and vegetables). And they taste so good, too! I’ll admit, first learning to can was daunting and overwhelming, having to put full jars in boiling hot water, but when you get used to it, it’s very satisfying. Especially when you hear the “POP!!” of each jar, one at a time, as they each seal at their own pace. I’m looking forward to canning tonight, and I highly encourage you to try it, as well.

5. Our Jungle

I am referring to our vegetable garden. Our tomato plants are now taller than me (NO exaggeration). I found out, only too late, that when you grow tomatoes, you have to find and pull out all the suckers (which are parasite plants that grow out the of the stalk and produce twice as many leaves as it normally would have, and stealing away the energy from the plant). We never did that, so our tomato plants have essentially created a thick jungle, where we literally will have to hack away at the tomato plant leaves to be able to access any fruits, like someone using a machete to cut through thick rainforest leaves. I can hardly see well enough through the thick foliage to know if there ARE any ripe tomatoes. Whoops.

6. Donating Organ time

Well, I’m not really donating, I’m getting paid for my services. This summer has been really busy for me, being an organist at the Lutheran church in town. I have just LOVED that job, as I am getting paid to play music. And the church services aren’t bad either. I have also been asked to play at weddings, 3 to be exact. So, I have spent much of my time practicing for those. Wow. I can actually call myself a professional musician. Weird.