The Play's The Thing

I am kicking myself for not remembering to bring my camera to play practice this morning. The kids worked on the last scene, where Claudius, Laertes, Gertrude, and Hamlet all die, and they were surprisingly good! We spent the most time on Laertes' and Hamlet's duel, which has been looming as one of our biggest challenges, with great potential for disaster. Our Laertes' is a scrappy boy, and he has been studying fencing for over a year now so he sort of knows what he is doing. Travis is well meaning and likes waving swords around as much as the next boy, but he is inclined to flinch and dodge if he thinks he might actually get hit. Sensible behavior, I'd say (and I can't remember the last time I put the words "sensible" and "Travis" in the same thought). But ducking and dodging are not "princely," and we (the moms) had all been worried that our long-rehearsed play would end with Laertes chasing Hamlet around and around the stage, which would be tragic, but not the kind of tragic we are aiming for.

Anyway, our marvelous Director Mom choreographed the fight, and the boys actually Got It. Three whacks (and with Laertes being left-handed even this was tricky), then circle, then three more whacks. Then one lunges forward three steps while the other backs up, then three more whacks, then they go back the other direction. Then there is some other business, then they do it again. Then Gertrude dies, then Laertes, then Claudius, then Hamlet. Then Horatio (Katie) says "Goodnight sweet prince....." and we are through! It took a few times, and probably took ten years off our Director's life, but finally they did Well. Before they got it, though, there were some pretty hilarious moments as we tried to convey to Travis how he was supposed to move around during the fight -- that skipping and bunny hopping just aren't part of a swordsman's footwork repertoire. The kids die with Wonderful Drama! I was So impressed. Travis was actually the weakest die-er of the lot, which I didn't expect. He did Claudius in with great drama, though. So we will spend the next week practicing dramatic death, plus polishing up lines. I think we have finally settled on the first weekend in May for the performance.

In other news, our new corner shop opened today. Travis and Katie were their first customers, purchasing candy and other thrillingly junky foods. They are so excited to have a little shop within walking distance again. And I am thrilled to, as Ed informs me that they sell toilet paper and coffee, so we won't have to run into town when we run out of life's essentials. Ed even said that the man who owns the place said something about planning to sell books (rare used books, specifically), but I'll believe that when I see it.