30 'til 30 Day 7: JMU Children's Theatre Playshop-- the summer of big butts and pie fights.

Earlier this week, I shared a bit about the various jobs in theatre I have been lucky enough to have since graduating from college, but my very first paid job in theatre actually happened the summer before graduation.

Each summer, the JMU theatre department hires a company of students to perform in a season of shows for young audiences. JMU Children's Theatre playshop is a tradition for many families in Harrisonburg Virginia, and, for me, one of the most fun two months of my college experience. 

That summer, I played a big-bootied nurse in an adaptation of James Thurber's Many Moons, a saucy narrator in The Emperor's New Clothes and a busty German saloon owner in perhaps the most ridiculous children's show ever: The Showdown at the Sugar Cane Saloon, which featured a crew of evil pirates disguised as old prospectors, and ended with almost every single character getting smacked in the face with a shaving cream pie. Giggles abounded. 

I'm not sure I learned any huge life lessons that summer. But I did make some great friends, had a blast, and developed an appreciation for children's theatre that would ultimately follow me into my career as a director and teacher. And I got to wear a giant fake butt and pie people in the face for five shows in a row... so if that's not worth counting as one of my top 30 life experiences, I don't know what is.