Theatre, Circus, and Awards

And thus began the most boring hour I have ever spent in my life. It took place in the early 1900s with all the costumes and French antiquated scenery. It was about a boy who found a cat and then lost him again – a day in the life of, IN REAL TIME. The bath took 5 minutes with him sighing in pleasure as the water was poured over him. There were two men, which I couldn’t figure out. Was one the dad who died in WWI? Because there was a WWI scene with battle-weary men singing, accompanied by homemade instruments. So was it the ghost of the father and the other the current husband? But no! It wasn’t that, which I was later to find out. It was a mother who was living with BOTH her husband and her lover. (This is a family-friendly movie, mind you).

The mother smiled benignly the entire time, except for when she was in bed with her lover. And then there was five minutes of watching two kids playing a board game. Throw the dice. Count it out. Your turn. (In opera). Then there’s the guy (can’t remember if it’s the lover or the father) reading Nietsche. In GERMAN. In the end, they lose the cat and the kid is wandering around the deserted town, followed by the fields, at night, with a candle, looking for him. Where are his parents? Why is he out without a coat after he was in bed with a fever?

He doesn’t find him. He cries. He and one of the dudes go fishing and come home. And that’s the end. William was traumatised. “Mais ils n’ont pas trouvé le chaaaat!” I said (loudly) honey you’re going to have to renounce your heritage if you want a happy ending. You won’t find that in a French movie. You’re going to have to move to America.

I had a major fit of the giggles halfway through the show because I couldn’t believe what I was seeing and how boring it was. There was polite applause as the actors and singers came out on stage and we clapped for them. (Not too enthusiastically for fear of an encore). And then in the parking lot, my husband starts calling out to the car in a high-pitched operatic voice. “Ou es tu?” (Where are you?) That was my favourite part of the evening.

Last night we went back to the theatre for the last of the three performances. I was a bit wary.

This time it was the cirque de plume – the feather circus.

And this time it was really, really good.

All of the performers were athletes, musicians and comedians. They did trapeze, tightrope walking, and other feats with their bodies that had me on the edge of my seat for fear they would fall. The clown was funny. FUNNY! I never think clowns are funny, but I was laughing at everything he did. It was two hours of pure bliss, and this time we did chant for an encore, and got one.

Voici a marvellous video recap of the event so you can feel like you were there. I highly recommend it.

The only fly in the ointment was the day they chose for this (again) family-friendly adventure. Wednesday night when they have school the next day? We didn’t get in bed until midnight and it was rather a rude awakening this morning. But I’d say that all-in-all it was worth it.

So, next up will be the performance which includes our children. This is one every parent is sure to love.

In a complete change of topic, I am up for an award for my memoir. And – as much as it goes against the grain to ask – I was wondering if you would vote for me? In full disclosure, this is based purely on votes and has nothing to do with talent. BUT. I think it will give a lot of exposure, and if you liked my memoir, would you vote for me?

The link is here, and you’re allowed to vote just one time until March 31. But … you can ask your friends to vote. 🙂 You’ll find A Lady in France if you scroll down the page to Non-Fiction: Biography/ Memoir

However, voting aside, I did get an award for my book based on merit.

I felt giddy and a little emotional when I received it in the mail. I’ve got plenty of things to keep me busy – ten more chapters in my serial romance/mystery that I put out each week; I have to write and direct the comedy sketch for the Women’s Day our church is holding in Paris – in French, of course; I’m co-moderating a Christian women’s blogging group on Facebook (if you’d like to be part of that, do let me know); and then of course I’m a wife and a mom.

And, you know, I can see the weaknesses in my own writing, so I am doubly conscious of the honour in having received this award. I’m just so grateful. 🙂

That’s all I wanted to say today.