Show & Tell With Mel - Feb. 8th

Behold, I show you my Thespian Card. I was in my first play at the age of 5. My first role? That of "child". It was a musical - so I had songs to learn and sing. As with many musicals, there was also dancing involved. Since I was young (and cute at the time) my part in the one big dance number was to sit sweetly on the front edge of the stage and play with a dolly. I was to do nothing more than to sit, play with the dolly and sing. For some reason, on the night of the last show, I got it in my head I needed to do more than just sit, play, sing. So, when the dancers finished their number - which was a big square dance type thing and ended with them on their backs kicking their feet in the air, I decided to join them. They were wearing pantaloons - I was not. When you're 5 and cute - you can get away with flashing the audience in your days of the week undies with the polyester lace. I was a hit. Flash forward some almost 12 or 13 years . . . .



Definitely not as young. Still kind of cute though. Still not wearing pantaloons. This time I got to sing AND dance. We did a musical revue this year in high school. One of my big numbers was to sing "Baby Face" with 5 other girls. We started off sweet and adorable - note the big, dopey bow. We were supposed to end in a sort of burlesque-y grand finish with involved a chorus line bit of kicking and some shimmying. Given that we were a smallish high school with a drama budget to match, many of our costumes were pretty much spit and gum and mostly held together with safety pins. Our first performance was a matinee for the high school. The entire Varsity football team sat in the first two rows, together - a loud, rowdy and verbal bunch guaranteed to consider this an interactive type activity. When it came turn for our number, the other girls and I smartly marched out on stage and began singing and dancing. "baby face, you got the cutest little baby face . . . " Things were going quite well. Near the end of the song and before the chorus line kick, we were to kneel in a cheerleader pose. We knelt and when I stood up, caught the heel of my character shoes on the hem of my pinafore. So much for safety pins. So, now I am standing, heading into what it supposed to be an impressive show of shimmying followed by synchronized kicking with my dress around my ankles. Talk about a wardrobe malfunction. The first two rows are in an absolute uproar. I shimmied my pinafore to one foot and then kicked it into the front row. The show must go on right? And that, my good folks, is how I managed to moon the entire Varsity football team and earn my Thespian Card.

Now, stop snickering and go see who else is mooning the class . . .