7 shows down, 12 more to go.  Anne of Green Gables The Musical is starting to feel like it has been a part of my life for ever.  The newness has wore off and it is becoming comfortable and natural to walk on stage and sign the story of this beloved Canadian icon.  Just last week I was stressed about being able to apply my stage makeup, now I can do it in about 5 minutes.   Not bad for a newbie!  

I have forgotten lines and been forgiven.  My voice has cracked while singing, hopefully no one noticed.  I have been almost knocked over by an enthusiastic scene partner once or twice.  Best of all I am enjoying the heck out of this show!

39 cast members who rehearsed for 3 months together in a rather larger space are now together backstage in an area so small we are literally on top of each other.  There is no room for privacy, dignity or pride in the green room.  We are a family now.  A stinky, sweaty, goofy, out-of-control family and I think it is pretty cool that this random group of people from 11 to hmmm...I'll be nice and say 45 plus years are getting along so well.

We were given a very positive review by a blogger here in Calgary.  You can read it at Family Fun Calgary's website.

Here are a few things I think you should know about the show:

Anne Shirley is played by Jillyan Hannah who is a force to be reckoned with.  Sweet and spunky behind the scenes and she brought each of the cast a flower on opening night.  She is doing a superb job of living up to everyone's image of Anne and that is not an easy task!

Gilbert Blythe is played by Troy Goldthorp and when he sings Wonderin' he just may steal your heart.  Kind and funny off-stage and on.  He is a great Gilbert Blythe (or Glybert Bithe as he was accidentally called in one run)!

Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert are played by Lynn Rowley and Chris Tesarski.  I hear that they played these roles 14 years ago and they do seem to fit very comfortably into Green Gables.  It has been great to work with both of them as they are very kind, focused and professional.  They just may move you to tears at some point in the show.

The talent in the entire cast is incredible and I could go on listing everyone but I really think you should come for yourself and see them.   The beautiful Taylor Rae Steedman playing Anne's best friend Diana.  Diana's crazy intense mother played by Trishia Woodley Morgan.  The hilarious Moody McPherson played by Matt Tennyson and his equally funny mother Mrs. Mcpherson played by Kristi Baratelli...oh I really can't go on...please come and see the show!

I fully intended to blog about the opening weekend of Anne of Green Gables.  (It was a great experience!)  But alas, I find myself inspired to write about motherhood.  It is half past midnight and I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow with the promise of Max rising early and another week of shows starting a series of late nights tomorrow evening.  Still, I am inspired to write.  

So, are you ready for a post that will make you sigh with contentment at the beauty that life brings our way?  Are you ready to be entertained by images of pudgy little hands blowing kisses and a mom that is balancing her child on her hips with a smile on her lips?  Sit back my back my friend and find another blog because this is not one of those tales.

Today I sucked at being a good mom and excelled at being a psycho mom.  Oh yeah, it was bad.  

It didn't start off bad.   Max slept in, so I slept in and being a caring and cheerful mom wasn't hard at all.  Max ate all his oatmeal, I drank my coffee while it was hot and being a pleasant, perfectly peaceful mom wasn't hard at all.  Max was cute, chatty and not too needy and being a smiling, sensible mom wasn't hard at all.

I am not sure when it got hard to be that good, level-headed and loving mom, but let me tell you it did.  
I turned away from him and made ugly faces.
I swore under my breath.
I fake smiled many times after reminding myself that reasoning with an 18 month old doesn't work.
I talked to myself.  A lot.
I felt guilty.  A lot.
I almost told my husband that it would be okay if we didn't have any more kids!

And seriously, Max is not a bad kid.  He is incredibly bright, loving, sweet-natured and fun.  Most of the time.  Even when he is not fun or sweet-natured, he isn't bad.  

It's me.  Psycho Mom.  Maybe it's frustration that I can't control Max, which I can only suppose is going to get more frustrating as he grows.  

Are you ready for what bugged me most today?  It's big, bad and ugly!  Today one of the things (among other things equally big, bad and ugly) that frustrated me most is...drumroll...

 this frickin' kid wouldn't drink his darn milk!  

This post is dedicated to one of my new friends who I met at Storybook.  She read my blog and somehow came away thinking that I was a perfect mom.  Ha!

Remember back in June when I posted a vlog about auditioning for Anne of Green Gables?   I was cast in the role of Mrs. Minnie Pye  (updated about getting the part in this post about 'Getting My Groove Back')!  And now here we are...opening night is tomorrow and our final dress rehearsal is tonight!  We have been at The Pumphouse Theater for the past two nights from 6 o'clock to 11 o'clock getting the tech all worked out.  I have learned new terms like 'cue to cue' and striking props and have gotten to know my cast mates much better since we are sitting for loooong periods of time while the kinks get worked out by the lighting and props people.  It has been fun but now the real fun (I hope) begins!  

I am a wee bit nervous.  Not nervous of the audience, nervous that I am not quite ready.  Will I forget a line?  Say a line in the wrong place?  Will I look horrified when I am supposed to look horrified or will it just look like I am making an ugly face?  And then there is this little 'dance' which was simplified I'm sure because of me and I am still not comfortable with it.  Yep, I'm a wee bit nervous.  And excited.

At the beginning of the rehearsals I would have told you to come and support me.  Now I have to say, you should come and see my wonderful cast members and enjoy the story of Anne of Green Gables!  It is a great crew I have been rehearsing with (maybe I can tell you more about some of them in the next little while) and I am confident it will be a really great show!

So,  have you got your tickets???  Come see Anne of Green Gables!  It runs November 4th through the 19th and I'd love to see you there!  (Just don't judge me harshly!)