The Good News Channel

[Scriblerus the Philosophe]

Puts me in the top eight in my region at my level. And if my partner and I keep this up, my coach will probably take us to nationals in New Orleans over spring break.

[Sibling DavidH]

Congratulations and good luck!
But, being a newbie, I don't know what you're in the quarter finals of.

[Pachyderm]

Don't ever get into an arguement with Sib Scrib. The quarter finals she is talking about are for debating...

[Scriblerus the Philosophe]

 
What Pachy said, though I do love a good debate here, too.

Also, I took first speaker in my event. Meaning that I was the best speaker in JV parli debate. *does happy dance of joy*

[Aggie]

Good work, Scrib!

[Sibling DavidH]

OMFSM!  I have enough trouble arguing with Mrs H, and she's untrained! 
_{By no means stupid, though.}

[Aggie]

 

The 'r' in 'Mrs.' stands for Right, you know...  it remains on 'Mr.' post-nuptials for purely ceremonial reasons. 


_{although mine got by quite fine with 'Ms.'; with a 3-letter surname, why change to something impossible to spell?}

[Griffin NoName]

Well done Scribs. Go Girl !

[Scriblerus the Philosophe]

Thanks!

It is widely agreed that I am not a person to argue with, though I'm working on my Tea Bagger teammate.

[Opsa]

Yeay Scrib! You're amazing!

_{Mr. Ops doesn't find me so formidable, and if he doesn't agree he's in poop.}

[Scriblerus the Philosophe]

Thanks! I try, lol.

And I hope he's generally not in poop.

[Opsa]

Naw, he's smarter than that! 

[pieces o nine]

Yay Scrib!   

[Scriblerus the Philosophe]

Thankee!

[Opsa]

I have been trying to get a children's theater going in this area for some time. The arts have been cut so severely from the public school curriculum that th'Opsalette was only in one play the whole time she was in Elementary school. Six years! I thought this was terrible!

I have been speaking with local people for years. Everyone's been enthusiastic, but no-one's really come out and offered any help. (They all want their kids in it, but don't have time or skill or whatever to lend.) Our local recreation center has a stage, but it costs an arm and a leg to rent it. When I asked if we could use it for community theater, they wept all sorts of tears about how they're trying to make ends meet. meanwhile, it stands empty.

So for the past three years I have been going to the next county to be in plays with my kid. But it's a long way to go, and even though we're in plays, there is not much instruction. The kids in those plays don't seem to have a good background education. So I saw a need.

Finally at the end of winter I happened to blurt out to a friend who owns an orchard "Ya got any old barns we could use?"- sort of as a joke. He said that they had an old schoolhouse on their property that the patriarch of the family has wanted to put to use for the community for years. They offered me the free use of this building. I went to look at it, and even though it is old, it has two up-to-date bathrooms and a recently remodeled kitchenette. A church group uses the downstairs, but he said I could use the upstairs.

So.... I've been working up a curriculum for a two week intro to theater summer program for kids. I'm launching it in July with some interested kids I know to use a Guinea pigs, to see how it goes. I barely know what I'm doing, but people keep coming up to offer help. Qwerty and I have been talking, since he is a drama student, and has agreed to come out to be the assistant teacher. He has a boatload of good ideas. I have also asked a couple of the talented people I've met from recent shows to come in and lead a session each about choreography and voice.

So I'm on a new path, now. I'm taking my love of theater and passing it along to another generation. It's not likely to make me rich (but nothing ever has, before) but at least I'll know that the arty kids in this area will finally have something to do and somewhere to do it.