Day five of
repeat week brings us to Ant, man of the supernumerary, mocker of older, brooding
teenage brothers, food critic and dinnertime score keeper, fish in the water
and dancing king. Oh, and how can we ever forget when he
was a termite? Or a thug.
 |
| This is not from when he was a termite, FYI. |
Wednesday, December 15,
2010
I could have also titled
this post, “Less termite, more gangsta rapper.” Seriously. More on that later.
When Ant came home with the speaking role of Termite, #5 for his school’s annual pageant, I was, well, a bit confused. I’m all for keeping the Baby Jesus (or whomever) in church (or your local place of worship) and out of school. I know many people aren’t but, frankly, there’s no need for that in school. You can teach kindness, empathy, caring, etc, without having to involve God in a classroom of 22 diverse second graders.
But termites? Even insects, in general? Okay. It’s something new. I can suspend disbelief and roll with it. I am cool like that.
Ant had no trouble in memorizing his lines or making it to rehearsal or knowing where he was supposed to be. We even worked on expressing emotion on stage while keeping your lines straight. I think he might actually be a natural on the stage—but of course; I can’t make my judgment until he’s actually up there.
I, on the other hand, had immense trouble with the costume. I even had help, and several someones pumping me full of termite ideas. It was a no go.
Even better—after struggling with the costume for awhile, I finally got the bright idea to call the music teacher and get her input on the costume-making. Calling her sooner would have saved me a lot of grief.
Why, do you ask? Did she have termite costumes at the ready? No. It was because the teacher was not really looking for termite costumes. She was looking for something else, completely.
Teacher: Well, since they are the bad boys of the bug world, I was hoping we could, um, reflect that in their costume. Perhaps with black clothes, and sunglasses, and gold chains…
Me: Gold chains?
Teacher: Yes! I know some of the parents are making wings, but I would like the termites to dress darkly, and look like bad boys—you know, like rappers.
Me: Rappers?
Teacher: Yes.
Me: As in, thugs?
Teacher: Yes. Now keep in mind, they end up getting invited at the end and all…
I lost my words then, as I struggled to take all of those stereotypes and wrap them into one, and so there is no reason to relay the rest of the conversation. Plus, I’ve already given a huge part of the plotline away… I did find my words later on though, when I called everyone who was in the know about the termite costume, and expressed my confusion to them.
Favorite response: So, you’re the fairy gangsta mother?
That one’s timeless. I feel the need to sign my Christmas cards with that tagline.
When Ant came home with the speaking role of Termite, #5 for his school’s annual pageant, I was, well, a bit confused. I’m all for keeping the Baby Jesus (or whomever) in church (or your local place of worship) and out of school. I know many people aren’t but, frankly, there’s no need for that in school. You can teach kindness, empathy, caring, etc, without having to involve God in a classroom of 22 diverse second graders.
But termites? Even insects, in general? Okay. It’s something new. I can suspend disbelief and roll with it. I am cool like that.
Ant had no trouble in memorizing his lines or making it to rehearsal or knowing where he was supposed to be. We even worked on expressing emotion on stage while keeping your lines straight. I think he might actually be a natural on the stage—but of course; I can’t make my judgment until he’s actually up there.
I, on the other hand, had immense trouble with the costume. I even had help, and several someones pumping me full of termite ideas. It was a no go.
Even better—after struggling with the costume for awhile, I finally got the bright idea to call the music teacher and get her input on the costume-making. Calling her sooner would have saved me a lot of grief.
Why, do you ask? Did she have termite costumes at the ready? No. It was because the teacher was not really looking for termite costumes. She was looking for something else, completely.
Teacher: Well, since they are the bad boys of the bug world, I was hoping we could, um, reflect that in their costume. Perhaps with black clothes, and sunglasses, and gold chains…
Me: Gold chains?
Teacher: Yes! I know some of the parents are making wings, but I would like the termites to dress darkly, and look like bad boys—you know, like rappers.
Me: Rappers?
Teacher: Yes.
Me: As in, thugs?
Teacher: Yes. Now keep in mind, they end up getting invited at the end and all…
I lost my words then, as I struggled to take all of those stereotypes and wrap them into one, and so there is no reason to relay the rest of the conversation. Plus, I’ve already given a huge part of the plotline away… I did find my words later on though, when I called everyone who was in the know about the termite costume, and expressed my confusion to them.
Favorite response: So, you’re the fairy gangsta mother?
That one’s timeless. I feel the need to sign my Christmas cards with that tagline.
Long story short—it became
about making a thug with wings, and not about making a termite. While much more
manageable, wing-making is still a bit above my pay-grade. It took a lot of
time, contemplation, cursing, chocolate, and some Egyptians Pharaohs to get the
job done, as witnessed here.
As for the performance, you’re just going to have to wait for that post!
As for the performance, you’re just going to have to wait for that post!
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