Thursday, October 25, 2012

I have a special reason to look forward to the Christmas season this year. My children's play, "A Christmas to Remember," is being produced by the Yankton Children's Theatre Company on Dec. 6-9, at Marion Auditorium on the Mount Marty Campus. It's the first play I've ever written, except for those I wrote for my students when I was a teacher.

The play is based on a true incident that happened in Yankton in the late 1940s. It's about four sisters who lived with their mother in a small house that still stands in our town. They were very poor. As Christmas approached, they knew they wouldn't be receiving gifts, and they were all right with that. But they just couldn't see how they could have Christmas without a Christmas tree. The oldest sister finds a solution to their problem, and that's part of what the play is about. It's also about the desire of the girls and their mother to be independent in spite of their situation and the oldest sister's desire to help create good Christmas memories for her younger sisters, such as she has from the days when their father was still alive.

Jane Bobzin, a music teacher here in Yankton for many years, wrote five beautiful songs for the play. They add a lot to the warm atmosphere of the little drama.

In the next weeks, I'll report on how a play is produced. The auditions were held last week. Rehearsals start soon. It'll be a busy time for the cast and crew and for Jane and me as we try to attend as many of the rehearsals as possible and help in any way we can.

I'm excited about this new experience in my writing life. Thanks for sharing it with me.

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