Life After The Ball

So my plan to post after every "Cinderella Reimagined" show did not exactly go as planned. Seven performances is a lot for a group that usually does three or four, and yet the time just slipped away so quickly, there was no time or patience left for the ordeal of fighting with Blogger's picture uploader.

I have more photos below, but seriously check out this amazing slideshow. It captured every poignant moment of our production.

But now life has calmed down, and here we are - 5 days post-Cinderella. The 7 performances were a dream come true. Over 20 audience members made a decision for Christ, and many more wrote us emails and/or came up to us after the show to thank us for our uplifting, encouraging message. We got almost 100% positive feedback - either the show totally rocked, or like someone told me once - friends and family lie to you and tell you that you did great because that is just what you do for church plays.

I don't think that was the case this year, as we gave away over 545 free outreach tickets to total strangers. And the craziest thing? The strangers showed up in droves. Every show was full, and the final performance was pure craziness.

We had a mix up with the times the janitor received, and so we were locked out of the theatre until 4pm, which is the time our show was supposed to start. After a brief mental breakdown, I pow wowed the dancers and told them the issue, and left Steve and Jill in charge of telling every audience member that um, well, we would be starting half hour late and sorry.

God was beyond nice to us - it was the perfect time of day for lots of shade outside the building, not a single audience member got angry, and the line was so long for the show, that we did not have a single seat left. We had to add extra chairs and cram people in way beyond fire code regulations. And the last performance was a goodie.

Thanks, Jesus. You are so amazing. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this. Here are some final shots of the show - and I try to be a better blogger. Probably.

It is tradition around Turning Point to rejoice when you wear your first hole into your dance shoe. Nicole and Little Jessica (LJ) received their first holes our second weekend. Much rejoicing was had at becoming a "real" dancer.

I cherish our adult dancers. Diana is my heart, hero and inspiration <3 style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 504px; height: 378px;" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_iKPgrlZqrSo/S9tlXQd1X8I/AAAAAAAABLY/JlIZOUmGBCA/s640/IMG_0882.JPG" alt="" border="0">The Valeros are an amazing family. And they gave Sam the best seat in the house during our obscenely crowded final performance.

Cheering and screaming backstage after our final performance.

The cast presented me with flowers after the last show. I was really honored. And here is everyone. We have an overpopulation issue in creative arts right now. But it's also really fun.

This was taken during the show. I shouldn't allow such antics. But I was busy being in the photo.

Oops again. ;)
I love LJ. She is such a sweetie.

Cinderella Show #2

Last night was even more amazing. The theatre was packed. There wasn't a single seat available, and kids were spilling over into the aisles. The cast did another incredible job - I continue to be amazed at them.

Then, after the show, 3 adults and several children made the decision to accept Christ. So we are only on performance two, and mission accomplished! I am so excited for our 5 shows next weekend! <3

Favorite pics from last night:

Cinderella Opening Night

Cinderella Reimagined opened last night, and all that I can say is that I have a LOT of thank yous to give - and especially to God because He provided in so many ways. Pretty much every single prayer I prayed was asked for. Here's a quick run down:

Team Spirit

The casts of our shows have always been remarkable. There is hardly ever any drama, everyone genuinely gets along, and they all pull together in the end. It's pretty typical to find them laughing, helping each other master a dance step in hallways, etc. etc. It's just a great group. However, there has always been a struggle to form a prep and coordination team. I have done way too much work by myself for too long, and have been BURNED OUT.

This weekend, when it was time to put up all the set pieces and arrange the props, an army of helpers came to the theater. Entire families came - kids and adults getting stuff done. Every time I started to do a job, it got taken away from me - I was completely worthless! It was awesome! The help continued into show day - a few women offered to be my "go to" girls, and I really worked them. They helped out in INCREDIBLE ways, and when the show started, I was feeling zero stress or nerves. It really was like, "Oh cool. It's 7:00. Let's get going."

That was very nice :)

Shining That Light

Oh, we always have fun - the dances and lines always have highs and lows - but this year, I really confidently feel that every single cast member allowed God to shine through them. The energy on stage was great, everyone had so much fun, it was evident who they were performing for, and their outcome was extraordinary.

A "Woo hoo!" Response

Except for one unfortunate incident at the start of the performance, the audience seemed to love the production. A lot of people told us that this was the best show we've done - people say that every year - and I take that as a big encouragement because it means we are continually improving. With Cinderella, we took leaps and bounds. We had remarkable acting coaches, committed families, and Pastor Jeff delivered a great message afterward. There are no words to express how grateful I am to everyone involved.

P.S. - Diana & Janet - thank you for providing the AMAZING concessions. I was drooling over those cupcakes and cookies!!!

Here are some of my favorite shots of some of my favorite people. Lots more photos to come:

These were taken by a photographer we adore. Check out his website - borelfoto.com

April Redeemed

April has been, to put it lightly, a crappy month thus far. I had high hopes for April. The opening of Cinderella Reimagined, the prospect of beginning to expand our family again, a relaxing weekend in the bay area.....

So far, I will not be touching ground in the bay area any time soon. I just went back on birth control for another month. And my depression & anxiety has come back with full force. Like a violent tsunami blowing away the restoration and healing I received in college, drowning me down with panic attacks, violent bouts of darkness and sadness, self injury habits coming back into play....

To this I all say - Satan, give me a freaking break. Can't you do better than this? Don't you think I know by now that you LOOOOVE to mess with our spring show - stress me out the week prior to the point where I am in tears all the time and wonder why we even bother? Make it seem like a tiny, meaningless thing amidst a huge ocean of other ministry endeavors?

Don't you think I know how you just love to play up my depression, my panic attacks, my puny self esteem....

It's only April 11th. The month is still young, and I know there is time for it to be redeemed. I am counting on you, God, for a few things:

1) That people who received the outreach tickets will actually show up to the performances and that lives will be changed. Impacted. Saved.

2) That the actors and dancers will not be flawless, but be good - good at what they do to the point that others will want to do it too, and our summer programs will be blessed with new participants and that audience members will leave feeling hope and satisfaction over what they just saw.

3) That I can go home in May. And see family, friends, and good healthy rest.

I am counting on you Jesus. I am not going to worry anymore. Thanks for loving me.