Passing the Clipboard

Last week my kids started musical theatre camp. Maybe you don’t like showtunes, maybe you do – not my business – but my kids do. And once you’ve seen your nine-year-old daughter belting out the Sally Bowles numbers from Cabaret, you’ll do just about anything to get some new songs into that head of hers.

So there we are, the kids, my husband and I, at the mandatory parent meeting (oh yeah, mandatory – these theatre people are serious) and they started passing the clipboards around. Personally, I never really met a clipboard I didn’t like so I had to check out where to put my name.

Costumes? No, didn’t want to prick my finger. Set design? Please – the curtains I took down in February so that my husband could repair the baseboard, which he did – in March? Still down. So I was pretty happy to see the Back Stage Parent list going around. Here was a way to stay plugged into the process and get some serious face time with the kids. And all I had to do was show up every single day the second week of camp and come early and stay late for both performances. Piece of cupcake!

You’re not doing that, said the Man.

Why not?

Did you see here where it says you won’t be able to watch the show?

I’ll buy the DVD.

You need to sit with me.

Awwwww. But they really need people. You’ll be okay.

It’s for both nights. Did you see that?

Yeah, so? You won’t have to come both nights.

So who’s going to sit with me at the bar?

We high-fived and I passed the clipboard. That’s romance.