Writer Page
Sharon McGregor
  • Home
  • Humour
  • Mystery
  • Romance
  • Memoirs
  • Blog
  • Contact Me

Once Upon A Christmas Concert

12/23/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Memories of Christmas Past, and last year's post--
As a child, I attended a one-room country school on the prairies. The big event of the year (almost as big as Christmas itself) was the annual Christmas concert.
For weeks we practised and memorized and rehearsed. Those old concerts were quite varied in scope. Usually there was at least one short play. There would be a couple of long recitations. I would get roped into one of these as I had a terrific memory back then; I wish I could say the same now. Usually there would be a pantomime, and of course, the drill. The drill consisted of a choreographed set of movements by lines of boys dressed in white shirts and black pants and girls wearing dresses made of crepe paper, accompanied by wands with silver or gold foil- wrapped stars. These performances were bracketed, of course, by sets of carols sung by the whole school- 25 or 30 pupils from Grade One to Grade Eight. All of this was performed in a cold village hall. The stove would be heaped with wood and lit early in the day, but the heat never made it through backstage where young girls shivered in crepe paper dresses waiting for their entrance.
The teacher must have pulled out her hair through most of this. She would wait to be judged and hopefully not found wanting by the audience. The audience would be made up of parents and families of the students and I'm sure some of them counted stage moments to be sure their child was getting his or her fair share. At least one child would get stage fright and attempt to flee. Without microphones, the audience had to struggle to hear the tiny voices of the wee ones. Huge cardboard letters would be held upside-down. Actors' minds would blank until you could hear the cues increasing in whisper volume from behind the scenes.  Young performers would spot their parents in the crowd and wave or call out to them. The pianist would get the order of carols wrong-or the pianist would get the order right and the pupils would get it wrong. Popcorn strands on the tree would break and scatter, and someone would burst into tears.
But, in the end, after Santa had made his appearance and the bags of candy handed out, and Teacher presented with her gift, the hall would heave a collective sigh of satisfaction and proclaim it "the best concert ever", before bundling up and heading home in the December cold.
 

Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    February 2019
    April 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013

    Picture

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    1950s Mystery
    Acrophobia
    Alone
    Bacall
    Bertrade
    Bogie
    Cat
    Cats
    Cavemen
    Cemeteries
    Charles Brandon
    Christmas
    Computer
    Cozy Mystery
    Dogs
    Don Rickles
    Draft Horses
    Edward III
    Farm Dog
    Fear
    Flying
    Fountain Of Tears
    Franklin Expedition
    Gerorge V
    Gravestones
    Inez
    Jeanette MacDonald
    Kittens
    Klutz
    Kurt Browning
    Lady Macbeth
    Lonely
    Marlo Thomas
    Mary Of Teck
    Mary Tudor
    Nelson Eddie
    Peace
    Pedro
    Phil Donahue
    Philip Of France
    Philippa
    Plotting
    Portugal
    Puppies
    Reality Shows
    Renoir
    Retro Mystery
    Rose Marie
    Roses
    Santa And Mrs. Claus
    Sheba
    Siri
    Skydiving
    Travel With Cats
    Walter Raleigh
    White Queen
    William And Ida McKinley
    Zoey

Proudly powered by Weebly