Last night I stopped by the theater again to pick up some notes on props. I had my son with me — he refers to the theater as "Mommy's friend place!" I dig that. The folks there were getting ready for another full run-through, and although I'd already told the director I wouldn't be able to stay for the whole thing, I kept my son there through most of the first act so he could see what the fuss was all about. I'd been trying to explain to him what people do in live theater — "they stand on stage and say funny things and sort of tell a story" — but he was confused, since the only "shows" he knows about take place on television.

The show, Beau Jest, is about a young Jewish woman with a Gentile boyfriend, who hires an actor to play her made-up Jewish boyfriend when her parents come over for Seder and other Jewish meals/holidays. Her parents are keen for her to marry a Jew, and she's afraid to displease them, so she postpones the inevitable and ultimately falls in love with her hired actor.

The props I'm dealing with are mainly the dishes on the dining room table, which include a Seder setup. It's simple enough, yet I need to familiarize myself more with the whole setup so I can change it quickly...and in the dark. I've never done props before! Oh, no...I acted a little bit in college, and took a couple of acting classes. That's it.

This level of participation is good for me just now, since I'll have to show up only Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons during the show's four-week run, beginning April 23. It's the rehearsals I have to make more time for, really — a very important part!

When my son gets a little older, and after R. and I have our visitation arrangement a little more solidified (legal proceedings happening soon) I'd like to try my hand at acting again. Hmm...butterflies, about both the legal stuff and the prospect of acting again.

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Oh, about the anger management exercise my son and I did yesterday: I called R. and left a message, saying what we'd done and telling him I thought it was a really good thing. He never called me back, and today when he picked up our son for a three-hour lunch/play date, he didn't even look at me or speak to me — just greeted and scooped up the kid, and hustled down the stairs. Interesting.

Anyway, I should try to do something around here while my son's with his dad. The dog did indeed go with the rescue rep. today, so I have the house completely to myself for a while. It's too quiet, but maybe I'll run the vacuum cleaner, since neither of the two little creatures likes that very much.

- Beth