A Little Advice from Dove Chocolate

During intermission at Peter Pan performances, Nick passes around a container of Dove chocolates. “What they say is what I think of you,” he tells us. “So you have to read it out loud.”

According to Dove, I should

•  Live well, laugh often, and love much
•  Daydream
• Express myself
• Be a little naughty with my nice
• Feel good about today
•  Create a happy place
• Take a moment to enjoy what I have

Dove also told me that ”Happiness is contagious” and “It’s definitely a bubble bath day.” I agree with the comment on happiness, but I hate bubble baths.

I’m somewhat of an interloper in the pit orchestra. To start off with, this is the first year of done it. I know there are a few other rookies in the mix, but one of the flautists has been doing shows with Eagan Community Theater longer than I’ve been alive. Second, I don’t even live in Eagan.

I’ve gotten to know some of the other members pretty well though, like Nick, the candy handler. During tech week, he brought a toaster oven and made pizza rolls, taquitos, and steak while we rehearsed. He’s on piano, which means his part consists of boring bass patterns and Tinkerbell’s sound effects.

Irony in this play: Peter Pan is played by a girl, and Tink is “played” by a guy.

My stand partner’s name is Trevor. He makes violins and performs Celtic music dressed like a Tucson Raider. Also, Trevor played in an orchestra with my cello teacher, which I think is a rather odd coincidence. It’s a small world, the string community.

Abby sits on my other side. She played in the pit last year for Cinderella and invited me to join her. Before the shows, there’s a Pirate and Pixie Parade for the little members of the audience to participate in, and it was Abby’s idea for her, me, and Trevor to play piratey fiddle music while they kids were lined up. This was brilliant not only because it adds background music, but it lets me concentrate on something other than the pirates bad puns.

Pirates only get one grade in school: high C’s. That’s because we keep all our books in Davy Jones’ Locker. Actually, we don’t even go to school. We play Hook-y.

Pirates only listen to one band: Maroon-ed 5. But it’s hard because we don’t have iPods only eye patches.

Trevor’s boss in the orchestra, too. His name is Will, and he plays the cello.  He wears glasses that remind me of Benjamin Franklin, is incredibly sarcastic, and frequently talks in a British accent. Once before the show, he explained all the the different dialects he could do.

A very strange place, the pit.

There are five performances left. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:30 and a Saturday matinee at 2:00. It’s taken a lot of time, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Plus, I get a free T-shirt.