Anything Goes

This past weekend saw us on the road to Halifax, NS where we attended the 33rd annual "For The Health Of It", a fundraiser of the 8 Health Science facilities of Dalhousie University. My daughter is presently completing her Masters in Physiotherapy and her PT class was one of the schools participating. The show was hilarious and it felt good to laugh and be entertained. Each school had 15 minutes to preform a play and it had to include a dance number. At the 13 minute mark, a woman with a very large gong appeared on stage and if your play went to 15 minutes, she was to make that gong ring! A few of the groups eventually shared the stage with the gong lady though all managed to finish their performances before she could make some noise. We were all kind of disappointed....in sad little way....haha

Each school submitted the name of a cause and they voted to see who, or what charity or non-profit organization would receive this years funds. Then the schools competed to raise the most funds for the chosen cause. The PT class was very, very excited to have their cause chosen, especially since it was a program very near and dear to the heart of one of their own PT faculty! When we learned this woman was also the founder of the fundraiser when she was a student of the same PT program, it seemed serendipitous that her group finally received the monies raised.

Although the plays were all fun and well rehearsed, and all the dance numbers were excellent, we were of course thrilled for the PT class when they won Crowd Favorite as well as the coveted trophy! Add to that glory that they raised over 9000.00 of the almost 30,000.00 for Halifax’s Community Living program and it was an exciting night for the students involved!

Simone is no stranger to the stage, but it had been quite a few years since she had last stood under the spotlights in costume. So, it was indeed fun to see her in her Drama glory again and know how much she was enjoying it! We have a lot of stage history and I reminded of it when I spotted these photos from her high school drama days in some of my Mom’s things. 

These are from a production of “Anything Goes” and I can’t even remember how many costume pieces I built for that musical though I know it was well over 30. There was a vision for this production (as there was for them all) and I think I just ran out of steam and time because I know those 4 suits were supposed to have fur collars on the jackets. 

I especially liked the polka dot middy tops and twirly shorts! I think they were for a tap number.....

To be honest, I don’t think I made these halter tops, but I do remember something to do with those pants....slinky, stretchy and generally difficult fabric stays with you. And most stage costumes are made to shine and move and flow. So there was usually a lot of glitter and feathers and sequins and such involved. Every once in a while I spot yet another bit of colored boa that has been trapped under one of our heating vents for quite a few years, remnants of a life past....lol 

I miss the excitement of behind the stage. I met some great people, had lots of laughs, learned a lot!, and really enjoyed the time spent with my daughter and assorted family members who travelled from far and wide to help out. Our family is like that; not only did they come to see the finished show, they came to help build the sets and costumes. Good times. Good memories.