Drama For a Song

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Photo by Ivan Salas

My 5th grade daughter, Prissy, came home in a lather about trying out for the spring musical. Auditions were the next day. I told her we couldn't afford the $500 (yikes!).

She cried for an hour. The next day she called Mr. Poorhouse from school. "The girls say," she reported, "that if you're really really good, you can get a scholarship."

We relented. She auditioned. She didn't get in. (Am I a bad mom if I'm relieved?) She cried for a few minutes and then moved on.

So now there's an opportunity to be in a play at church. She's got a great part. She has her lines memorized, is waltzing about the house in queenly costume, and is learning to ar-ti-cul-ate.

How much is all this costing? It's free.

Nearby towns also have children's theater opportunities for a fraction of the cost of the play for which she auditioned. They are not as convenient, but from what I've heard, they are terrific programs, AND unlike the play Prissy didn't get a part in, they aren't directed by a woman who routinely yells at and belittles the kids.

The moral: comparision shopping works for lots of things.