Pageant #4

Yesterday was scheduled to be the first run through of the show at 9 p.m. However, at 8:45 I started to feel raindrops. Having grown up in NY, I told everyone to book it to the Study Shelter (where we have all the devotionals, sacrament meeting, and eat meals) immediately. We made it barely in time. Most people got sopping wet.

The rain was so hard that I thought sure the directors would cancel the run through but one got up and said, "While we don't make it a habit of instructing God what to do with the weather, we believe we are about a righteous work. We need to have a run through tonight if at all possible. We will wait one hour to see if it let's up and we'll pray for divine help." Then we sang hymns. It was sort of funny because we sang a lot of songs about storms. Since the Study Shelter is just a lean-to it was beautiful to hear the rain.

After a half hour the lightening had stopped. Sam desperately wanted me to come to the top of the hill with him to experience it in the rain but the desire for comfort won out and he went alone. He reported that it was beautiful with billowing fog all around the bottom of the hill. Also it was an eerie fingernail moon so that was cool too.

After 45 minutes the rain completely stopped and we went out for the run through. I was surprised how incredibly exciting and fun this was! To me it was really amazing to see scenes I had watched practiced under a tree come together on stage. For instance I had watched the whole nativity scene (where Nephi has a vision of Christ's birth complete with the shepherds and such) but it was so much more grand on the stage. Also, I had watched Jerusalem Lehi practice on the line for quite a while. He has such animated hand gestures and he leaps around so energetically. At first I had a hard time figuring out who he was but he was so dynamic that he was just plain fun to watch. So it was amazing when things started and I could hear the soundtrack that accompanied all his movements.

They started the soundtrack and did not stop it. I believe it is an hour and a half start to finish. 80 to 90% of the show had been blocked on the stage so all those elements performed but there were times when the stage was just empty. For instance, Emma is in the destruction scene (at Christ's death) and they haven't practiced yet so the stage was empty during all the crashing sounds.

I decided that if I could choose any role in all of pageant it wouldn't be the female star of Sariah, it would in fact be a trumpet player at the very beginning! There are seven of them and I love the dramatic music and how they dramatically pose their trumpets in different directions all in unity.

Well, the scenes were flying by and were captivating even though no one was in costume. It was cool to know so many people and to know their scenes well. Then next thing you know, there is MCKENNA dancing right there on the stage! And then I realized it was time for Lily and I to get in position. It was very exciting. Luckily Lily took a long and late nap so she was very up for it. We were in the pathway in the bushes waiting for our cue. We hear Abinadi getting burned and Lily was getting pretty freaked out so I tried to distract her. Hopefully repetition will lessen the fear on that. Then we hear the narrator talk about Alma hearing Abinadi's message and we all walk out pretty quickly. Lily and I are high up on Stage 6. There are only three people as high up as we are at that point on the whole hill. Lily was very happy and into the scene and it was fun to point to Alma to her and she was looking at him as he ran all around.

The scene flew by and other than the fact that we all didn't get into our positions quickly enough, it all went perfectly!

We got back to our seats and McKenna was back on stage. Then I was VERY excited to see Ken bury the plates. However, he was nervous because the grass was so slick and it is soooo steep right where he goes out. He got in place early.

Right before his part Lily announced she had to go to the bathroom and it was an emergency! So I ran with hyper speed and by some miracle I made it back in time (I'm sure I'll be forgiven for not washing her hands).

Ken did perfect burying the plates, putting the rock on top with the giant stick, consecrating the rock, all in time! But afterwards when Joseph Smith gets the plates out you could totally see Ken standing in the trees. This was the lighting person's fault and not his. The Hall of the Prophets also went great and Ken picked a cool pose with the rock. I thought all 8 prophets stood together but they're all over the various stages. Also the lighting was off on this and Ken was not lit right.

Sam was on stage with the restoration people so that was fun because I never saw him practice.

Then it was over! It is amazing when someone from our family is in every other scene. It will be even more so tonight because Emma will have her big destruction scene. Also, this morning we practiced Christ's Descension. McKenna, Emma, and I are in that and it's amazing. Emma and I have fabulous placement for that--very close to where Karl, the actor playing Jesus--walks down. I am super excited to act that out for real with costumes and all because it gave me chills just blocking it out. There are 650 people in that scene.

Tonight will be very busy. We practice the processional where we all walk up from the audience onto the stage at the very beginning and then I have another practice for Alma Converts to perfect gestures and such. Then the second run through. I wish it would be with costumes but no. Forecast is still chance of rain for today and tomorrow.