I met Cristy, Brooke, and Tori at the theatre at 10:30 a.m. We ran Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy twice and surprisingly it pulled together better than we expected! We drove over together to the riverfront. Apparently it was National Kids Day and Boys & Girls' Clubs all over the country were doing the same thing. All the way down the river, there were tables set up of arts and crafts, children's games, balloons, music, free stuff, etc. The Delaware Children's Theatre had a table where you could make a Reggy hat, a table to make a fairy wand, and a small stage for karaoke. Friends were dressed up as characters and walking around to talk to the little kids that came by. We saw a little girl in a fairy outfit with her little butt hanging out, and a tiny asian toddler that was posing for her dad's camera, and a little baby that had face paint that made him look like a cat. So cute :) It was also Mrs. Swajeski day so we celebrated that.
It was hotter than I expected and there was no food, so I thanked God for the apple I brought and B and I sadly shared it. We walked over to the mainstage to get ready for our performance. I freaked as I lost the rest of the group and wondered where everyone was. Terror hit as we arrived at the stage to see a 10 year old kid rapping about his mom and a sea of African Amercians. No disrespect to them, I have many friends who are, but my mind raced as I thought about what we were about to present to them and suddenly I felt really white.
"Wait, is this where we're performing?" B asked.
"Umm...yea I think that's the mainstage."
And I knew. How could it not be the mainstage. It was the biggest concert stage set up right in front of the water with mics and speakers and blasting music. OHHHHHH shiittttttt. I'm the first one to sing. And I'm singing Someone to Watch Over Me. I'm gonna' get eaten a live.
I tried calling members from the theatre to figure out where everyone had gone as B sat on his guitar case under a tree. AND I had to pee. Badly. There were 8 porta potties lined up.
"You're gonna have to use one of those."
I sucked it up and walked over. I shut the door. There was no hook to hang my bag. My armpits were sweating. My hair was matted to my face. I pulled my pants down, but I guess not far enough because disaster struck and I peed on the back of my pants and underwear. SON OF A ...! I thought. As I got nauseated by feeling the cold, wetness of my pants as I pulled them back on, I darted out of the porta potty and ran over to Brendan.
"I peed on my pants! I peed on my pants!"
"What? oh, I can't even see it."
I dumped my bag to find my hand sanitizer and bathed myself in it.
Finally I got a hold of Tori.
"Oh, we're in the Riverfront Market. We're all getting dressed in the public bathroom."
Great. There's an indoor bathroom.
We raced over there, got dressed and walked over to behind the mainstage in our character shoes. And my feet quickly noticed that I hadn't worn those shoes in years. As we mentally prepared, I noticed that I wasn't the only person freaking out about having to go on for the crowd. The hosts were calling people onstage to teach them how to "Dougie" and little girls got up on stage and were bustin' a move. Then one teenage girl rapped a poem she had written. Phrases I caught were, "kept my legs spread wide open, Aids, Sex, baby daddy..." We stood there in shock. I thought it was a children's even. I looked at Jeff and we mentally communicated the fact that we were terrified about having to sing songs in front of this crowd that had lyrics like, "Hey Nonny Ding Dong a-lang a-lang a-lang," and "I'm a little lamb whose lost in the wood," in them. Mrs. S came over to us. "Hey, I just always say, just be bigger and better." Not knowing whether she was trying to calm us down or calm herself down, we waited. I stood there in my black skirt to the floor and my blouse and I looked at the guys with the plaid cumberbuns and matching bowties.
Tori pulled me aside.
"Look how cute that little boy is!" Her face lit up as she observed the toddlers running around and I tried to get my mind off the performance and focus on the cute kids.
We got up onstage. The skit started. Jesus please let this go well. I was up. As I shit my pants, I walked up and grabbed the mic and the mic stand and didn't let go. I started singing.
"There's a saying old, says that love is blind..." A mother took her daughter's hand and walked away. Great. I'll just look at Tori's mom who was swaying to the music. Or the sky. I'll look at the sky. Wow it's really blue today. I thought.
"Still we're often told, seek and ye shall find..." More people walked away.
"WE CAN'T HEAR! TURN THE MUSIC DOWN!" someone yelled. Just look at the sky. Keep looking at the sky.
"So I'm gonna' seek a certain lad..."
"WE CAN'T HEAR!?" another person yelled.
I suddenly noticed how loud the music was and I put my mouth closer to the microphone. Thank God for this mic. I thought. They make you sound so much better than you actually do. I pictured my hair and face being blown back like a cartoon as the music blasted against me.
The song ended. I don't even think I was listening to the music. And it was over. The audience was now all DE Children's Theatre moms and dads. And there weren't many of them. Welp. Way to trim down a crowd!
However, in the end, it ended up going very well. Brendan confidently sang his songs, we survived Boogie Woogie, Tori worked "At Last," and the teens got cheers as they ended "Rockin' Robin." We got offstage as Reggy entered, and hugged and congratulated and the adrenaline left my body and I was suddenly hungry. We took pictures and said goodbye and B and I walked back to our cars.
Hopefully they raised a lot of money for the Boys and Girls' Clubs and I was happy to help and be a part of it.
NOW, all fundraisers and benefits are finito! Complete! Done! For 2010! Annie seems like a piece a' cake now and I will actually have a real weekend this weekend.I can't wait. I will be setting up my tv and dvd player and replaying episodes of How I Met your Mother and 30 Rock ALL WEEKEND LONG. CAN'T FLIPPIN' WAIT.
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