Well, another busy week in Casa de Munson. As we get closer to Christmas, Bryan’s panto rehearsals are every weekend. He doesn’t care at all; the more dancing the better, from his point of view.
The theatre school he goes to works with the Sarah Thorne Theatre every year, and Bryan will be in five performances with his group – he’ll have people in the audience for two of his shows, which he is delighted about.
I’ve never been one for performing. I dabbled a little when I was young; I performed in a couple of shows with the Birchington Guild of Players in my late teens but found myself much preferring being backstage – helping with scenery, props … whatever needed doing. That was by far my forte.
Once, I was helping a friend who was directing a school production of Les Miserables at the Granville, and I was – once again – backstage. My friend asked me to fill in the part of an old man at the very start of the show – all I had to do was lie on a bed in the middle of the stage while one of the performers delivered a monologue to this character. I ended up playing this part every performance in the show whilst wearing a very elegant night gown, and very fetching I looked too.
For some people, performing is a way of life – it’s a fundamental part of who they are. Bryan is one of those people; he has a number of dance lessons every week, gets involved in the annual summer dance show, is getting ready for a couple of dance exams, and is about to perform in his first panto. We’ve tried other hobbies, but only dance has stuck, and far be it from me to stop him from fulfilling his goals.
For me, the equivalent is writing. I can’t ever imagine not writing. There was a time when I wanted to be a journalist (as a teenager), but that didn’t stick for the long term. My dad – who was a journalist for nearly fifty years – arranged for me to do work experience at the newspaper group he worked at. In fact, I did two different lots of work experience, if I remember correctly, and did a lot of different things.
I was in the office when a bomb threat was called into the news desk, and the news editor whispered to me, “I’ve always wanted to say this”, before yelling – at the top of his voice – “Hold the front page!”
I also went out with a couple of different photographers on various jobs; meeting the mayor, opening a new shop, talking to a woman who was setting up a campaign (the details of which – I must confess – are locked away in the deep recesses of my brain).
I found both times in the newspaper offices absolutely fascinating, but they undoubtedly squirrelled deep into my brain and helped me decide that this wasn’t the career for me. Writing fiction full-time didn’t seem like a financially viable career – only a small percentage of writers ever make enough to do it full-time, although I was one of that small number! I’ve had the good fortune to write and be published in a few different ways. But even if I hadn’t ever been published, I’d still write, because I feel the need to write. If you can find your talent, and then pursue it in some way, then life becomes that bit more pleasurable as a result.
I’m looking forward to Christmas this year; seeing Bryan in his panto, getting our home decorated, seeing his reaction to his presents .. the whole thing. His first Christmas as a teenager, but he still loves Christmas – well, it’s time spent with family and getting presents, so that can’t be a bad thing.
