I get to see my university's theater department in action. 

Email and the other William

I have been receiving emails from Emery for the first time. I believe the first email he sent me was a forwarded message from his choir teacher that I asked him to send me.

Then, I got this one:

Mom jon (named changed for privacy) needs to check his E-mail so tell his mom to make him look at it

-Emery

I must admit I wasn’t’ sure what that email meant. Was jon not checking his email? I sent what I hoped wasn’t too awkward of an email to Jon’s mom.

Apparently, Emery wanted “jon” to check his email so that he could learn about the assignment they had due the next week. Jon wasn’t at school that day. How Emery expected me to know all of this is beyond me.

I remember a colleague of mine saying that recently she felt like her child was expecting her to do things for him. I believe she said she felt like she was becoming his secretary. I think this was one of those moments.

But onto more important things. Emery’s been double cast as William in LSU’s production of Frankenstein. (Which, by the way, is the first play I haven’t had to pay for him to perform in. It’s been a great experience and perhaps the easiest, shortest rehearsal schedule ever. Part of the reason is that the role was double cast that means he doesn’t have to be there for every performance. But for me, it’s been fascinating seeing my colleagues in their environments. I had no idea of the caliber and work that goes into each production—and I have seen quite a few, just never the prep work that goes into it. They design costumes, compose music, choreograph fight scenes, and plan for lighting and special effects. They are scholars in their own right, and this was my first time seeing another department’s work.

If you’re not familiar with the story, the creature accidentally kills Emery’s character in the second act, and it’s quite eerie seeing one’s child killed repeatedly. Every time is devastating. The actor who plays the creature is a professional and they practice the scene before each performance, but there’s something in that moment that makes me sad. Every time.

But, it’s been great working with this cast and the director who are all amazing. And, even if it means seeing Emery die on stage again, I’ll do it as long as Emery wants too.

Emery’s comment: dying on stage is fun! I am glad to be in a professional performance for once! I’m sorry though that mom is sad when I die on stage (who knew!) oh well.