Reconnecting with the outside world

At Home with the Kids
By Michael Wittig

My daughter is in Kindergarten and is settling in quite well. My son has started preschool, two days a week, and when I come to pick him up he’s reluctant to leave.

In one of my early columns I mentioned the need for peers to socialize with, both for children and adults. Now that my children are meeting their needs, it must be my turn.

I was reminded of the need for adult interaction by reading through the funny pages. In the “Sally Forth” comic strip, Ted recently revealed that he has no friends. I can relate, but I think the case is oversimplified. It isn’t that Ted and I have no friends, but that we don’t find occasions to be with the friends we have.

Another parallel between my life and the life of my comic alter ego is that we both have wives who invariably find some way to help us through life’s travails. While we are still waiting for Sally to find Ted’s niche in society, my wife simply signed me up for an opera audition.

Auditions for roles with Juneau Lyric Opera are always an interesting process. Singers come in with or without music and stand before a panel of judges to perform what they’ve prepared. New singers are sometimes tested for their vocal range. Several are called to come back and do some special dialog or song. I got a callback.

Since I’ve been doing these shows for a long time I’ve come to feel like it’s old home week when I first walk into a theatre group. These callbacks were no different, and for the first time in a very long time I found myself in a room full of men and women where new faces were a small minority and the rest I knew by name.

I enjoy callbacks, but much of my enjoyment comes from working with friends in a common activity. The material may be new, but the bond between us is familiar. We are Juneau’s theatrical singers.

Here’s a little secret: I know little or nothing about most of the shows I audition for. It comes from being theatrically and operatically illiterate, as I never attended theatrical performances as a youth and lacked the patience to listen to operatic recordings.

“The Mikado” falls into my unknown category, but that doesn’t matter. As long as the lyrics are in English and the content is in accord with what I would be willing to let my children see, I don’t really care what the show consists of. For me, it’s really about having fun.

When the callbacks began, our troupe of thespians was hauled out in groups small and large and asked to do various things, and those not called upon observed and compared. It immediately became apparent who was reading for which part, and shortly thereafter some individuals began distinguishing themselves in style and aptitude.

I tried to do my best and was satisfied with the effort when my turn came. My rival for the part did a great job too, as he always does. That’s also a part of the camaraderie: he and I have competed for parts for twelve years.

I have found that with musical theatre the experience is huge no matter how large or small the role. Every chorus I’ve been a part of was just as much fun as the leads between the costumes and the makeup, the rehearsals and performances, and all the backstage activity in-between. Now I am looking forward to enjoying it all over again.

And so my wife has come through for me once more, looking out for my mental wellbeing even before I was truly aware of just how much attention my mental state needed. Even though I may not interact with my friends and associates on a regular basis, those friends are still there, and thanks to my wife I know that we’ll all be spending a lot of quality time together this winter.