Anna's Xanga Site

← Previous Post

Next Post →

March 25, 2012

Our Adventures: MCC Barn Theatre

Last week’s adventure was one that hits near-n’-dear everytime it rolls around, because I have quite a few memories of the MCC Barn Theatre. And when I say BARN theatre, I really mean it.

See, Montcalm Community College is in the freakin’ middle of nowhere. It’s a cornfield miles and miles from any significant town. It’s… weird. Because it’s fairly big and busy and an art center in itself… in the middle of this field, out in Nowhere, Michigan. But someone donated a farmhouse (now used as a historical building and for meetings), a barn (now the campus theatre), and the land be to the college back in the 1970s, and… well, that’s how it happened! It’s also an unusual place, because how many campuses do you know of with a Historical village (complete with train!) on it’s grounds, not to mention a vast nature trail system? My kids like the pool (I took Lydia to Baby Time there a decade ago) and the rock climbing wall. The college hosts ‘The Messiah’ every three years, and I performed with them, once, in the chorale.

But back to the theatre. It’s really kinda kewl, take a look:

The little barn up front is concessions, restrooms,
and offices, but the BIG barn is the stage and house.

Believe it or not, I was seen on stage here in a whodunnit called “Hide and Seek” (I was Belinda the Southern and oh-so baudy maid). The theatre group I was a member of for 15 years has an off-shoot theatre (for experimental shows, training, and controversial, less widely accepted plays) that does two performances a year in this venue – so we have been in this theatre time and time and time again. I also made my directorial debut here – with “Crossing Delancey”. So when I say there are some memories, here… there really, really are.

Anyhow, the MCC Drama class has once-a-semester free shows to the public, so twice a year (fall and spring) we head up to the barn and go support the arts. We go because it’s a very relaxed and fun atmosphere, and the shows are… well, hokey but also usually a twist on something more educational. Like last time it was ‘Old Macbeth had a Farm’. Which was MacBeth meets KFC meets Foghorn Leghorn in a very warped version of the bard’s famous tragedy (which ended up anything BUT tragic). It’s always fun.

And this time, we were going to see “The Story of Rose Red: Snow White’s Little Known Sister”. I took this picture of Baby O, studiously going over the program before the show, so that you could get a feel for the inside of the barn. The walls are rough planking with farming implements on them. The barn is old and creaky, but has a charm all its own. And although the seating is cramped and steep (hey – it’s a barn!), it just adds to the fun. You should’ve seen how FULL they packed this building when my theatre group did a 50′s version of ‘Romeo & Juliet’ here – it was AMAZING.

So here’s Rose Red (Talking to Buffy Muffet on her iMirror). She’s your typical teenager, only she’s got this mega-famous older sister, now married to… well, one of those princes. ((You’ve seen one prince, you’ve seen ‘em all… and in this play it’s REALLY true – because one kid plays ALL the princes – in the SAME costume. It’s a gag thing – every time he comes out people all go, “Aren’t you married to…?” and he gets all totally frustrated because people can’t tell him/them apart.)) But Rose Red doesn’t want to be famous, unlike all her friends (Cyndi Rella, Goldie Locks, Buffy Muffet, and those crazy Germans, Hansel & Gretel). She just wants to be average, hello. Her parents (we’re on stepmother #2, since the Snow White/apple fiasco) want her to be ‘set for life’ and a deal with the Grimm Bros. is, like, SO the way to go. So they hire a fairy godmother and keep trying to figure out how to make Rose Red famous… against her will. By the end of the show, Muffet and the Spider plot together to get famous, Hansel & Gretel get lost and toast a witch, and Red Riding Hood strikes a deal with a wolf so they make the headlines. As for Rose Red, she doesn’t mean to, but kissing a frog lands her an ordinary Jack, who somehow acquires these beans…

The dance. It’s an MCC Drama class thing.

From L to Right: Rose Red, Cyndi Rella, Buffy Muffet, Fairy Godmother, (way in the back Baby Bear), Stepmother #2, Gretel, Snow White, (way in the back Jake Grimm), Goldie Locks-Bear, Mirror (way in the back Mr. Blush), Hansel (up front) and Prince.

But our adventure didn’t end there. See, exactly halfway between the Red Barn and the closest actual city is… our old house! The one we bought six months after getting married, and lived in for the first ten years of our marriage. And we always have to drive past the house… and homiGAWSH, is it looking really, REALLY bad. And we drove past our old church – which decided it needed a NEW building, and built out of town (in another field) the year after we left, and apparently couldn’t get rid of the OLD building, so now it has TWO locations. I could gag, but that’d be digressing.

Before (when we owned it)… and after.

The other part of our adventure was just to begin, though! With a quick pitstop at the store (their Meijer has Borax, and mine doesn’t, so we hadda stop and get six boxes – I was O.U.T.)), we picked up some of these lovelies from the bulk candy section. Do you remember these from when you were a kid? I used to love these. And my kids never had ‘em before. And they’re easy to chew, so ALL the kids can have them. And so I got a bag along with my Borax, and we were on the road… TRUCK SHOPPING!!

See, we paid off Brian’s CNC, and listed the camper. So he wanted to get an idea of what was out there and would work for us. Basically we decided that we need crew cab (four doors), not those swing-out side panels. And we need a truck with a bench seat, so three can ride in the front. Let’s make sure we can fit as many of us as possible, comfortably. And we decided we like the F-150 better than the Dodge or the Chevy. And is it not fun to go peek in the windows? ((grins))

But the city up near our old house has FOUR huge car lots, so it was a great place to go looking. And we hit another on the way home, too – so we got a good idea of the price range and styles available. And in between lots, we sang and ate our little chewies and had a great trip!