A Slipper Made of Glass is Not Just a Shoe...

Aloha, everybody...Well, it has finally come...The day I leave for Hawaii...This post is gonna be mostly pictures...I didn't realize how busy I'd be today, and now I only have about 45 minutes before I catch my ride to the airport...This vacation to Waikiki and the island of Hawaii will last until January 10th...So, expect the next entry to be posted by maybe the 11th...

The images in this blog entry were taken before and after the high school musical I directed...The performance was on December 15th, and the reason I have no pictures of the actual production is because I was too busy runnin' around like a chicken with his head cut off backstage to worry about snappin' photos...But I will have some and I'll definetly post 'em soon...For now, you'll have to dig the pictures of the students setting up the stage and of the performers celebrating after the show...I will also have a very nicely made video by the local tv station KVZK...I'll probably send some out to family...So, stay tuned for those...

Oh, that picture at the top is of the music teacher, Cinderella, me and Prince Charming after the performance...It was a glowing, wonderful night...

There's the curtain goin' up...It's the first time Tafuna High School has had a genuine curtain on their stage...And I guess they're gonna keep it for future presentations...I'm proud that my show was the first to use it...In a way, without my show there'd be no curtain...The curtain means a lot to me...I know to y'all it just seems like a piece of fabric...But it actually symbolizes the musical...The frame for Cinderella...And now that the school is keeping it for future generations, I've kinda left my legacy...I mean, I've literally made a mark on the school...With a symbol, the theater curtain, of art and performance...It's a cool feeling...One I may not have again in my life...

This picture is hilarious...It's my wicked Stepmother...I accidently told her to wear her costume on this night of practice...Well, she was irritated that she was the only one wearing a costume...I just kept laughing...Probably not the most professional thing...But look at her...She's great...

There's Donato, the Wicked Stepmother...I never told y'all the drama that I recieved when I chose this fafafine for our villianous bitch...The principal honestly wanted me to change the actress because she felt the audience would laugh and shout things like "faggot" during the performance...I told her then that is the audience's problem...In fact, I told her that it was the administration's problem...I told her "we need security there to protect Donato and my other actors and to keep the peace"...I was shocked by her proposal but I was victorious...Donato was my Wicked Stepmother...Even if she was a he playing a she...

Lemme just explain something about those pictures above...I was absolutely horrified by the scenery...The Art Department was responsible for it, and it was nothing like I desired...I drew about 10 sketches and wrote a ton of proposals explaining in detail what I wanted the scenery to look like...It's almost nothing like what I was expecting...I suppose it still turned out...And I was so focused on perfection that I was bound to be disappointed by something...The scenery was one of those disappointments...

Y'all wondering why I titled this blog entry "A Slipper Made of Glass is Not Just a Shoe"?...Well, because two of my dreams have come true in this month of December...First of all, directing the island's first high school musical was a dream of mine for the past two years...And, of course, that came true...Second, I'm going to Hawaii...Which has been a dream of mine for the past few years...You know, I actually was first planning to teach in Hawaii...Remember that?...But then I realized how expensive that place would be...And then sunddenly my friend Lisa came to me with a proposition about an unknown place in the South Pacific called American Samoa...Wow, I wonder how different my life would've been in Hawaii...But I don't have any regrets...American Samoa has been good to me...And the experience has been a dazzling, inspirational, emotional roller coaster ride...Life is thrilling...Exactly what I've always dreamed for my life...An adventerous life with excitement and unexpected twists and turns...Nothing mundane here on Tutuila...Well, now I finally get to at least visit the island I've dreamed about for years...Hawaii!...Anyways, the glass slipper in the classic fairy tale is more than a shoe...It's a metaphor for a dream and that dream coming true...I've had two glass slippers in one month!...And they've fit perfectly! :-)

I am so excited to show you all the actual pictures from the performance...Don't worry, I'll post them soon...And maybe I'll write about the experience of producing this production in more detail later...I can't tonight...I gotta pack!...

Alright friends, family, and loyal blog readers...I hope you come back in a week and a half to learn all about my vacation to the big Aloha State...Leave me a comment about the musical or about my dreams comin' true...Hey, tell me if your dreams are comin' true...Hell, what are your "glass slippers"?...

Love ya and miss ya...And talk to ya on January 11th...

-JOE

"Moonlight in Hawaii can be rather intoxicating."

-from 1961's Blue Hawaii