Saturday, June 9, 2012

It's Official!!!!

LG is an elementary school graduate!  He even walked across the stage to accept his diploma (with help from his teacher). He had the biggest smile on his face as he did so, and he's SO proud!
As are his mom & dad.  And his teachers.  And the principal...  There were more than a few tears shed, I can tell you.
Later it was time to say goodbye: to the school & to the teachers who have worked with him for 4 years. His main teacher cried a lot. I held it together, only because I know that later on tonight it's a going to hit me & I'll be bawling like a hungry newborn. I'll be sending her an email with all the thoughts I haven't yet been able to put into words. The good thing is, now we can all hang out! ;)


In other news, I went to see "Frankenstein" last night.  The casting was the reverse of what I'd expected, but after my initial disappointment that Benedict Cumberbatch wasn't playing The Creature, I just sat back to enjoy.
And I really, REALLY did!  It was AMAZING!!!!!! The best thing I've seen in a long, long time!  Everything was spectacular (even a very violent, difficult-to-watch scene towards the end).  And the cast was terrific.  (Why are the Brits so much better at colorblind casting?)  But I have to say, and I may be biased, that BC was phenomenal!!!!!!  The role of Victor is difficult: it could very easily roll over into melodrama, but he made it so moving and real and lovely.  And so different from anything else I've seen him do thus far.  He's so incredibly talented, and I find when I watch him that I'm inspired and think about performing again. He gives me something to aspire to.
(BTW, JLM was no slouch as The Creature, lol!)
I understand there are talks underway to release a DVD.  I hope they do, and I hope they put both performances on it.
It was also nice to see a nearly full theater.

So I'm on a bit of a high from these two events, as you can imagine.  Well, and the fact that we've just about finished donating all the books we wanted to get rid of.  And it only took about 37 trips to the library!

Update (Saturday): I was listening to an interview about the creation of "Frankenstein."  Turns out that Danny Boyle (who directed) and Nick Dear (the writer) both have sons with autism.  They brought the actors to a school for autistic kids.  The idea was to create a person who has the body of a grown man but the mind of a child. Naturally I found that really interesting, but also heartening: For one thing,the more autism is brought out into public life, in every way, the  less weird and scary it will seem.  A few decades ago, people in wheelchairs were scary, or the deaf, or the blind.  Now?  Not so much.
It also makes the portrayal of the Creature even more fascinating and, for me, more sympathetic, even with the awful things he does. After all, he learns that from the people around him.

And it's made me think. I realize I need to have more empathy for people who may be afraid of my kids.  They don't know them, after all.  What they see and hear are strange behaviors, weird noises, the inability to speak, etc.  They don't know that my kids are sweet, happy, funny, affectionate, and curious.  How could they know that? So a little patience and understanding on my part will probably go a long way.

Finally, it gives me hope that I can be a good mom to two autistic children and STILL be a creative person. I became ashamed of my profession when we lived in L.A.  I bought into the mindset that I didn't "deserve" to be an artist because I wasn't pretty/hot enough, yada yada yada.  It makes me sad that I used to be so proud of being an actor, and proud of my work, and I let myself buy into the shame.
I used to be really good.   Now, 9 years later, I have no idea if I am or not.
I AM glad I took a break.  I needed to spend time with my kids and to just be a mom.  But always, in the back of my mind, was the feeling of not deserving to be or call myself an artist.  Art, however, isn't hoighty-toighty, it's for everyone.
So maybe it's time for me to reclaim the title.

1 comment:

Geosomin said...

power to the people :)

You sound so happy and proud. I love it!