Quilters, part 1 (Beginnings)

All right folks, as promised, this is the first in a series of posts about my recent theater adventure! I could tell countless stories, but to keep it short and sweet, I’ve managed to trim it down to four posts. I did my best to shorten it, but it just didn’t work out, there was too much to tell! (By the way, pictures in these posts were found on the internet and aren’t mine, unless specified).

I was first introduced to the musical Quilters when I was seven years old, when our theater group performed the show for the first time. Since my mom was in the cast, I became very familiar with the show and absolutely fell in love!

For those who aren’t familiar with the show (which is probably most of y’all, since the show isn’t super well known), Quilters is a musical set in the American West, and is based on true stories that tell of the strength shown by pioneer women as they faced both the struggles and the joys in their lives. The show is presented as a series of short stories/scenes, represented by a unique quilt block and paired with songs, and each scene illustrates aspects of their lives.

Disclaimer: I’ve never been good at giving summaries or descriptions, so please trust me when I say that the show is so much better than I could ever make it sound!

At age seven, I was just starting to figure out what acting and theater were, so I soaked up everything about this show. I remember learning some of the monologues and trying to sing my mom’s tenor harmonies, which must have sounded pretty funny, since I was so little and had such a high squeaky voice at that age! I loved seeing the ladies in the cast becoming so many different characters and singing such beautiful harmonies, and I remember thinking that I wanted be like them someday.

Getting to be a part of the Quilters cast has been something that I’ve wanted to do since I was seven years old, and this spring I got to live out that childhood dream – and it was absolutely wonderful! The experience was made even better by the fact that my mother was in the cast, too. I realize that I am extremely lucky to get to share the stage with my mom, and I have cherished every moment!