Tree-Gate.

*The pictures documenting this night are all on Rosie's phone & will be added in later.

Back in October Rosie put in a request for two Christmas trees to be ordered for the Holiday show. Other than these trees there was no set or scenery. They just utilized the fog machine, lights, & electronic lifts on the stage to make each number diverse. Rosie continued to put in requests and reminders about the trees and was assured they would arrive. Guess what? The trees didn't come.

In order to half-heartedly, quickly fix this problem, two trees that had been in officer cabins were delivered backstage. They looked like a 5year old boy had decorated them by using a slingshot to launch tacky ornaments and garland randomly around the trees. The strings of lights on the trees were multicolored and blinked so much they could probably induce a seizure. I'm not even being dramatic for once. That's literally what we were given to use on stage.

For opening night Rosie literally had no choice but to use them. But for the following week something had to be done. So the night before the show the two of us tackled the impossible armed with craft supplies galore, christmas music, & wine. First we half drug, half carried the sad trees into the stairwell so they'd be next to each other. Then I channeled Edward Scissor Hands and groomed the trees branches into submission. I cut branches from the back to make the fronts appear fuller. We used super glue and elastic to attach red & silver bobbles, sparkly leafs, and glittery holly spriggs. Thankfully Mama Stoney had sent me lots of cute red holiday ribbon which was a nice added touch to the tops of the ornaments and made them look less like cheap products from a Mexican Walmart.

Even though it was a stressful situation, Rosie & I ended up having so much fun creating something beautiful from a pile of glitter on the floor. The next day I added classy white lights to the trees, courtesy of mine and Rosie's bedrooms. For the final finishing touches I draped white fabric to create tree skirts, put rope lights over that, and then sheer gauzy fabric over the lights to create a softer look. Once again, I am thankful to be a Southern Living at Home protege.

I wish I had taken before and after pictures! This silly Tree-Gate situation is just another example of why I love live theater. You have to create something that will look beautiful onstage. It doesn't matter if the back is being held together with tape and paper-clips as long as the front is ascetically pleasing. Sometimes I feel like a fairy godmother waving my magic wand. You'll never have all the supplies you need but you have to utilize what you do have and make it work. GrandMother always said that there is always more than one way to solve a problem!