Are You a Good Witch or a Bad Witch?

So...here are my thoughts on Glinda. As I prepared myself to step into her shoes again, I read all of the "conspiracy theories" suggesting that Glinda was a power-hungry, manipulating bad witch. I love the theory, but I disagree. 

Dorothy longs for adventure, to see new places, and to make true friends who understand her. My Glinda knows this, and therefore, sets her on a path to experience all of those things. The Wicked Witch of the West, although frightening, turns out to be an easy-to-defeat foe. (And Glinda is always keeping an eye on things and just a quick bubble trip away should Dorothy and her friends get in over their heads.) Dorothy must learn that she has power of her own and that even the scariest monsters have grave weaknesses. She comes to realize that the truest friends met along life's path may not look the way we expect them to look, but those unlikely companions hold our hands and stick by our sides through the darkest and most uncertain times. Like every child, she must also learn that there really is no all-powerful wizard who can solve our problems for us.  "She had to learn it for herself!"

Glinda is a good witch!  She watches protectively from the sidelines while Dorothy sets off on the adventures she always dreamed of having.  She allows Dorothy to experience beautiful and awful things.  If Glinda had immediately sent her home, Dorothy would never have been content in Kansas.

Don't think for a moment that I don't see a bit of myself in this story.  What a perfect show for me and my family to revisit during our first year back in North Carolina! As a young adult, I couldn't wait to get away from here and see the world.  During my ten years away, I met the most wonderful, unexpected friends.  I saw beautiful places, and I experienced different cultural traditions.  I also suffered through darkness, depression, anxiety, and homesickness.  And I wouldn't trade that journey for anything. I agree with Dorothy, "There really is no place like home." But I didn't truly comprehend the richness and wonderfulness of home until I left it far behind.

So...for me a wicked and conniving Glinda just doesn't jive. Let the haters hate, but I know the truth, and besides, "Only bad witches are ugly!".

Finding Friends Along the Yellow Brick Road

A Muslim hipster, a vegetarian drag queen, a good ol' boy from out in the sticks of Randolph County, and a feminist who loves mystery novels all walk into an audition... No, it isn't the beginning of a tedious joke; its exactly the sort of thing that regularly happens when my local community theatre group holds auditions for shows.

It's easy to gaze upon your smart phone and feel a bit of discriminating superiority as you read acid-tongued tweets about those "other people" who disagree with your political, social, and religious beliefs.  Viral memes which ridicule anyone who could possibly support idiotic candidates or policies are so easy and fun to share.  It is now simpler than ever to lump all of those ignorant buffoons together and dismiss them into the category of persons for whom nobody has time.  Sometimes I yearn for the pre-social media days when I didn't have to know that the nice lady I just met at the gym was a member of the Facebook group "Albino Lesbians for Sara Palin", but those days are gone, my friends.

I adore the opportunities to sing, dance and perform that the Community Theatre of Greensboro affords, but my favorite thing about working with CTG is that it has allowed me to develop real and deep friendships with people I might otherwise have dismissed or simply never encountered (including my wonderful husband).  Rehearsing and performing together creates trust and intimacy among cast members whether they come from similar or completely different backgrounds.  When we work together to perfect a scene, when we help each other learn lines or harmonies, when we collectively hold our breath and behold a cast member's spot-on portrayal of a character, we form a bond and we find common ground despite being told by the rest of the world that our differences make us incompatible.

I am so in love with the cast of this season's production of The Wizard of Oz.  Something rather wonderful and magical is happening with all of us because we respect, trust, and admire each other.  If you're in the area, I would encourage you to come out and see the show.  A cast of nearly 100 has worked with such commitment bring new life to a favorite classic story.  With so many people of different ages, abilities, and world views working together to produce something so magnificent, I started to wonder...perhaps Congress should try working together to put on a musical? I'd like to see more shimmying across the aisle and less division, wouldn't you?