Be An Elf

"Oh, be an elf... for Santa at the Pole. Be an elf, oh, be an elf... it's a very noble goal! If you work hard and never stop to be the best that you can be, then you can be a Christmas elf... just like my friends and me."

That's one of the songs from our annual kiddie Christmas show, in progress as I type, and I have worked hard as a Christmas elf for the last three years, filling styrofoam cups with caffeine-free Sprite and wondering what each day's fiasco will be. Are all the crayons broken? Will we run out of letters to Santa? Did a school bring too many kids, so that some are without seats? Are we serving only soda water because we've run through all of the Sprite syrup? Is a child vomiting, crying, or stomping cracker crumbs into the carpet?

Or will a busload of children be stuck in traffic, keeping the show from starting on time when while merry elves fret about making it to their second, more adult, jobs on time.

Yep, that's the one today.

After the show today, if it does not run too late, I will visit a local radio station to record the theatre's radio spot for the January show, The Foreigner.

And after that, I'll drive my roommate back to this theatre, where he will serve patrons at the evening (adult) show.

And after that, I'll drive myself to another theatre, where a cast of fairies, rather than elves, will open a show about Sleeping Beauty, then celebrate their opening night at a local restaurant.

It's a long day, barely started, but child's play to us elves.

"We're the Christmas elves and we're here to say..."

Um, side note: elves shouldn't rap.