August 24th - 28th

Tuesday;
The first show. We all got up bright and early ready for the first show. The excitement in the atmosphere was unbelievable. When we got to the theater We all got changed. I was playing Tessie for the end of the tech/dress and Lydia was Annie. The rehearsal wasn't too long or tiring compared to the others we had had. The orphans arrived at 2:00 ready for the full dress run when I would be playing Annie and Lydia, Tessie. It felt really good right at the end when I came down the stairs wearing the red curly wig and the famous red dress. Mum and Molly gave me a little cheer when I curtsied. Danny the dog was a pain in the apple seller scene because he just would not come I called him again and again but he sat there and scratched he came eventually though. I prayed he would come in the evenings performance. Before the show I saw Linda, Meg, Gran, Aunty Margaret, Mum and Dad who would all be watching the first performance. Also Chris Moreno, the producer, Rodger Hannah, the director, Richard Kort, a theatrical agent and the press were watching, no pressure then. I was terrified before I went on but as soon as I put down the bucket and said my line it felt amazing. The whole show went well. The audience gave me a huge cheer and Danny, the dog who didn't come again, got an even bigger one. After the show the whole cast went to the circle bar for a little celebration. Everyone congratulated me and told me I had done a great job as Annie. We got home late and went to sleep around midnight. Never mind I had a great day.

Wednesday;
We called at Tesco before we went to the theatre for nice fresh bread for our sandwiches, which we made when we got to the theater at lunch time. We then ate our creations and got ready. Mum and I sneaked in to front of house so we could watch the whole show. I found myself singing along to everything. Lots of people gave me funny looks and said to others they were sure I was in the show. It was nice to see the show for a change even though I knew it inside out and back to front. In the break in the middle of the shows we went to Wetherspoons for tea. After that we headed back and I got ready in my Tessie costume. It was nice to be an orphan again but I didn't get the thrill I did when I was Annie. We went straight to sleep when we got home and all I know was it was very late because I can't remember much past the point of getting into my pyjamas.

Thursday;
We had no show today until the evening so we went swimming in the local pool. From the outside it looked a bit iffy but it was ok in the inside. It had a small slide, three diving boards and a pool so it wasn't too bad. we spent a good hour there before we went clothes shopping in Matalan. Our mum's had allowed us to purchase 1 item of clothing. after a good while of hunting down bargains I decided on a pink floral 50's style dress. With our items bagged up we went to Sainsburys. The show was approaching fast so we grabbed a taxi to the Alhambra. I got ready to be Tessie again and the show ran smoothly again. We had got into a routine and went straight to bed when we got in.

Friday;
The day I had been waiting for. Today was the understudy rehearsal where the understudys played the parts they understudy. It was very interesting to see the different people take over the main parts. In the evening we prepared for the time I had been waiting patiently for all week. My second go at being Annie. Before I got ready I went down to stage door to see Grandma and Grandad who would be watching me. We gave the dog cheese so it would come to me and it worked very well indeed. I got another huge round of applause at the end. I was sad it had ended but it had been fun. Anyway I've got 4 months left yet so there plenty still to come.

Saturday;
I was Tessie again today. There was a matinee today and I wasn't on in the evening so after I had been Tessie I could go home. It was nice to be Tessie again and to be an orphan like last year when I was July. The matinee went very well for us all and I am sure everyone will be sad to leave Bradford in the evening. After the performance we had a nice light tea in the theater's circle bar where we went after the first show. The journey home took what seemed like forever because I was so keen to see everyone again because mum went home on Wednesday and I had missed the dogs so much in the last week. When we got home I spent some time up with mum and dad and my pets before retiring to my room for a good sleep at 10:00.

xxxxxx

note - This is a post for 5 days not 1! I am not writing an essay like this for one day!