I had an interesting conversation in Home Ec. class today...

[gavrochegirl]

Posted: 10/13/05 at 6:22pm

...(This isn't on topic, is it?)...

Anyway.

In Home Ec., we have to carry these flour "babies" around school to see what's like to have a child in your arms all day. I named my flour "baby" Ruprecht, and taped some pictures of Norbert as Ruprecht on the sack since I cannot draw for the life of me.

So, this boy at my table asked me, "Who in the heck is that guy? Why didn't you draw a face on your flour baby?"

"Um...it's sort of hard to explain...but the guy is playing a character in a musical.", I said to him.

"Who is he, and what musical are you talking about?", he asked me.

"Norbert Leo Butz.", I told him.

"Oh...who is he?", he asked again.

"Argh...never mind. You just don't know about musicals...", I said to him.

This other girl at my table said, "I know about them!"

I challenged her by asking her to name three musicals.

She said, "Um...Annie...Oliver...and...Oliver Twist!"

"No...Oliver is a musical, but Oliver Twist isn't.", I told her.

"Yes, it is!", she and the other boy said.

"No, it's not!", I shot back.

"Gah...you guys don't know a lot about musicals, do you?", I told them.

The other boy said, "No...I hate musicals."

"Whatever...", I told him.

(Sorry for all of the "told" s...)

The girl eventually started to sing Tomorrow, much to my dismay. She told me she had seen the show in L.A....which I was a little enlightened by. (She's giving me her Playbill, which is awfully nice of her.)

She told me three things about the show:

1. "The girl who played Annie was ugly."
2. "There were all these people running somewhere after the show to meet Annie...I was like, 'What the hell?'"
3. "...and I mean...come on...it's just a Broadway show, for crying out loud." (Cue me putting my face in my hands...)

I argued with her for about a minute about how she saw a national tour, not a Broadway show. She told me that it didn't matter because they were the same thing.

I gave up at that point.

[jasonf]

Posted: 10/13/05 at 6:25pm

Doesn't that just make you feel --- smart?

[Atrias]

Posted: 10/13/05 at 6:29pm

Somehow, I find the Norbert Leo Butz flour baby more amusing than the rest of it.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 10/13/05 at 6:31pm

I haven't gotten past why they still teach Home Ec.

[gavrochegirl]

Posted: 10/13/05 at 6:32pm

Yes, jasonf. I feel...smart.

But I wanted to kick the girl.

Posted: 10/13/05 at 6:32pm

I wonder if Norb would be flattered.

I've had the same type of conversations with people. I think they're kinda fun.

[Atrias]

Posted: 10/13/05 at 6:36pm

I actually had a sort of similar thing happen to me last week. I decorated my art binder with a Broadway theme. This guy came up next to me and was like, "So you like Broadway? The only thing I ever saw was Cats. That thing sucked, man!" Which was amusing on its own, but then he continued. "You remind me of this other girl I know that likes them. She's so annoying!" Which could kind of be an insult, actually.

Posted: 10/13/05 at 6:39pm

Atleast he's seen a show, unlike most people who just hate shows because they're broadway. I give him props for that.

[Atrias]

Posted: 10/13/05 at 6:42pm

It didn't sound like he went willingly...he's more interested in scoring his next joint, if what I hear next to me every class is accurate.

[theatrebabe]

Posted: 10/13/05 at 6:43pm

Well, most of the kids at my school don't even know what a musical is. I try to steer away from talking about Broadway with them because it annoys me. At times, I can't keep from bursting into song. Then people look at me funny and my friends just sigh and lead me to my next class.

Posted: 10/13/05 at 6:45pm

an interesting convesation in Home Ec. class?

[Plum]

Posted: 10/13/05 at 6:48pm

Au contraire, Goth. I think Home Ec is more useful now than ever. Kids shouldn't have to live on takeout once they're out of college just because their parents didn't (couldn't) teach them to cook.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 10/13/05 at 6:55pm

"Kids shouldn't have to live on takeout once they're out of college just because their parents didn't (couldn't) teach them to cook."

What's there to know about cooking? You open up a cookbook and follow the directions. It's really not that hard.

[CostumeMistress]

Posted: 10/13/05 at 7:03pm

If you don't know terms like "sautee," "broil," "skin," "puree," "roast," etc, and what they mean; and your parents never cooked, it can be pretty darn hard.

I had a roommate who didn't know how to use a potato peeler. And I work with a girl who, up until I told her otherwise, thought that skim milk was for people who are lactose intolerant.

[broadwaybaby77]

Posted: 10/13/05 at 7:13pm

I'm the most insane about Broadway and musicals at my school, so whenever someone tries to tell me about something, I either already know or can challenge them about it. I win. ::giggles with schoolgirl glee::

Something I completely despise is people dressing down for theatre. You've paid a considerable amount of money for the tickets; why not dress for the occasion? It's not as if you're going to go watch a show put on in a dumpster where looking like trash might be okay, but this is in a classy, refined theater! WEAR SOME NICE CLOTHES!

[Plum]

Posted: 10/13/05 at 8:18pm

Damn straight, CostumeMistress.

Some things are better taught than learned through experience, Goth. Like "poke holes in a potato before microwaving." How are people supposed to magically know that it'll explode otherwise?

[hot_brdwy_diva]

Posted: 10/13/05 at 11:12pm

That reminds me of when someone asked me what I was going to school for and I told them theatre.

They replied with "Oh neat, I did theatre in high school."
*grumble*

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/13/05 at 11:54pm

What is a flour baby?

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 12:58am

I'm still lauging at:

"and taped some pictures of Norbert as Ruprecht on the sack"

[Over_the_Moon]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 2:00am

I think a main reason that "normal" people tend to think theatre people are annoying is because we have a tendency to be condescending.

i.e. "You just don't know about musicals."

Just because you're a theatre person does not mean you're above everyone else.

[bebe de broadway]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 2:45am

I totally agree with over the moon 100%

WHO CARES if someone knows a certain show or not. Do I know a lot about classic rock? Not really. SO WHAT?

I get angry when people look at me and say "You've never been to NEW YORK? WHAT??" And assume it makes me less of an artist because I've never seen anything on broadway.

It's incredibly condescending and rude. Not to mention short sighted.

There's a big difference between appreciating or participating in the art of theatre and being an enthusiased for the pop culture of it. And who says that everyone has to like it? I HATE rap. Big deal. I'd be pissed if someone looked at me as less of a human because I can't tell the difference between Coolio and 50 cent. Theatre may be MY life, but that doesn't mean it's anyone else's.

That post probably didn't make sense. Sorry. It's 2 am and i lack sleep.

Though I totally love the pictures of Ruprecht. I haven't seen the show, but LOOOOVE the music. I plan on singing the "here I am" song for a pageant coming up. It's great. Ms. Scott is my hero. lol

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 10:18am

A baby made out of a sack of flour.

That's the strangest thing I've ever heard.

[gavrochegirl]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 6:07pm

No, no, no.

The flour sack is wrapped in paper and taped up.

I originally thought that they were going to do just that, though.

[Caroline-Q-or-TBoo]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 7:02pm

i have a friend that calls musicals "broadways"

its so funny... i wanna slap her.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 10:24pm

Ugh, flour babies. My friend named mine Florence and she wore my old baby pajamas. I accidently forgot it in a class only once so OF COURSE I walked by my sociology teacher and he asked me about it. Yelling "Oh, F*CK!" then dashing off down the hall probably didn't help matters.

Actually, I tend to avoid more than the bare minimum when it comes to talking to people about theater, until I get an idea of how much they actually know about it. It's not condescending, it's just kind of judging how in depth you can get without losing them.