Clara Corner: Puppy Love

Remember when you were a young teenager and had yet to have your first real boyfriend/girlfriend? I'm not sure about you, but as a young teen I watched romantic movies, read and wrote poetry about love, and dreamed of the day I'd find my very own Prince Charming. He'd be dashing, brave, kind, strong, and wonderful. Not to mention perfect. Of course!
I've been visiting the mindset of young teens lately in preparation for playing Clara in the Nutcracker. She dreams of finding her true love as most other girls do. Her daydreams include much hand-holding and gazing into the eyes of the one who will complete all her romantic dreams. As adults we often trade these fantasies for the reality of adult relationships, and rightly so. The fairy tale belief that one person will come along and solve all your problems is, well, a fairy tale. You have to admit though, there is indeed something naively charming about those kind of dreams while they last.

Clara and her Prince from the Royal Ballet's "The Nutcracker"

It has been fun to revisit the puppy love world in my research for playing Clara (which I will begin my first rehearsals for in the next week or so).Clara, much like many young ladies in famous stories, does find her perfect prince in the end. She has to wade through some icky things first of course (including an annoying younger brother, millions of scary mice, and a battle between a Nutcracker Soldier doll and the King of those horrible mice). She summons up all the courage she has to help the Nutcracker Soldier doll to win the battle, and her prize is-- drum roll please-- her very own Prince.
The Nutcracker Soldier doll transforms into the man of her dreams-- handsome, charming, and of course, a dancer! They dance their way through the Land of Snow and into the Kingdom of the Sweets, where a lavish show is put on in honor of the new lovestruck couple.
...And they all lived happily ever after. Gotta love that! I sure do! I'll be playing out that happily ever after for you as Clara Nov 30th (Lone Tree Arts Center show-- link here for details: http://www.lonetreeartscenter.org/showinfo.php?id=94), and at Cleo Parker Robinson Theater December 14th 8pm performance, and the closing matinee performance at 3 pm on Dec 15th. Link for tickets at Cleo's and more information here: http://balletariel.org/nutcracker/ Would love for you to come out and experience puppy love with us all over again!