Not all of my adventures have been outdoors on land and water. Over the years, I've organized, directed, and performed in skits and musical acts at several churches where I've been in the choir, and also at schools I've attended and the school where I taught for 29 years.
For over 60 consecutive years, I've sung in church choirs. Most were small neighborhood churches and the choirs usually had to fund the purchase of robes and often music, and we did so by hosting "Coffee Houses" -- gatherings where coffee and cake and cookies were served as we entertained with solos, ensembles, and various skits.
It all began while I was in college at Wright Junior College in Chicago where for one concert we sang tunes from "Oklahoma" seen below (I'm in the gold shirt.)
Later at Northern Illinois University, my dorm, Douglas Hall, entered a skit in the 1966 university-wide "Showtime" competition and we won first place. One episode of our act was when Poseidon, Zeus, and Apollo sang and danced as seen here (I'm Posiedon in the green seaweed.)
Below is the whole cast and our trophy. Decades later I visited the old dorm before it was razed and the trophy and photo were still on display!
Several of us also began a dorm choir, the Douglas Hall Madrigals, and we had Christmas and Spring concerts...
...which included some "specialty numbers" like "Draft Dodger Rag" by Phil Ochs, performed with Randy who co-founded the group with me and our RA, Rich, who is accompanying on the piano.
Over the years at various churches, I began putting together shows for fund-raising. We had a lot of fun and the audiences (our friends and families) enjoyed our madcap antics, and we managed to raise cash to purchase music and even choir robes. Kent and I sing the Kingston Trio song, "To Morrow" about a train trip to a strangely named town.
During the heyday of Tiny Tim I did this homage...
Bruce (washtub bass) and I accompany a singer...
I'm lamenting a death in this takeoff from "Oklahoma" which we called "Poor Bruce is Dead" (but he isn't and halfway through he joins me in singing)
"Ah Woe, Ah Me," a Kingston Trio calypso comedy song, sung by my co-producer, Kent, and Pastor, Don, in the center.
A bit of barbershop for the audience...
I don't recall this song, but obviously county and western because that's what Buck always played...
For 29 years, I taught at Fremd High School. My first 4 years I organized faculty skits for the annual Variety Show which had 3 sell-out performances each year. My last 25 years I was one of the V-Show directors, so Faculty skits became rare then. The students loved seeing the faculty make fools of themselves on stage! As we guys danced, the ladies of the faculty sang "There is Nothin' Like A Dame." (This skit was a hit everywhere I staged it, so I recycled it at 3 churches and the high school.)
A popular TV show was "Laugh-In" so in one skit I portrayed the "Dirty Old Man."
This skit was called Dr. Frankenbeans and Bill was Igor. (It's alive!!!)
I don't recall what this skit was!
The group sings "Good Old Mt. Dew" while Cathy holds a can to demonstrate we aren't talking about an alcoholic beverage...
Lots of fun, and I miss those good old days! Years later, I sang with a community chorus for 20 years...
...which provided me with my only opportunity to play banjo in a tux on "Thank God I'm A Country Boy!"
For the last 25 years, I've been in my church's annual "Christmas in the Village"concert which includes a 30 piece orchestra and always plays to two full-house performances (except in the COVD-19 year!)
Always fun on stage, though I still prefer my adventures in Nature that include mountains or rivers or bike trails!
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