Update: Playing for Sound/Shall We Dance?

Good morning and welcome to Tuesday, the second day of the business week! Did you know that Tuesday was named for Mars, the Roman god of war? Which is funny, because Tuesday hardly seems war-like if anything, it seems rather boring, wedged as it is between groan-inducing Monday and hump-day Wednesday. You can’t get excited about the weekend yet, because it is, after all, only Tuesday. And if you’ve got young kids in school here, it’s a shorter day than the rest, meaning you have to rush around to get everything done before they’re back home demanding snacks and playdates. Yes, Tuesday really doesn’t have much to recommend it, does it?

Well, the good news is, I’m here to brighten up your Tuesday with the exciting news that registration for sixth grade ballroom dance classes is still going on — for boys, anyway. For anyone not familiar with this, these classes are a highlight of the sixth grade year. Honestly, many of the sixth graders participate, and those who don’t will quickly feel sad that they didn’t when their classmates show up on Thursdays, the day after the ballroom classes, with exciting news of just who was dancing with whom, and what everyone wore, and so on.

These classes were supposed to begin on Sept. 21, but due to a scheduling conflict, will now start Oct. 12, giving you a little more time to prepare, and to get nice shoes for your sixth grade boys. See, while they certainly do dance at these classes, the real learning is around proper social etiquette, such as how to dress appropriately — skirts and dresses for the girls, nice pants and jackets for the boys — how to greet someone in a social situation with eye contact and a firm handshake, and how to introduce your partner to someone. In general, it teaches all the things you want your kid to learn, but will make them roll their eyes if you try to tell them. That’s why it’s so nice to have someone else do it.

And if you have a chance to observe one of the classes, you will be amazed that the teacher can get them all to pay attention without ever raising his voice. Believe me, that skill alone has me in awe of him. Oh, and the boys and girls take turns being the one to pick a partner, and the rule is, no one can refuse once they’re asked. That way, no one has to feel rejected, a real bonus at this age.

The classes run on six non-consecutive Wednesdays: Oct. 12 and 26, Nov. 2 and 30, and Dec. 14 and 21, from 6-7 p.m. at the . The cost is $80, and well worth every penny when you see your unruly pre-teen son politely acting like a young gentleman. You can pick up a registration form at Concord Recreation at the

Playing for Sound

I know, I just told you how Tuesday is such a humdrum day, and not nearly close enough to the weekend to really count, but actually it’s plenty of time to plan ahead for said weekend. And plan you must, because this weekend the Concord Players are offering a special performance as a prelude to their regular season, which sadly does not begin until November.

The performance is Improvisation, or The Shepherd’s Chameleon, an absurd comic satire by Eugene Ionesco. It’s this Saturday, Sept. 17, at 3 p.m. over at 51 Walden, and it’s being done as a staged reading — meaning the actors will have scripts in hand — with the accompaniment of the Midnight Rider Klezmer Band. I don’t know about you, but that sounds like a boatload of fun to me.

Now, here’s the thing: this performance is absolutely free, HOWEVER, the Players are currently working to buy new assistive hearing devices for their patrons, and any donations made at this performance will go to that cause. The Players have been working for a couple of years now to upgrade their sound system, the first phase being to upgrade their overall sound quality with a new and improved loudspeaker array. They were able to accomplish this by last spring thanks to the generosity of lots of local people who either work with or patronize the Players.

In this, their second phase, they need to raise $15,000 to upgrade their hearing assistance devices. Now, if you have excellent, or even normal, hearing, you may not realize just how hard it is for someone with less than perfect hearing to be able to enjoy a theatrical performance. But as the mother of two kids with hearing loss, I can tell you it’s pretty frustrating to not have access to things most of us take for granted. So I commend the Players for working to make their very excellent performances accessible to all.

I hope you go to see the show, and give whatever you can — every little bit counts.

Do you have something you would like to share? Contact me at stefanieac@comcast.net or Maureen at mcb23@comcast.net, and we will be happy to help you spread the good news.